Coronavirus

The programme is for students from kindergarten up to primary level.

 The first radio programme aired on Friday 10 April 2020 at 5pm covered setting up a working environment and capturing children’s attention. The Homskul Givhan programme is aired every Monday from 5pm to 5:30pm for parents of kindergarten age children, every Wednesday from 5pm to 5:30pm for parents of students in Years 1 to 3 and every Friday from 5pm to 5:30pm for parents of students in Years 4 to 6.

The cats, from separate areas of New York state, had mild respiratory illness and are expected to make a full recovery. It is believed that they contracted the virus from people in their households or neighbourhoods, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"Animals, pets, can get infected. There's no evidence that the virus is transmitted from the pet to a human," Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at the daily coronavirus briefing.

The WHO's Western Pacific division held a media briefing this week to discuss the coronavirus.

Asked when regional countries might lift some restrictions imposed under their states of emergency, the WHO Regional Director Takeshi Kasai urged caution.

"When we consider lifting, we need a careful analysis of the situation And we should not lift everything all at once."

Dr Kasai said this applied to all countries, including those in the Pacific islands who had no reported cases of Covid-19.

The Pacific has a high dependency on food imports; for example, Fiji imports 85 per cent of its rice from Vietnam and Thailand.

Pacific Beat understands that the Australian government is currently reviewing each Pacific nation's food security risk, with some concern that while borders may be left open for cargo, not all ships may continue to operate.

The director of the SPC's fisheries division, Neville Smith, said they were working to minimise the impact on the tuna fishery, the coastal fishery and on aquaculture.

Mr Smith said exports from fisheries and Pacific food security were now more important than ever.

He said fisheries observers not being able to travel, along with port closures, were a threat to the finances of the hugely important tuna fishery.

“Even the two largest economies in the region, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, do not have the fiscal space to provide immediate recovery packages for businesses to survive or income support to those facing unemployment,” says former Professor of Economics and Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of the South Pacific, Biman Chand Prasad.

The actor, in his role as UN ambassador, helped to launch its $40m (£32,2m) International Fund for Agricultural Development on Monday.

The fund is intended to help support farmers and food producers in rural areas globally during the pandemic.

"It is about food," the Luther star told BBC News.

"It is about the basic necessity for human beings, and that will run out if the farmers can't farm."

Idris, and his wife, model and fellow activist Sabrina Dhowre Elba, have been quarantined in their London home since last month, having tested positive for coronavirus.

The billionaire Virgin Group boss said in an open letter to staff he was not asking for a handout, but a commercial loan, believed to be £500m ($NZ1bn).

The airline's survival was in doubt, and his Necker Island home in the Caribbean could be mortgaged, he said.

It comes as Virgin Group's airline in Australia faces administration.

Both airlines have been hit hard by the global coronavirus lockdown, and Sir Richard has appealed to governments in both countries for help.

A host of big names performed from home on the US broadcast earlier, before more British stars were added to the line-up for a UK edition on BBC One.

The event aimed to celebrate healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards said NHS staff and other key workers "all deserve such a huge thank you".

The girl group were among the UK acts who took part in the British version of the concert on Sunday, along with Rag 'N' Bone Man, George the Poet and The Kingdom Choir.

They chartered two planes, loaded them up with facemasks, and had them flown here from Shanghai in China.

An Air New Zealand Dreamliner touched down at Christchurch Airport on Saturday morning.

On board was a cargo hold full of personal protective equipment (PPE).

"These are bfN98 surgical masks that will be distributed to the CDHB [Canterbury District Health Board] on Monday," says Interbuild Products director Nick Ash.

Ash has a business importing building supplies from around the world.