Michael Baker

New Zealand recorded its second Covid-19 death of the current Delta outbreak on Friday when a second man who had been isolating at home in Auckland died. The total number of cases in the current… Audio

The Ministry of Health has announced two positive Covid-19 cases in Christchurch. The two people are from the same household, with one of them recently returning to Christchurch from Auckland.

… Audio

Two positive Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in Christchurch. They are from the same household. One member had recently returned to Christchurch from Auckland. Epidemiologist Michael Baker spoke to… Audio

Senior students are back at school today, but with case numbers rising, the race to vaccinate continues.

The deputy prime minister Grant Robertson told Morning Report the Government expects to make… Audio

South Waikato is kicking its Covid-19 response up a gear with the revelation a person who later tested positive for the virus spent the night in Tokoroa. 

Two new cases were also reported yesterday… Audio

Epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker told Checkpoint his biggest concern the spread of Delta is an "outbreak of the unvaccinated".

"The unvaccinated are increasingly Māori and Pacific people. So we… Video, Audio

There were 51 new community cases of Covid-19 reported yesterday including - worryingly - four in Waikato. The news is better for Northland, which may have dodged a bullet with no new cases being… Audio

Auckland is stuck at alert level 3 for at least another week, with the Prime Minister saying the country is at one of the most challenging moments in the pandemic so far.

Auckland students will not… Video, Audio

The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed the elimination strategy for Covid-19 will remain outside of Auckland.

Public health experts say that means the border surrounding the super city will… Audio

Professor Michael Baker says it's been a poor week for clarity and communication, and he's imploring the government to sort out the direction we are heading.  Audio

With Northland entering level 3, Auckland in level with benefits, and Waikato in level 3 restrictions, University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker told Checkpoint there needs to be… Video, Audio

A leading epidemiologist says everyone in New Zealand should plan to encounter Covid-19 before Christmas, and they'd better be prepared.

The recommended gap between Pfizer jabs has been cut in half… Audio

A case of Covid-19 has been confirmed in the King Country coastal town of Kāwhia, just south of Raglan on the North Island's West Coast. 

Kāwhia is outside of the Waikato Alert Level 3 boundary.

The… Audio

There are growing concerns that Covid-19 found in Waikato - and other surprise cases - could be the tip of an iceberg of undetected transmission.

The government's set to announce its decision about… Audio

Tomorrow's the big day for Auckland, with the Government set to make an announcement on the region's alert level after six weeks of Level 4 and 3 lockdown for the City of Sails. The rest of the… Audio

New Covid-19 cases in the community jumped up to 45 yesterday, the highest daily figure since 2 September. All of the new cases are in Auckland.

Covid-19 response minister Chris Hipkins says that the… Audio

There were 45 new cases of Covid-19 reported in the community yesterday ... a number that will no doubt be a big concern for those in Auckland where they were detected. Joining Ellie Jay to talk us… Audio

There were 18 new cases of Covid-19 in the community yesterday with two of them so far unable to be linked to previous cases. It continues a somewhat worrying trend of case numbers bouncing up and… Audio

Panellists Ian Powell and Susan Hornsby-Geluk discuss the Covid-19 alert level change in Auckland, redundancies during a pandemic, and Jeff Bezos having concerns about climate change. Audio

Three people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Waikato. The three are household members of a remand prisoner who tested positive at the weekend.

Two of those attend Mangatangi School on the… Audio