VIRUS LATEST* Revealed: The 21 locations of interest visited by three new community cases * No need to rush Aucklanders queue at supermarkets despite not needing to * ‘It’s a difficult situation’: Prada Cup racing postponed…

Anyone who attended Papatoetoe High School last week – be it staff, students or visitors – is being asked to get a Covid-19 test after a Year 9 student has been confirmed as one of three new cases. The other two cases are the student’s…

Locals around Taranaki are on edge after it was revealed two confirmed Covid-19 community cases visited New Plymouth over Waitangi weekend, and some are unhappy that the region has remained at alert level 2. The Ministry of Health…

An Air New Zealand flight to Whangārei was forced to turn back to Auckland due to poor weather this afternoon.A spokesman for the airline said low cloud and poor visibility meant the aircraft was unable to land.The flight…

By RNZ The arrival of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in New Zealand next week will not signal the end of the pandemic, says vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris.The country’s 12,000 border workers will receive their first…

Two pedestrians have been forced to run for their lives when a car sped towards them in a Melbourne car park.

Dashcam footage shows a black Mazda charging towards a man and a woman in Campbellfield before smashing into their parked car.

The man appears to have tried to open the passenger side door before the driver of the car hurtled towards the pair.

READ MORE: Two more local COVID-19 cases in Victoria as list of Melbourne exposure sites grows

The stationary car was struck with such force it mounted a concrete divider separating parking spots.

Both cars appear to have been badly damaged.

READ MORE: Victoria's 'circuit breaker' lockdown explained: What you can and can't do

A Victoria Police spokesperson said investigators were able to locate the male driver a short time after the incident.

"Police were called to a crash in a car park off Jeffery Street, Campbellfield about 9.15pm on Thursday 11 February," a statement read.

"They spoke to a number of people at the scene who said one car had crashed into another and driven off.

"Police searched the area and found the driver and car involved nearby. They spoke to a 44-year-old man from Coburg.

"He is expected to be charged with numerous traffic offences."

The Ministry of Health’s locations of interest list for the three new Auckland Covid-19 community cases has grown by three. The new locations are BP Papakura, GAS Piopio and BP Breakwater Road in New Plymouth.The new active community…

The first shipment of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine is set to reach Australia this week.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the rollout was on track with about 80,000 doses to arrive in just days.

"The vaccines are scheduled to land in Australia before the end of the week, if not earlier," he said.

READ MORE: Child and woman latest local COVID-19 cases in Victoria, both linked to Coburg venue

Mr Hunt said security around the "most precious cargo" will be tight and the Therapeutic Goods Administration would be conducting safety checks.

"They will look to see that all of the vials are intact and haven't had seals broken, and they will also do much testing as part of that," he said.

"Some of that has been done in Europe. Additional tests will be done here in Australia. Our number one priority is safety, safety, safety."

Mr Hunt said Australians wanted to know the vaccine was safe above anything else.

"We know from all of the research that what Australians want to know is that safety has been prioritised above all else," he said.

"And if they know that what we believe to be the best medical regulator in the world has overseen a safe process working to a plan that is thorough and doesn't cut corners, then confidence increases.

"And if confidence increases there's an increase in uptake."

READ MORE: Victoria's CHO says there's no cause for concern over Greek tennis player's case

The health minister said the first jabs would be done by the end of the month and the rollout would be overseen by both state and federal governments.

Mr Hunt said border and quarantine workers, frontline health workers, aged care residents and staff, and disability residents and staff would be first to receive the jab.

Those in the first phase of the vaccine rollout will be vaccinated within six weeks of it kicking off.

Residents in northeastern Japan today are cleaning up clutter in stores and homes after a strong earthquake set off a landslide on a highway, stopped trains and caused power blackouts for thousands of people.

The 7.3 magnitude temblor late on Saturday shook the quake-prone areas of Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures that 10 years ago had been hit by a powerful earthquake that triggered a tsunami and a meltdown at a nuclear power plant.

Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility that runs the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant that was hit by the March 2011 disaster, said the water used to cool spent fuel rods near the reactors had spilled because of the shaking.

READ MORE: Newly-found Fukushima plant contamination may delay cleanup

But there were no radiation leaks or other irregularities, TEPCO said.

About 100 people were injured, according to public broadcaster NHK TV, mostly spraining their ankles while falling on stairs and getting cut by broken glass.

There were no reports of major injuries.

The quake did not cause a tsunami, and power had been restored by early Sunday, although some bullet train services were still halted.

TV footage and video shared on social media showed boxes, books and other items scattered on floors.

Experts warned of possible aftershocks.

Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, expressed sympathy for those who had suffered damage and injuries.

“The government will continue to do our utmost to respond,” he said.

Some homes reported problems with water supply.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake was centered about 55 kilometers beneath the ocean.

New South Wales has hit a major milestone in its fight to contain COVID-19, recording 28 days of no new locally acquired cases.

It is the first time New South Wales has reached the 28-day milestone since the start of the pandemic last March.

A previous 26-day streak last November ended on December 2 when a hotel quarantine worker tested positive.

READ MORE: Two new COVID-19 cases in Victoria as new exposure sites revealed

https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1360741721026424837?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The result comes after 16,302 people were tested across NSW yesterday.

Two new cases were detected in the state's hotel quarantine program.

The 28-day milestone is significant as it marks two infection cycles of the virus – the length of time medical experts consider is needed before the virus can be said to be eliminated from the community.

NSW Health's Dr Stephen Conaty described the results as "pleasing" but warned "this does not mean we can drop our guard".

"Cases are present in other states and are regularly being detected among international travellers arriving from overseas," he said.

The state now faces a fresh threat to remaining COVID-free, with its border to Victoria remaining open.

https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1360741809777827842?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Thousands of travellers who flew into Sydney are being tested for coronavirus after potentially being exposed to an infectious cafe worker at Terminal Four of Melbourne Airport.

The person worked at Brunetti Cafe on February 9 between 4.45am and 2pm, Victoria's Department of Health says.

Two new local cases were recorded in Victoria today and a fresh list of potential exposure sites were released.