The Labour leader Chris Hipkins has tested positive for COVID-19.
This was revealed a short time ago by his office.
An official in his team says Hipkins has cold and flu symptoms that began yesterday.
A follow up test revealed his infection.
The official says he will be isolating for 5 days or until he returns a negative test.
Anyengagements that he can undertake via zoom will be continued.
Further updates on his schedule will be provided in due course.
Carmel Sepuloni undertook to step in for Hipkins at the launch of the party manifesto.
Other arrangements are expected to be made public later.
36 Comments
Yep, same here. Son brought it with him from overseas - thinks it was the crowded NZ customs area :-).
I did the Paxlovid thing - but my husband (who also got it) couldn't, due to it being contraindicated with other meds he's on. The metallic taste in your mouth is annoying (totally spoils your appetite), but I never got the COVID symptoms like my husband - so, thought it quite worth it.
He was miserable for a long time as his COVID symptoms lingered for nearly two months.
Oddly enough - we were booked in for our third booster the week following going down with it. Bad timing.
Still a lottery isn’t it. Travelled this year USA & Ireland & USA again. 10 weeks in all. As with at home, remain covid free. No more long haul travel for me now, stamina not good enough. Glad got a few boxes ticked though. Covid quite a worry, lungs not so good from a joust with pneumonia some years ago.
Yeah, it's definitely a luck-of-the-draw thing. We've got one more long-haul to visit rellies in the US and that's us for good. Happy to do short-haul Fiji, Aussie and Raro thereafter - and maybe Tahiti on our 50th anniversary, as that's where we met. Glad you ticked off those boxes - hope you enjoyed the US and Ireland!
Sad to say found our old locality in Sth Jersey a lot different than twenty years ago when we lived there. A lot of the fun & good nature seems to have gone out of the society. Things have hardened & toughened up. Talking to our old neighbours & friends put it down to Covid & its financial impact, the divisiveness that Trump has compounded but most of all the escalation in drug fuelled crime. Folk are not actually scared out there, but have become much more watchful & defensive. Really glad we got to enjoy great people & times when we had the chance though.
Now that WP/NZF is definitely on the scene, among our social contacts, there is a thought going on move to shore up National, two blue ticks, and that motivation is at the expense of ACT. As well WP’s publicity likely pulling votes from the left, as a perceived handbrake now on the right, and it might well be ACT & NZF end up not that far apart on representation.
Watched Q+A as I like to watch WP being interviewed, but it looked like he had nothing. Couldn't answer questions on his own party policies and was completely owned by Jake Tame. Never seen him like that before. Looks like he's past it and out of touch. Yep, two blue ticks for me now.
Winston has definitely got a bit confused but the interview was a win for him. The people who will vote for him will see it as him giving it to the young "woke" smartie type, that have ruined the country.and of course the mainstream media who are picking on him.
The loser is National, who have to deal with him, and Act, losing votes to him.
I’ve never regarded the staff in our company as leeches. If they are sick they should be supported in getting back to full health. Generally if you treat your staff well they are more loyal and more engaged in their work. They also deserve a summer holiday with their families.
I'll call you out then:
So you would have offered your employees more than 5 days sick leave when the statutory minimum was 5 days?
Why don't you offer them an extra week of annual leave? Make it 5 weeks? Hadn't thought of that.
When we owned a motel we typically paid above market rates and had a great group of cleaners/staff. When the business was sold they put on a morning tea for us. Guess we were miserable pricks.
That worked out well for him
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/487158/prime-minister-gets-flu-and-…
The vagaries of time.
In 2-weeks it would be ‘Ex PM Chris Hipkins has tested positive for COVID-19.’
Despite being a self conceited prick I don’t wish ill on anybody. But it’s a marginal call with this turkey and a relatively innocuous virus. Pity it’s not norovirus.
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