Grant Robertson: It's up to everyone to shut down Covid-19 rumours

Finance Minister Grant Robertson has urged everyone to take responsibility for false rumours about the Covid-19 outbreak. A popular rumour that a member of the family at the centre of the new cluster had supposedly entered a managed isolation facility gained traction on social media. Last night, the Covid-19 response team tweeted: "There is no evidence to support this." Robertson told The Weekend Collective it is up to everyone to stop the rumours spreading. "There is a level of responsibility that we've all got here. There is free speech in New Zealand, we have to protect that, but at the same time, we have personal responsibility to think about how we use that right." He says that a decision will come out of Cabinet tomorrow on extensions to the wage subsidy. The scheme will be extended nationwide to protect jobs, it was announced on Friday, as lockdown restrictions continue in Auckland until August 26th. Robertson says that we won't necessarily move to level 3 regionally every time there is a Covid flare-up, but says it is a "horses for courses" situation. The decision was taken for Auckland due to what a significant contributor it plays in the economy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.