The seven day rolling average of community cases is 17,921. Video / NZ Herald
John Campbell, Hilary Barry and Matty McLean, Kanoa Lloyd and Jesse Mulligan: these are just some of the cheery faces that beam into our living rooms morning and night, bringing us the news of the day and the weather ahead, all peppered with warm smiles and some light relief.
But how is Covid impacting the carefully selected combos of New Zealand news anchors and presenters and what's planned should these famous faces be unable to keep bringing Kiwis their television news?
Overnight TVNZ deputy political editor Maiki Sherman shared on Twitter that she and her whānau are Covid-positive.
Celebrating 34 years of age today with my entire whānau covid positive and māmā making everyone dress up for a birthday photo because albums are forever and this is a moment!
And following TVNZ Breakfast's Jenny-May Clarkson being off-air last month after potential contact with a positive Covid-19 case, her more recent absence prompted speculation she had indeed contracted the virus. However, according to her Instagram, it appears she's on a family holiday rather than in Covid-induced isolation.
Breakfast host Jenny-May Clarkson is enjoying some time out on a family holiday. Photo / Instagram
A spokesperson for TVNZ says, like many Kiwi organisations, they are feeling the impact of Covid but "at this stage", aren't down on presenter numbers.
"Under previous lockdowns we operated a split team system for our newsroom. Since Aotearoa moved into the Red traffic light setting our teams have come together and we are using regular testing, masking and social distancing alongside robust health and safety protocols, to keep our people safe."
Asked if there's a chance some old favourite faces may be waiting in the wings, the spokesperson told the Herald the company is "fortunate" to have several presenters who work across numerous programmes and are "very used to covering for each other, which allows presenters to travel for certain stories or take scheduled holidays".
A spokesperson for Discovery, which owns Three and Newshub, told the Herald its business has not been immune to the "unprecedented disruption" of Covid and that "strict policies" are in place "to ensure we keep our people safe and continue to be a trusted source of information during this critical time.
"News reporting is an essential service. It's vital that the Newshub team continues to provide coverage to New Zealand of Covid-related breaking news stories and the impact on affected communities."
Last year, during the August Delta outbreak, Seven Sharp's Hilary Barry was off-air after MC-ing an event linked to a positive Covid-19 case.
Barry was the celebrity MC at a Mitre 10 events dinner at Spark Arena which saw almost 1000 people deemed close contacts after a bar worker tested positive for Covid-19.
At the time, Barry said she arrived at TVNZ before being told someone at the event had since tested positive.
She said she felt "fine . . . a box of birds".
Prior to Barry's brief appearance on Seven Sharp - talking from her house - co-host Jeremy Wells had told viewers that he was flying solo as Barry had "to leave in a hurry".
Yesterday there were 17,522 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, the Ministry of Health reported.
There are 192,492 active community cases in total. Active cases are those that were identified in the past 10 days and are not yet classed as recovered.
