The New Zealand Cabinet will meet on Monday to decide whether restrictions can be eased allowing domestic travel to restart and most businesses to open. There have been four new recorded infections in the past five days, and 90 percent of approximately 1500 confirmed or probable cases, have recovered from the virus. As the New Zealand and Australian economies reopen, a Trans-Tasman travel bubble could emerge as a serious possibility, if both nations continue to effectively flatten their coronavirus curves. Image: Associated Press

THERE are fears of a Ross River virus outbreak on the Gold Coast as infection numbers spike amid a mosquito ­invasion.

AGAINST the sad backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, we are discovering – or rediscovering – the pleasure of spending time with family, baking, watching TV and life without gym. The Bulletin asked a few Gold Coast celebs about their life in ‘iso’ and what they are looking forward to when social distancing restrictions are lifted.

THE star in the car was Clint Eastwood who came to town, not on a horse,

Erin Molan will never forget her very first day working at the Nine Network. As she sat in the newsroom, intimidated by the powerful environment, a young reporter who was doing her first live cross came up on the television screen.

For anyone wondering where Kim Kardashian has been (believe it or not, she hasn’t been photographed outside her house in a few months) – it seems the paparazzi ‘found’ her in this glittery maroon bikini outside her rented home in Malibu this week.

It’s the same story whether you’re a celeb or a pleb - we’re all getting on each other’s nerves in lockdown. And it’s the same story for Kim and Kanye.

Mercury Prize-nominated rapper Ty has died of coronavirus.

Model Jesinta Franklin will today celebrate being a mother for the first time.

Simon Rakoff and Sean Cullen offer their dinner-most thoughts when they compare plates to bowls. Then, Michelle Shaughnessy and Deborah Kimmett offer bold and beautiful arguments in their debate on soap operas.

Why the Wet'suwet'en protests are about more than pipelines, how climate change could make viral outbreaks more common, the worst Sonic the Hedgehog games, why professional pianists fear moving their pianos, the fan who tracked every pitch in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal, a lawsuit alleges vaping giant Juul targeted kids, how Saudi Arabia is using the art world to project openness and more.

Unpacking the political significance of Teck's Frontier Mine, why lack of supports might push people with disabilities towards medical assistance in dying, concern for refugees as COVID-19 spreads, the weird and wonderful moments of Major League Soccer in the 1990s, WIlson Cruz on playing Rickie Vasquez on My So-Called Life, the story of the first drag queen and more.

Doctors on the COVID-19 frontlines in Italy face stark choices, how Canada would fare if we faced a spike in coronavirus cases, sports leagues suspend their seasons, the 2011 movie that gets things (mostly) right about pandemics, Canadian comedian Mae Martin's new show Feel Good and more.

COVID-19 survivor David Lat, American band Thursday turns merch into face masks, how hydroxychloroquine shortages hurt people with lupus, turning shipping containers into portable intensive care units, a run on puzzles amidst the pandemic, how advertisers are adapting to the coronavirus and more.

Activist who said nursing homes were dangerous says COVID-19 proves them right; the pandemic upends the fashion industry; Marc Maron on politics, self-doubt and his new comedy special; Sarah Kurchak on her new memoir about living with autism; John Hodgman and Elliott Kalan on their I, Claudius-inspired podcast and more.

Grieving amidst a pandemic in Nova Scotia, a survivor of L'Ecole Polytechnique reflects on trauma and healing, The Last Dance lionizes Michael Jordan's last championship run, Becky Toyne's isloation reading list, Denmark's national museum documents daily life during a pandemic, Never Rarely Sometimes Always director Eliza Hittman and more.

Communication has changed thanks to our use of digital and mobile tools. From emojis and abbreviations to how we talk to our virtual assistants, how do we talk to each other today?

Everything we do is analyzed, measured, and quantified to create a model of us online, which then tries to influence our behavour. But how accurate is our quantified self?

This week on Spark, we speak with Martin Rees, the U.K.’s astronomer royal and author of On The Future: Prospects for Humanity, about the challenges humanity will face in the future, and how we might harness technology to tackle them.

Online tools for divorce and co-parenting aim to keep the process amicable and inexpensive. These digital resources are part of a broader move to open up divorce to less adversarial conflict resolution methods like mediation, coaching and collaborative law.

Working and studying from home mean much more time spent in front of screens, which we counterbalance with hands-on activities. Dr. Christine Law offers tips for managing eye strain from extra screen time; and neuroscientist Victoria Abraira explains why touch is so important to us as social beings.

Today on q: author Margaret Atwood, filmmaker Ingrid Veninger, artist and author Douglas Coupland, hip hop veteran Sophia Chang.

Quebec couple talk about falling in love when they speak different languages, Me of the deeps perform at Cape Breton high school basketball tourney and renewed campaign to make motorists stop for school buses after death of five year old twenty years ago.

Winnipeg neighbourhood with no grocery stores has shuttle to take residents to shop, Ste-Hyacinthe family finds grasshopper in salad mix and Nova Scotia photographers capture Atlantic salmon spawning.

Edmonton father and son describes how son is recovering from vicious random attack, Grade three car lover goes to Auto Show, Sudbury teen pursues acting career and overcomes bullying and Orleans Ontario teen wins 100K Loran prize.

Kamloops family three generations in rock blasting business, man with stage four melanoma does fund raising run across Lake Winnipeg and Ontario Mobile Crisis Response team might lose funding.

Scurvy in modern Canada, snake venom sans snakes and hot food tolerance

COVID threatens mountain gorillas and these boots were made for running

Sometimes, small brands manage to outsmart their giant counterparts. And this tiny soda brand has done it for over a century. Goliath, meet David.

Sports teams can’t always count on winning games. That means marketing becomes the other player on the roster. A lesson the Toronto Raptors took straight to the bank.

It may have been the 1700s, but the early days of the classified ads were surprisingly relatable.

The word “airport” is also code for the word “brand.” Believe it or not, airports compete heavily for airlines, passengers and retail sales. As a result, airports have redesigned themselves to become highly competitive brands.

There was a time when the only weddings we saw were the ones we attended. But in today’s social media world, we see thousands of weddings, from every imaginable angle.

The famous repeating Meow Mix jingle is one of the most memorable jingles of all time. A fact the CIA uses to their advantage.

This week on The House, we look at the Trudeau government's quest for answers after the downing of UIA Flight PS752. Plus, interviews with: a former bureaucrat who helped close Canada's embassy in Iran; a legal scholar on the dispute between the Wet’suwet’en people and Coastal GasLink; a Venezuelan opposition leader on the unrest in her country; and a debate on monarchy vs. republicanism.

Justice Minister David Lametti says he thinks Canadians want more access to medical assistance in dying following a court ruling that struck down provisions limiting it to people whose death is near. That’s the theme he says is emerging from the responses of nearly 300,000 Canadians to an online questionnaire that ended Jan. 27 — the largest number of responses the department has ever received during a public consultation.

As the people Canada flew out of Wuhan, China, settle into their second day of a two-week quarantine at a Canadian military base, the debate over whether they pose a real risk of spreading the novel coronavirus here is heating up.

Thirty years after she was wounded during the clash between soldiers and Mohawk activists at Oka, Que., ex-Olympian Waneek Horn-Miller reflects on how the country has changed — and how the rail blockade crisis could end badly.

Testing Canadians for immunity to the novel coronavirus — and issuing passes to those immune to the disease — could be a stepping stone to fully reopening the country’s economy, an Ottawa-area physician says.

We learn about a new movement to remove all pets from British Columbia’s classrooms, we meet Canada’s whistling champion, and we explore the working conditions of app workers.

This week: We hear from the spokesperson for secret pilot project that’s been housing Nova Scotia inmates in unused condominiums, we talk with the CBC Radio One historian, and we travel to Saskatoon to meet the paramedics behind the silly siren. Plus, we make a very serious announcement.

After librarian Dorothy Shunt finds an old letter written to Santa hidden inside an encyclopedia, she becomes compelled to find its author. When she discovers that the letter was in fact written over 30 years ago by a boy with a wish, the story then becomes much more than just about a letter and a librarian.

This week: For our last episode ever, we’re performing live from the Broadway Theatre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and improvising the entire show from audience suggestions

Leona Godin reflects on the strange symmetry between discovering punk rock and losing her eyesight as a girl. And agnostic Richard Kelly Kemick recounts his summer playing Herod among a cast of believers in the Badlands of Alberta.

Bina Venkataraman, author of The Optimist’s Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age, studies the art of looking ahead for solutions during dangerous times. It's a skill she honed while working on the Ebola Task Force for former U.S. president Barack Obama.

Monsignor John Armitage talks about Christians in England rededicating their country to Mary; and whenever Talia Lavin sees U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, she sees a zaydie, the Yiddish word for grandfather.

Tapestry launches its Soundtrack for the Soul, a collection of songs to lift your spirits and calm your nerves during the COVID-19 pandemic; and rabbi Denise Handlarski leads SecularSynagogue.com, an online Jewish community.

The Russian-born choreographer spoke with Eleanor Wachtel about training as a young dancer in St. Petersburg and getting his start at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

The Russian-American journalist, author, translator and activist spoke with Eleanor Wachtel about the abuse of power and rise of modern totalitarianism.

Dr. Goldman talks to 'the germ guy', Jason Tetro. They cover: How to don and doff a mask. The best material for making masks. Should a mask cover your nose? Can hospitals clean masks?  Should you worry about take-out food? Should you share homemade food? Does heat kill the virus on food? Do you need to disinfect every item from the store? Is it safe to handle money? What about pin pads?  Do gloves protect you from anything?