Coronavirus

They chartered two planes, loaded them up with facemasks, and had them flown here from Shanghai in China.

An Air New Zealand Dreamliner touched down at Christchurch Airport on Saturday morning.

On board was a cargo hold full of personal protective equipment (PPE).

"These are bfN98 surgical masks that will be distributed to the CDHB [Canterbury District Health Board] on Monday," says Interbuild Products director Nick Ash.

Ash has a business importing building supplies from around the world.

Now Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez aims to relax the rule on 27 April so they can "get some fresh air".

Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, who has young children herself, this week pleaded with the government to allow children outside.

Spain has seen more than 20,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic and almost 200,000 reported cases.

In a televised briefing on Saturday evening, Mr Sánchez said Spain had left behind "the most extreme moments and contained the brutal onslaught of the pandemic".

Starting last night's address to the nation, Prime Minister Henry Puna thanked God for giving people courage and strength during the country's greatest threat in modern history.

He said hundreds of Covid-19 tests taken in the Cook Islands had come back negative, and the country can officially be confirmed as a Covid-free zone - one of the first nations in the world to do so.

This means some of the more restrictive Code Yellow measures introduced in late March to stop the virus, will now be eased.

UN officials also say it is likely the pandemic will kill at least 300,000 people in Africa and push nearly 30 million into poverty.

The past week in Africa has seen a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.

There have been almost 1000 deaths and almost 19,000 infections across Africa, so far much lower rates than in parts of Europe and the US.

The UN Economic Commission for Africa - which warned 300,000 could die - called for a $US100bn ($NZ166bn) safety net for the continent, including halting external debt payments.

There are no suspected cases in the country.

All the cases on quarantine have now been cleared.

According to the advisory, in spite of COVID-19 free status, the high rate of Non-Communicable Diseases in Tonga, a developing health system, lack of ICU beds and ventilators, heavy reliant on import, the nature and culture (community oriented with extended family ties) will amplify the impact of COVID-19 if it is imported into the country.

Tonga continues to remain in national ‘State of Emergency’ which is effective until 17 April unless renewed otherwise.

"We have just come too far, we've lost too many loved ones, we've already sacrificed far too much to ease up now, especially when we are beginning to see the evidence that our efforts are starting to pay off," Raab told reporters.

Raab is deputising while Prime Minister Boris Johnson recuperates from Covid-19 complications that nearly cost him his life.

There are now seven confirmed coronavirus cases in PNG.

One of the new cases had been confirmed by the Emergency Controller, Police Commissioner David Manning, yesterday.

Prime Minister, James Marape said the seven people who have contracted the disease are all well.

"This includes the, first imported case, a male adult Australian mine employee who is now in Australia who have recovered. And the second local in the East New Britain Province."

He said all the new cases were consistently positive after repeated tests.

According to the New Zealand High Commission in Tonga, 200 passengers boarded the return flight to Auckland.

All passengers arriving in Auckland are required to comply with health screening and go into managed isolation.

The flight, a weekly scheduled Air New Zealand service, received an exemption from the current flight diversion order.

Peter Lund, Deputy High Commissioner went out to see the flight and the New Zealanders and foreign nationals on it off on their journey.

On March 21 – as coronavirus shook the globe – flights from Tonga to Fiji and New Zealand were abruptly canceled with no prior alerts or notifications, Americans on the island claim, leaving hundreds of people stranded with no way home.

"We are aware of four full flights out that were abruptly canceled, (people) on them had been confirming throughout the week, and everyone was taken by sudden surprise when they (were not allowed to board)," Dr. Jason Weeks, a U.S.-based physician attempting to coordinate options for getting Americans home to their families, told Fox News.

A group working against domestic violence in Tahiti has raised its concerns in a letter to the president Edouard Fritch and the French High Commissioner Dominique Sorain, saying the ban has unintended consequences.

After widespread partying in defiance of restrictions, the sale of alcohol was stopped in late March for two weeks but the ban has been extended until the end of the curfew on 29 April.

The ban was also justified as a measure to reduce violence within the family.