COVID-19

The country has been battling a low-level outbreak on Viti Levu, with two more community cases confirmed on Monday taking the total to over 30.

There are also more than 15 cases in managed isolation while four are being investigated over their source of transmission.

Arrivals from all countries had been banned since 22 April, and Health secretary Dr James Fong said he could not see this ending soon.

But Dr Fong told a media conference the only exceptions were Fijians travelling for medical procedures and those with special approval granted by the Health Ministry.

The prime minister is resisting the move due to the economic impact.

India added more than 355,000 cases on Tuesday, down from more than 400,000 daily infections on 30 April.

The government says cases are "slowing down", but testing numbers have also dipped, meaning the true caseload could be far higher.

Confirmed infection numbers have however been consistently falling in Maharashtra state, which has driven the second wave since early April.

Hospitals in the city are in crisis, with intensive care beds full and an acute shortage of medical oxygen.

Delhi's government wants the army to run Covid care facilities and intensive care units.

Across India, case numbers since the start of the outbreak are closing in on 20 million.

The country has seen more than 300,000 new cases a day for nearly two weeks straight while deaths stand at 220,000.

Experts say total Covid cases and deaths in India are likely to be much higher, citing lack of testing and patients dying at home without being seen by doctors.

While our health workers have been rightfully recognised as ‘frontliners’ in the fight against COVID19, the critical frontline efforts of our media workers in bringing much-needed information and news to our people has been largely forgotten.

Fijians woke today to the lifting of a snap-lockdown imposed since Saturday in Suva and surrounding towns after dozens of community cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the community.

While there were no new cases of the virus overnight, the Health Ministry is urging the public to not let their guard down.

Health Secretary Dr James Fong said since 4am local time, the Suva-Nausori lockdown zone will revert into two separate containment areas.

He said this meant that within these containment areas, only movement for essential purposes may resume.

The health ministry said the ruling had been made "based on the proportion of people in quarantine who have acquired a Covid-19 infection in India".

Earlier this week, Australia banned all flights from India.

There are an estimated 9,000 Australians in India, 600 of whom are classed as vulnerable.

This will be the first time Australians have been criminalised for returning to their country, Australian media report.

One doctor told ABC that the government's move was disproportionate to the threat posed by those returning from India.

Tonga has received 24,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX Facility – a partnership between the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and WHO.

At the same time, WHO is continuing to support Tonga’s public health measures, including vigilance to the threat of an outbreak of COVID-19.

In mid-March, 2.9 metric tonnes of medical supplies from WHO and UNICEF were delivered by the World Food Programme-managed Humanitarian Air Service from Nadi, in Fiji, to Nuku’alofa, in Tonga.

There were 3,001 deaths in 24 hours, after a peak of more than 4,000 was reached at the start of April.

The 14-day average of deaths and cases remains high but has seen a slight fall.

Congress has opened an inquiry into the government's handling of the pandemic.

President Jair Bolsonaro, who has frequently spoken out against lockdowns, masks and defended unproved drugs as treatment, is facing widespread criticism and his support has plummeted.

India reported 379,257 new infections on Thursday, the world's highest single-day total.

The US embassy warned that "access to all types of medical care is becoming severely limited".

The level 4 "do not travel" advisory is the highest of its kind issued by the Department of State.

The overall death toll in India officially surpassed 200,000 on Wednesday, though experts believe the actual number could be much higher.

In the advisory, US citizens were told "not to travel to India or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so".

The Health Ministry said a 53 year-old caretaker from the town of Rakiraki will require further investigation into his contacts to determine whether he is linked to other Covid-19 patients.

Health Secretary James Fong said the man showed symptoms of the virus when he visited the health centre on Saturday.

Dr Fong said the man is being isolated at Lautoka Hospital.

He said the other latest case is linked to a woman who contracted the virus from her husband, a worker at the MIQ facility in Nadi.