COVID-19

The country closed its border and order the cancellation of all inbound and outbound flights last month, in a bid to prevent Covid-19 entering.

Some exceptions on border entry have been made for repatriation and humanitarian flights.

The government yesterday decided that the border closure will be extended until mid-June.

However, restrictions on movement and gatherings in the kingdom have been relaxed, with schools reopening this week.

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.

The OFC Executive Committee unanimously approved funding to it's 11 Member Associations to help reduce the impact of Covid-19, with each Association eligible to apply for up to NZ$50,000.

The grant, which is part of the OFC FIFA FORWARD funding, had been designed to cover four key areas, including food and hygiene packets, loss of income, medical allowances and self-isolation costs.

The Solidarity Fund would also provide assistance to those countries that were directly affected by the category five Cyclone Harold during the pandemic.

Digicel team led by the Chief Executive, Anthony Seuseu presented the team with recharge cards and Umbrellas to assist in their visitations enabling the team to stay connected during this time. 

This support to our front liners is essential as they gone beyond the call of duty to assist the public in minimizing risks around Coronavirus. 

In addition to this, the team at Digicel are ensuring that their services are continued during this lock down period as connectivity for customers are a priority to allow them staying in touch with family and friends. 

Dean of Pasifika at the Auckland Medical School, Colin Tukuitonga, who previously headed the Pacific Community, said people can use the isolation to achieve some personal good.

He said given the rampant levels of non-communicable disease in the Pacific, if people were to turn back to their more traditional foods, instead of relying on processed, sweetened, unhealthy imports, the impact could be huge.

Dr Tukuitonga said with borders closed now's a good to reset and look at developing and growing more healthy foods locally.

Earlybird voter Linda Uan said there was handshaking and smiles as voters left the booth in her area.

She was part of a small lineup of less than a dozen voters as the booth she joined opened at 7am this morning.

Ms Uan said despite health warnings all weekend, including recommendations of social distancing and good hygiene, there was nothing different from the last elections.

She said people seemed to be more excited about exercising their right to vote rather than feeling nervous or fearful of the threat of Covid-19.

Jenny McGee, along with Luis Pitarma from Portugal, was praised by the PM for standing at his bedside "when things could have gone either way".

Ms McGee's parents told Television New Zealand they are "exceptionally proud".

They said she treated Mr Johnson like any other patient.

Mr Johnson was discharged from St Thomas' Hospital in London on Sunday, one week after being admitted to be treated for coronavirus. He spent several nights in the intensive care unit where he was given oxygen.

The exemption which came into force on April 6 was put in place for two months amid Covid-19 crisis and will end on 30 June 2020.

The Ministry’s CEO Kelemete Vahe said he understood most overseas countries were on lockdown but for those who could have a chance to send goods to Tonga this was an opportunity for them.

The revelation was made during a press conference on Thursday last week in which the government announced an economic and social stimulus package worth TOP$60 million to help the country through the impacts of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

They hope to initially help third-party contact-tracing apps run efficiently.

But ultimately, they aim to do away with the need to download dedicated apps, to encourage the practice.

The two companies believe their approach - designed to keep users, whose participation would be voluntary, anonymous - addresses privacy concerns.

Their contact-tracing method would work by using a smartphone's Bluetooth signals to determine to whom the owner had recently been in proximity for long enough to have established contagion a risk.

The entertainer, best known as one third of the popular 1970s show The Goodies, and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, died on Sunday.

Goodies co-star Bill Oddie called him a "true visual comic and a great friend".

The third member of the trio, Graeme Garden, said he was "terribly saddened by the loss of a dear colleague and close friend of over 50 years".

"He was a funny, sociable, generous man who was a delight to work with. Audiences found him not only hilarious but also adorable."