Solomon Islands

Solomons' leader says country back to being Covid-19 free

The Solomon Star reported 16 of the 20 former positive cases, who had been in isolation, had completed their follow-ups and been released.

Mr Sogavare told the paper the four others remained in isolation pending their follow-up tests and said all cases would be tested again 90 days after their first release into the community.

Sogavare also said the crew member diagnosed with Covid-19 on a gas supply vessel remains isolated on the ship and is not recorded in the Solomons' figures.

Solomon Islands family devastated by death of seasonal worker in Australia

Silas Ufiau died when the vehicle he was driving crashed into a campervan in the Bundaberg region of Queensland on Monday morning.

ABC News reports Redley Raramo, a close relative, said Mr Ufiau wanted to go to Australia to earn money to build a home for his wife and young child.

"We see Silas as one of those fortunate to have this opportunity...it's a big blow to our family and community as a whole," he said.

He's the third seasonal worker from the Solomon Islands to die in recent months on the road.

Solomon Islands receives 50,000 doses of a Covid-19 vaccine from China

The Solomon Times reports that the doses of Sinopharm vaccine arrived in Honiara on Sunday night.

The Sinopharm vaccine, which was developed by a Beijing-based State-Owned Enterprise, is yet to be approved by the World Health Organisation.

But the Solomons government said it would closely monitor the WHO's approval process relating to Sinopharm.

A Health Ministry official said the Sinopharm vaccine will only be rolled out once WHO approves it.

Solomons PM confirms Covid-19 border quarantine case

A foreign national who travelled from Papua New Guinea via Brisbane tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Honiara on Friday.

According to PM Sogavare, the traveler arrived on a ‘high risk flight from Brisbane.’

He said the passenger returned three negative tests prior to departing PNG.

Solomons vaccine rollout to begin Wednesday

At the weekend, 24-thousand doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, supplied through Covax facility, arrived in the Solomons.

The country's prime minister Manasseh Sogavare, gave a national update confirming the rollout will launch at the central field hospital which he said was best equipped for mass vaccinations.

He urged all people over eighteen years of age to get vaccinated when a health team comes to their area.

Solomons Cabinet approves Facebook ban

A submission for the ban was said to be brought to Cabinet by the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Communication and Civil Aviation Minister Peter Shanel Agovaka.

Agovaka told Solomon Times Online (STO) that this temporary ban was made because of the controversial issues raised via Facebook.

“Abusive languages against Ministers, Prime Minister, character assassination, defamation of character, all these are issues of concerns”, Agovaka said.

More Covid-19 cases recorded in Solomon Islands

The Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said all five cases involved passengers on a recent repatriation flight connecting through Auckland in New Zealand.

Sogavare said four of the people who tested positive were local footballers returning from the United Kingdom and the fifth person was a Korean national.

Pacific Games Stadium in Solomon Islands a step closer

A number of projects funded by China were scheduled to get underway this year, including the construction of a national stadium in Honiara, before the Covid-19 pandemic led to the closure of borders and travel restrictions.

The Solomons government said the construction of new venues for the Games was back on track, with a design team from China working with local authorities.

The project includes a 10,000-seat national stadium, an aquatic centre, a six-court tennis centre and a full-sized track and field venue.

Solomon Islands has first case of Covid-19

The case was a student who had been repatriated from the Philippines earlier in the week.

He tested positive upon arrival, despite passing three earlier tests before departure while awaiting his flight.

The student, who was asymptomatic, was now in isolation with two other close contacts.

Front-line staff were also being assessed.

When announcing the case, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said the preparedness and response measures the government had worked on implementing over the past eight months had now been activated.

Two die in Solomon Islands bomb blast

   Police said the two, an Australian and a British citizen, were working for a Norwegian aid agency conducting a survey on unexploded ordnance.

The agency has named them as Trent Lee and Stephen Atkinson.

Inspector Clifford Tunuki said police were working overnight to clear the site of the explosion, which took place in a residential area in west Honiara.

Investigators will try to determine why explosives were present at a block of residential flats, which also serve as the project office.