Some restrictions eased

Lockdown eased in most of Tonga from today

Shops, banks and petrol stations will be now be allowed to open over the next two weeks.

A night time curfew remains in place and the general population is still required to self-isolate, with movement restricted to food shopping, farming and getting medical treatment.

The Ha'apai group of islands will remain in hard lockdown after a Covid outbreak was detected there earlier this week.

The latest update from Tonga's Ministry of Health showed a slight decline in Covid numbers.

As of Friday, the Ministry of Health said there were 1,979 active cases.

PNG loosens some of the rules around Covid

There have not been recent public revelations of the numbers of Covid cases and deaths, but at least 639 fatalities have been recorded.

From today the need for booster shots to reach fully vaccinated status are dropped - two doses will suffice.

People arriving by boat, including cruise ships, will no longer require tests within 72 hours of boarding, but they have to be fully vaccinated and will be tested on arrival.

People arriving by air, internationally or domestically, must be fully vaccinated unless they are PNG citizens or permanent residents.