Coronavirus

In an interview with the Government Information Office, President Lionel Aingimea said they have the machines but are waiting for the test kits.

“Once the test kits are here we will then be able to finally do our sample tests. At the moment we cannot do it because we do not have our test kits

He said the kits are currently in Brisbane and it is a matter of getting them on the plane and bringing them to Nauru.

“Even the two largest economies in the region, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, do not have the fiscal space to provide immediate recovery packages for businesses to survive or income support to those facing unemployment,” says former Professor of Economics and Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of the South Pacific, Biman Chand Prasad.

The actor, in his role as UN ambassador, helped to launch its $40m (£32,2m) International Fund for Agricultural Development on Monday.

The fund is intended to help support farmers and food producers in rural areas globally during the pandemic.

"It is about food," the Luther star told BBC News.

"It is about the basic necessity for human beings, and that will run out if the farmers can't farm."

Idris, and his wife, model and fellow activist Sabrina Dhowre Elba, have been quarantined in their London home since last month, having tested positive for coronavirus.

The billionaire Virgin Group boss said in an open letter to staff he was not asking for a handout, but a commercial loan, believed to be £500m ($NZ1bn).

The airline's survival was in doubt, and his Necker Island home in the Caribbean could be mortgaged, he said.

It comes as Virgin Group's airline in Australia faces administration.

Both airlines have been hit hard by the global coronavirus lockdown, and Sir Richard has appealed to governments in both countries for help.

According to the latest briefing by President Lionel Aingimea, there are no cases of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 in the country.

In an interview with the Government Information Office (GIO), President Aingimea said it will not take the coronavirus a week or two to be completely gone.

He said it will take longer as winter and the flu season is settling in countries like New Zealand and it will be a long battle.

According to President Aingimea, those travellers who are in quarantine at the Budapest and Menen hotels are doing well.

A host of big names performed from home on the US broadcast earlier, before more British stars were added to the line-up for a UK edition on BBC One.

The event aimed to celebrate healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards said NHS staff and other key workers "all deserve such a huge thank you".

The girl group were among the UK acts who took part in the British version of the concert on Sunday, along with Rag 'N' Bone Man, George the Poet and The Kingdom Choir.

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.