COVID-19

Asked at a news conference if the global sporting showpiece might still be cancelled, Toshiro Muto said he would keep an eye on infection numbers and liaise with other organisers if necessary.

"We will continue discussions if there is a spike in cases," Muto said.

"We have agreed that based on the coronavirus situation, we will convene five-party talks again. At this point, the coronavirus cases may rise or fall, so we will think about what we should do when the situation arises."

NSW recorded 78 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm yesterday, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian saying 21 were infectious while in the community and eight were in isolation for part of their infectious period.

The isolation status of 12 cases remains under investigation.

Some 63,000 tests were done in the past day and they picked up cases in people who were not symptomatic, something the premier said was good news.

The Ministry of Health’s Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong confirmed 13 new COVID-19 deaths for the period of 14th July to 17th July.

Most of these deaths are elderly people, the eldest being 88-year-old woman who was not vaccinated. The youngest was a 49-year old man who was not fully vaccinated.

From this list of new deaths, seven were women and six were men.

There have now been 98 deaths due to COVID-19, with 96 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.

Due to the increasing widespread transmission of COVID-19 disease across Viti Levu, pregnant women are at a higher risk of contracting the virus which may cause severe illness, the ministry said.

“As a result, these women are prioritised for receiving the Moderna vaccines that provide earlier protection against the disease due to its shorter interval period of 28 days between the first and the second dose.”

Waddell confirmed no Kiwi athletes were being considered close contacts.

New Zealand's presence in the Olympic Athletes Village in Tokyo has swelled by more than 150 following the arrival of swimmers, boxers, rowers and hockey players yesterday.

It coincided with a second case of Covid-19 being identified elsewhere in the village.

Games organisers won't say who has contracted the virus, other than that both cases are from the same team and sport.

There have been five new COVID-19 deaths for the period of 13th July to 16th July.

There have now been 85 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 83 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.

We also have recorded 34 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.

There have been 159 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 12,975 active cases.

It's the second highest number of daily new infections since the outbreak began on June 16, prompting Premier Gladys Berejiklian to announce sweeping changes to the stay-at-home orders affecting Greater Sydney and its surrounds.

From 11.59pm today, people who live in the local government areas (LGA) of Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool will not be allowed to leave those areas for work.

There are several other major changes being made to the lockdowns affecting Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said there are now 18 cases in the state.

"We have 75 exposure sites, 1500 primary close contacts and 5000 secondary close contacts," Andrews said.

"I want to assure all Victorians that our contact tracers and public health experts, all the team are moving faster than they ever have, doing a brilliant job. I am very proud of them and grateful. As fast as they are moving, they are keeping pace with this virus, not getting in front. Unless we get in front, we won't drive these numbers down stop they will ultimately get away from us."

The island, with a population of about 1500, has now vaccinated almost 100 percent of its target group.

Stuff reports a national celebration was held on Tuesday to mark the vaccination milestone.

With Pfizer vaccines supplied by New Zealand, Niue began its vaccination programme on June 1 and vaccinated 97 per cent of the eligible population on the first round.

The second round went smoothly and achieved the same results, with vaccinations completed on July 9.

Niue's government is looking to vaccinate those aged 12-15, once it gets the go-ahead from MedSafe.

According to the Ministry of Health’s Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong, most of the deaths are elderly people.

Six of them are women and four men.

The oldest is a 92-year-old man who was not vaccinated and the youngest is a 42-year-old woman who was not fully vaccinated.

From the current list of deaths, eight are not vaccinated while two have received their first doses of the vaccine.

In the midst of these deaths, Fiji has recorded 634 new cases for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.