Nauru

President Lionel Aingimea confirmed the incident involving the nurses at the Meneñ Hotel quarantine residence during his weekly update.

The three nurses were part of a group of people who were repatriated from Fiji last Friday.

A day after arriving in quarantine, two nurses who were already on island visited three of their colleagues in quarantine.

They met at the back of the quarantine facility where it is single fenced and made contact through the fencing.

Despite our negligible contribution to global emissions, our people are uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Rising seas and more frequent extreme weather have left the future of our blue economies in the balance.

As we celebrate World Ocean Day, we reaffirm our intent to conserve and sustainably use the ocean, while also recognising the part it plays in our future economic viability. As states whose history has been shaped by responsible stewardship of the ocean, seabed mining is a welcome and exciting development.

"The project, under the concept of waste minimization, officially started in January, with a poultry and pig farming section to be completed in August," Daniel Lee chief of the Taiwanese technical mission told CNA in a telephone interview Sunday.

Capacity building for crop planting, livestock raising, fertilizer making, and cooking skills will start in June with the goal being to transfer the farm to the Nauru government at the end of 2020 or early 2021, Lee added.

Nauru is one of 15 countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

“The Government of Nauru is implementing a comprehensive reform programme, improving public investment management which will help Nauru sustain a responsible fiscal position and strengthen public service delivery,” said the Regional Director of ADB’s Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office Lotte Schou-Zibell. “This programme builds on the long-term engagement of ADB and Nauru’s other development partners.”

The first repatriation flight was on Tuesday.

According to President, Lionel Aingimea, the second flight is scheduled for Friday to allow those currently in quarantine at the Meneñ Hotel to have their lab tests finalised and the rooms vacated, cleaned and disinfected for the new arrivals from Fiji.

About 140 passengers are expected for both flights.

President Aingimea said, Government-sponsored students were being accommodated at the homes of Nauru High Commission staff in Suva as they waited for the confirmation of the charter flights.

In his weekly briefing Monday, President Lionel Aingimea said the tests will be carried out on Wednesday.

The travelers are currently accommodated at the Meneñ Hotel and Canstruct's Anibare Village.

President Aingimea said the science on COVID-19 is evolving and while there are many expert advice, the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests 5.2 days for the virus to load up in the body and show symptoms. Lab testing is specific to detect viral loading and presence in the body.

They were all cleared early this week and allowed to go home.

Samples were taken from each individual on Sunday and Monday and results were available within 24 hours.

Two machines are now working simultaneously to test samples on island which is a huge advantage for Nauru as it reduces time spent in quarantine. The reduced time in quarantine means the pressure on services such as security, police, health and food provider Canstruct who has provided free meals every day for every resident in quarantine, is alleviated.

Another passenger flight is due in to arrive in Nauru on Friday, 29 May from Brisbane.

In a media briefing, President Lionel Aingimea said all passengers will go through the usual procedure of quarantine and swab testing.

He confirmed that the Government is still in discussions with the Fiji government on the status of the repatriation flight.

Two Nauruans were successfully repatriated from Kiribati via Brisbane, Dr Layana Menke’s internship programme in Kiribati has recommenced and she has since opted to remain in Kiribati to complete her internship.

In a statement, President Lionel Aingimea said this means all tests done on positive and negative samples were all correct.

The President strongly emphasised that no-one on island is positive for the virus.

The positive samples used in the validation testing process were brought in from overseas and contained in a safe enclosure until validation testing for the machines was carried out.

All those samples are harmless and since been removed for the proper testing on crew and quarantine residents which commenced at the weekend.

In his address Friday, President Aingimea reiterated that the individual named Jaxon Olsson, who participated in a drill last week, does not have coronavirus.

Olsson volunteered to assist the Coronavirus Taskforce and the Nauru Police Force in the drill as the main actor.

The drill took place in Ijuw on Thursday, 14 May.

The President thanked Olsson for his role in assisting with the drill.

There are 30 people under quarantine at the Meneñ hotel, including five airline crew and 23 at Canstruct's Anibare Village.