Coronavirus

The country recorded 49,889 cases as of last Sunday.

The minister told Parliament that the next task is to identify people who remain unvaccinated.

“This process has commenced in the greater Suva, Nausori, Sigatoka, Nadi corridor and they have already picked up segments of the population with some in the vulnerable categories who missed out during the initial trial”.

Dr Waqainabete added they want to ensure every Fijian is safe.

The Ministry had earlier said they will not make it mandatory for children to be vaccinated.

New Caledonia has recorded its 25th death since the delta outbreak of Covid-19 began at the beginning of September.

Health officials are reporting about 5000 people a day are receiving their first jab - with long queues of people waiting to be vaccinated in Noumea and the outer islands.

On the outskirts of Noumea in Ko We Kara, a 'vaccine park' has been set up, and people arrive from six in the morning to register, while in the Loyalty Islands and the North vaccination is possible seven days a week without an appointment at dispensaries.

Lawmakers last month passed legislation making vaccination against Covid-19 compulsory for anyone dealing with the public and individuals deemed to be vulnerable.

They have been given two months to be inoculated or risk a fine of $US1,700 and a suspension of their work contracts.

Legal challenges are being mounted in both French Polynesia and in France's highest court to quash the law adopted in Tahiti.

The new law will come into force on 23 October.

The Moderna vaccine will be used in the rollout that begins on Monday.

Health Secretary James Fong said the Moderna vaccine would be rolled out by school clusters across the country.

Dr Fong said unlike the workforce, vaccination for children would only be conducted with the consent of parents or guardians.

Parents and guardians will need to sign a consent form for their children to receive the vaccine, he said.

He said parents could register their child online through the Vaccine Registry Portal which is available from this weekend.

The positive case was a passenger who arrived on the September 13 flight from Hawaii according to Department of health officials.

The passenger is now in isolation for 14-days for observation and additional tests.

This was confirmed by the territory's acting governor Talauega Eleasalo Ale, during a press conference, where he was surrounded by health officials.

On Thursday, seven deaths from COVID-19 were recorded, the heaviest daily toll since the discovery of the first indigenous cases of the disease on September 6.

It brings the death toll to 24 since September 6, announced by President Louis Mapou, during a joint speech with the French High Commissioner, Patrice Faure.

A total of 211 people are in hospital, including 29 in intensive care.

There are 50 people in intensive care and this is why the state has chartered an aircraft to fly the patients to Paris.

Another two people have died in the past day, and 167 people are hospitalised.

This takes the death toll to 585 since COVID-19 first hit.

The figures have come down over the past week and La Premier Polynesie website reports this has prompted the government to announce that from Monday some restrictions on movement will be lifted.

New Caledonia

Meanwhile in New Caledonia the pandemic is worsening.

The Ministry of Health’s Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong said 69 cases are from the Western Division, 68 cases from the Central and nine cases from the Eastern Division.

There was one lone COVID-19 death reported.

A 93-year-old unvaccinated man from Suva died at home.

Dr Fong said there have been eight more deaths of positive patients classified as non-COVID deaths.

There have been 217 new recoveries since the last update and there are currently 12,870 active cases in the country.

In a statement, Judge Deborah Marshall said she had been aware of "ongoing speculation" about the cause of death surrounding the teenager.

"Based on the information available to date, it does not appear that the death in question is linked to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine," she said.

"However, this issue will be investigated carefully by the coroner and pertinent information will be requested from various agencies, including the COVID-19 Vaccination Independent Safety Monitoring Board."

Official government figures as of Tuesday show 4 deaths and 1,150 confirmed cases of COVID-19 recorded since 6 September.

Up until then there had been no COVID-19 deaths in the French Territory and only 136 infections recorded during two previous outbreaks.

There were 329 new cases reported in the 24 hours leading up to Tuesday and 15 people with the virus are in intensive care.

A curfew between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. has been put in place until midnight on Monday, 27 September.