Coronavirus

It comes amid concerns raised by the Health Ministry and the public at the rate of children dying from the virus in Fiji.

So far about 10 young people have succumbed to the Delta variant, with the latest victims a six-month-old boy and an 11-year-old girl among the dead reported last weekend.

Fiji's chief medical advisor Dr Jemesa Tudravu said vaccinating children would also be a crucial factor in deciding when schools reopen

Schools have been closed since April this year.

New Caledonia, which closed its borders in March last year, is COVID-19 free but just 32 percent of the population has been vaccinated.

A leading physician Thierry De Greslan told a meeting in Noumea that the number of vaccinated people must be doubled within a month and to achieve this, jabs must be made mandatory.

The head of the employer's federation Mimsy Daly said all medical staff, including pharmacists, should be mobilised to roll out vaccines every day as to give the territory a chance to deal with the threat.

They say the individual, who had arrived from French Polynesia, has been transferred to the dedicated COVID-19 isolation unit of the main hospital in Noumea.

New Caledonia has been COVID-free since it succeeded to suppress a community outbreak in March with a month-long lockdown.

A government statement said the latest discovery doesn't call into question the need for everyone to be vaccinated to limit the spread of the virus.

Almost 300 COVID-19 patients are in the main hospital in Papeete, with many others being cared for at home because there are no beds left.

Although France and New Caledonia sent some personnel, the hospital says it needs reinforcements as infection rates remain high.

In a post, the hospital reminded Mr Macron of his visit to the hospital in last month when he said they were all part of France and they would all be protected.

Thirty-six of the new cases were in quarantine for the duration of their infectious periods, and 49 of the cases have been linked to existing outbreaks.

State-run clinics administered 35,753 doses of vaccine, bringing the total number of vaccine doses administered to 2,324,198.

There were 55,333 test results received in 24 hours.

Melbourne's western suburbs remain a key area of concern for authorities.

Figures released by the health ministry show 340 COVID-19 patients are in hospital, 55 of them in intensive care.

However, for a second consecutive day the government has withheld test results.

Daily new case numbers were lately more than 1,000 and on last officials count, the tally of the pandemic had breached the 40,000-mark.

So far the pandemic has claimed 370 lives and according to a local epidemiologist, 14 percent of them had been fully vaccinated.

Hospitals are at capacity and additional medical personnel are being brought in from France.

PNG's National Pandemic Response Controller and Police Commissioner, David Manning, alleges India's High Commission in Port Moresby deliberately participated in a deception that resulted in the unauthorised arrivals.

Manning said India broke an agreement on how many passengers were approved for the repatriation flight.

According to him, the proposed repatriation flight from India had been rejected four times due to the risk of Covid-infected arrivals from India

The government has suggested if it runs out of spaces people may have to isolate at home.

COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins yesterday said they can cope with the number of COVID-19 cases New Zealand is seeing over the next week or so but if it continues beyond that decisions will need to be made.

He said that could include investigating whether people who are in New Zealand and get COVID-19 should isolate at home rather than in MIQ facilities.

The total number of cases in the community jumped by 62 yesterday to reach 210.

Fiji has reported 591 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hours to 8am on Monday.

The Government also confirmed six deaths, taking the toll to 444 - 442 of them from this latest outbreak that began in April.

That compares with 303 cases and five deaths in the previous 24-hour period.

Of the latest cases, 498 were recorded in the Western Division, 89 in the Central Division and four cases on remote Kadavu in the east.

Fiji now has 19,062 active cases in isolation.

Health Secretary Dr James Fong said the four new cases on Kadavu were from Namalata Village.

The vaccine had initially been given emergency use authorisation. Its two jabs, three weeks apart, are now fully approved for those aged 16 and older.

The approval is expected to set off more vaccine mandates by employers and organisations across the country.

It comes amid lingering vaccine hesitancy among many Americans.

In a statement, the FDA said its review for approval included data from approximately 44,000 people. The vaccine, which will now be marketed as Comirnaty, was found to be 91% effective in preventing Covid disease.