Coronavirus

Under the orange setting you must wear a mask in most indoor settings. However, you can visit cafes and bars, attend gatherings and events, and go to gyms and hairdressers with no capacity limits or distancing requirements.

There are to be no changes to rules for case isolation and household contact quarantine requirements - and the next review setting will be in September.

Minister for the Covid-19 Response Dr Ayesha Verrall said significant pressure on hospitals meant current measures were still required.

The latest figure, covering the past week, brings the total number of cases since September 2021 to 70,937.

The death toll remains at 314 - all of them died after the Delta variant entered the community in that same month.

Pandemic-related restrictions have now been lifted.

The cases include a 47-year-old, who had received 3 doses of the vaccine, a 53 year old man, who had received one dose and an unvaccinated 73-year-old man.

There are 119 new cases of Covid-19 where 40 cases have been recorded in the Central Division, 69 cases in the Western Division and 10 cases in the Northern Division.

There are 288 active cases in the country.

Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary, Dr James Fong has urged everyone to stay up to date with their Covid-19 vaccination, and in particular adults over the age of 50.

The 79-year-old first contracted the virus on 21 July, when he was revealed to be experiencing mild symptoms.

On Saturday Mr Biden said he was not experiencing symptoms but would isolate "for the safety of everyone around me".

The president had tested negative for the virus four times between Tuesday and Friday last week.

In a letter describing the situation, Mr Biden's physician Dr Kevin O'Connor said there was no need to resume treatment but the president would remain under "close observation".

Up until now the country has not experienced a case of the virus in the community, while there have been just 30 cases recorded at the border.

The acting Premier and Minister of Health, Sauni Tongatule, says contact tracing began immediately after the cases were detected and all affected people are being contacted by Niue's health officials.

Earlier this week Niue was able to announce that the number of workers in its Covid-19 teams had increased after assistance from a New Zealand medical team.

Jiangxia district residents have been ordered to stay inside their homes or compounds for three days after four asymptomatic Covid cases were detected.

China follows a "zero Covid" strategy, including mass testing, strict isolation rules and local lockdowns.

This has resulted in far fewer deaths than in many other countries.

But the strategy is facing growing opposition as people and businesses continue to face the strain of restrictions.

In Wuhan, a city of 12 million people, regular testing uncovered two asymptomatic cases two days ago.

Researchers have conducted their second "serosurvey", testing blood donations for the presence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, to find the prevalence of infection had almost tripled since late February when it was estimated to be 17 per cent.

Kirby Institute senior research fellow Dr Dorothy Machalek said while the results revealed there was a "huge amount" of community transmission, it was not a surprise.

The news was released as part of a campaign to increase vaccination rates, especially of boosters.

The deputy head of China's National Health Commission, Zeng Yixin, said it showed the leadership's confidence in the Chinese vaccines.

Health information about these figures is not usually shared with the public.

Mr Zeng said the country's leaders had "all taken the home-grown Covid-19 vaccination jabs".

Biden, 79, has a runny nose, fatigue and an occasional dry cough, symptoms which he began to experience late on Wednesday, White House physician Kevin O'Connor said in a note released on Thursday.

Biden has begun taking the antiviral treatment Paxlovid, O'Connor said.

"He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The tunoa was imposed on the family of four by the Taupulega, or council, on Nukunonu, one of the three atolls that make up Tokelau.

The New Zealand dependency with a population of about 1500 has had no cases of Covid-19 since the global pandemic began in early 2020, according to the World Health Organisation.

However, there are strict protocols in place to prevent the spread of the virus.