COVID-19

The health policy, which Tiley said reflected what was happening in the wider community, is a marked change from strict protocols which surrounded the tournament over the past two years.

The 2021 tournament took place in a biosecure bubble with spectators shut out for several days after an outbreak of the virus in the community, while last year nine-times champion Novak Djokovic was deported because of his stance on vaccines.

"We just wanted to follow what's currently in the community," Tiley told reporters at Melbourne Park.

The Ministry of Health says the first Covid-19 death is a 64-year- old man from Suva.

He was presented at a health centre on 23 December with pre-existing medical conditions and later tested positive for Covid-19.

FijiVillage reports the Ministry also says he later passed away on the same day.

He was vaccinated with 2 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The Ministry says the second death reported was of a 34-year-old female Tuvaluan citizen living in Fiji since 2018.

She was admitted at the CWM Hospital in Suva with diabetes complications on 6 December.

The BA.2.75 subvariant, is a recently identified second generation subvariant of BA.2, the dominant variant currently circulating in New Zealand.  

Early evidence from overseas suggests BA.2.75 is slightly more transmissible but unlikely to cause severe illness as the previous Delta variant.

PM News reports Dr Helen Petousis-Harris says people need to be sensible and not rely on vaccines doing all the work. 

“You have to also help it out a bit. People who have been vaccinated and had a booster and had an infection have reasonable protection against severe disease.

RNZ Pacific reports there are 169 active cases in the community.

439 cases have been reported in total since March this year.

Photo file 

Passport applications for Chinese citizens wishing to travel internationally will resume from 8 January, the immigration administration said.

It follows an announcement on Monday that ended almost three years of strict quarantine rules for arrivals.

Travel sites have since reported a spike in traffic.

But Chinese tourists will not have unfettered access to all countries.

Reuters reports most cases are asymptomatic infections and mild cases, with no special treatment required, the National Health Commission said in a statement.

"Asymptomatic persons and mild cases can be isolated at home while strengthening health monitoring, and they can transfer to designated hospitals for treatment in a timely manner if their condition worsens," the NHC said.

That takes the active case tally to 66, with three recovered cases.

180 cases have been recorded in total since Covid-19 arrived at the border 'via air from New Zealand' in March this year.

It says the drop is a result of its plant in Zhengzhou, China being affected by coronavirus restrictions.

Compared to October its revenue was 29% down, despite making a record 5.9 trillion New Taiwan Dollars (£160bn) from January to November.

That is an increase of 13.5% compared to the same period in 2021.

The electronics manufacturer, also makes game consoles such as the PlayStation 5, has cited "strong sales" and "better components supply" among the reasons for its growth, and blamed the drop in November on coronavirus restrictions.

Almost half the country's schools resumed in-person classes after more than two years of distance learning.

The Philippines was one of the last few countries to transition back to face-to-face learning after Covid struck.

But some experts say the prolonged suspension of in-person lessons has worsened an education crisis.

Around 24,000 of the country's public schools - or just less than half - will implement five days of face-to-face classes.

But they're not the only ones who have been ordered to get tested: an official notice states that some forms of sealife are also expected to join the latest mass-testing drive.

In recent weeks, Xiamen's Jimei Maritime Pandemic Control district committee issued a notice saying that when fishermen return to their ports "both fishermen and their seafood must be tested".