COVID-19

The figures were reported for the 24 hours to 8pm yesterday.

The youngest person to die was a man in his 20s who was not vaccinated and had underlying conditions.

Seven of the nine deaths were not vaccinated. One person had had one dose and one person had had two doses. All the people had underlying health conditions.

There are currently 1136 people with Covid-19 admitted to hospital; 194 people are in intensive care and 78 need ventilation.

An official says the four show mild symptoms and are isolating at home.

The government reported yesterday that seven people with Covid-19 were in hospital in Noumea, including a patient transferred from Lifou.

New Caledonia went into a two-week lockdown at midday Tuesday after three Covid-19 cases were detected in three different locations the day before.

The authorities have restated that the virus is in circulation in the community and urge the public to adhere to the restrictions.

The Vanuatu Daily Post reports it is not a mandatory requirement yet for travellers to get fully vaccinated against coronavirus before entering the country.

Director of Public Health and Spokesperson for the Health Emergency Advisory Committee, Len Tarivonda said, “The Health Emergency Advisory Committee has recently decided that it would be mandatory for anyone to get fully vaccinated before coming to Vanuatu, once repatriation flights resume on September 12.”

It brings the Delta outbreak's total fatalities in the state to 107.

Yesterday the state had 1116 new community cases and four more deaths from the virus.

NSW has now passed the 7 million mark for first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

It has hit a 70 percent first-dose vaccination rate becoming the first state/ territory in Australia to do so.

There were 121,000 people vaccinated in the state yesterday.

From 5am tomorrow exercise will no longer be limited to one hour for those who live in Sydney's local government areas (LGAs) of concern.

The Government also confirmed 290 new cases for the 24 hours to 8am yesterday.

That compares with 505 cases and seven deaths in the previous 24-hour period.

Fiji now has 17,124 active cases. There were 2306 recoveries.

The death toll is at 504, which 502 of these are from the latest outbreak that began in April, 2021.

Health Secretary Dr James Fong said of the latest cases, 128 are from the Western Division, 137 from the Central Division and 25 cases are from the Eastern Division.

He said there are 25 new cases on Kadavu in the East.

The New Zealand Herald has reported that one case of it was seen in MIQ in late June and the variant did not enter the community, according to the Ministry of Health.

The new variant, known as C.1.2, was first detected in May and has now spread to most South African provinces and to seven other countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania, according to research which is yet to be peer-reviewed.

"To 8pm last night, there were 1218 cases of community transmission, and we extend our deepest condolences to six families of loved ones who died of Covid," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said at a press conference in Sydney.

"Three people in their 80s, three people in their 70s, four of them were unvaccinated and two of them had only had one dose of the vaccine.

"So again, we extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of those six individuals."

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.

Covid-19 response minister Chris Hipkins said the variant "changes the game considerably" and makes existing protections "look less adequate".

It comes as the country announced a further 21 confirmed cases in the latest outbreak of the virus.

New Zealand had quashed earlier Covid outbreaks with rapid, strict lockdowns.

The country was praised for its efforts, which effectively stopped the spread of the virus. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has repeatedly referred to New Zealand as "our team of five million".

Frontline workers including pilots, cabin crew and airport staff must be fully vaccinated by mid-November.

The company says its remaining employees have until the end of March next year to receive both doses.

It comes as the state of New South Wales reported its biggest daily rise in coronavirus infections.

The Australian flag carrier is the country's biggest, most high-profile company to introduce a mandatory vaccination policy.