COVID-19 case

The Health Emergency Advisory Committee said Alert Level 3 is now in place after a Covid-positive case was confirmed this week.

New measures are also now in place for Maewo including a curfew from 6pm to 6am.

Only essential services are allowed to operate with standard operating procedures and social gatherings are banned.

All schools will continue to operate as normal with standard operating procedures.

The public is urged to wear a mask when going to public places.

The case is an Aitutaki resident, and the person is isolating at home.

Household contacts are currently being identified and are asked to quarantine.

Like Rarotonga, the population on Aitutaki is highly vaccinated and Prime Minister Mark Brown said they are prepared for this.

Over the weekend 24 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 130.

R-A-T tests will be used to diagnose new cases in the Cook Islands as is occurring in New Zealand.

No additional PCR test will be required except for clinical reasons.

Games against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and the Toronto Raptors on Thursday are off, the NBA said.

The NBA postponed 31 games because of Covid-19 last season.

The NHL - North America's elite ice hockey league - has also called off the next three games of the Calgary Flames because of a Covid-19 outbreak.

Six players and one staff member have entered Covid-19 protocols and the NHL said there was a "likelihood of additional positive cases in the coming days."

The passenger met all health requirements to travel to Vanuatu, including vaccination and testing, and is currently in quarantine.

However, the traveler has no symptoms of Covid-19.

Samples will be sent overseas to determine the Covid-19 variant.

Preparations are underway to transfer the person to the isolation ward at Vila Central Hospital. Contact tracing has determined that there are no close contacts in the country.

75 travellers arrived in Wallis after spending seven days in pre-departure quarantine in Noumea and returning negative tests.

After their arrival, they were in home isolation for three days after which a further test was carried out when a Futuna resident was found to have Covid-19.

The public broadcaster said the individual has been transferred to hospital.

The territory lost its only external airlink in September when New Caledonia went into lockdown over a fresh Covid-19 community outbreak.

Vanuatu's Acting Director General of Health, Dr Samuel Posikai said the case is in an Isolation Ward at Vila Central Hospital.

Health authorities say the result of samples taken which have been sent to Melbourne, for clarification on whether it is the Delta Variant, will be confirmed within the next 48 hours.

Meanwhile Dr Posikai said in case of a Covid outbreak, Vanuatu will need a further 153 nurses and 83 support staff in a worst-case scenario.

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.

One hundred and seventeen cases are from known clusters.

Two cases presented to the Fiji Emergency Medical Assistance Team (FEMAT) field hospital at the Vodafone Arena are under investigation and four cases are under investigation from Totogo police.

Dr Fong said the Colonial War Memorial Hospital cluster has 32 new cases.

"A new cluster has been identified at the Nasese Medical Centre with one new case reported today (Saturday), adding to the six cases already in this cluster.

NSW Health said the Bondi man, in his 60s, worked as a driver and that international flight crew had been among his passengers.

The man visited the Bondi Junction shopping centre in the city's east several times in recent days.

Visitors to Bondi Junction's Event Cinemas on Sunday, 13 June between 1.30pm and 4pm for a screening of Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard which started at 1.45pm were asked to contact NSW Health, self-isolate for 14 days, and get tested.

The man took a saliva test yesterday, which came back positive today.

The alert level remains unchanged and the risk to public remains low, the government said.

The man who arrived in Auckland from Egypt on May 5, 2021, and tested positive on his Day 0 test when in managed isolation (MIQ) in Auckland, according to a statement issued by Te Marae Ora Ministry of Health.

The Health Ministry said the man was asymptomatic and his test was deemed a historic case. As of Saturday evening, he remains asymptomatic.

According to the Ministry, a historical case means such cases are no longer infectious.