COVID-19

The donation was made by the Ambassador of China to Vanuatu, Zhou Haicheng to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marc Ati.

The fund, according to Minister Ati, will be used to assist Vanuatu in its efforts to combatting Covid-19, as pledged during the recently held inaugural China-Pacific islands Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

“It is also a testament of China’s commitment to work together with Pacific Island countries to strengthen cooperation against Covid-19 and work for a community of heal for all.”

Seven of the total were recorded on Saturday, five on Sunday and 20 in the last 24 hours ending at 8am yesterday.

Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong said the Ministry of Health recorded an additional 14 Covid-19 deaths between August 6th and September 19th, 2021.

All deaths were reported in the Western Division and no of the cases were vaccinated.

An analysis of the 14 deaths shows the individuals were aged between 46 to 84-years.

A team from the Fiji Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Team began dispatching the vaccine around Viti Levu yesterday in order for all vaccination centres to be ready for launch today.

Minister for Health Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete while receiving the Pfizer vaccine from the New Zealand High Commission reiterated the need for children to get vaccinated.

Permanent Secretary Doctor James Fong said this will also protect children who have not yet been vaccinated and are below that eligible age group.

"We are not taking this step lightly but it is necessary," Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said.

Unvaccinated people will only be able to leave home for a limited number of reasons, like working or buying food.

About 65% of Austria's population is fully vaccinated, one of the lowest rates in western Europe.

Meanwhile the seven-day infection rate is more than 800 cases per 100,000 people, one of the highest in Europe.

There was no media conference today. In a statement, the Ministry of Health said there are 84 people in hospital, including 10 in intensive care.

There were no new cases at the border.

The ministry said 81 of today's cases are yet to be linked. There are 713 unlinked cases from the past 14 days.

The 25 new cases in Waikato include 15 who are known close contacts from a single household in Hamilton, where an earlier case had been confirmed and is already in isolation.

Eighteen of the 25 new cases have been linked.

From today, only fully vaccinated diplomats, returning Fijian residents, permit holders and those approved by the Covid-19 Risk Mitigation Taskforce will be allowed in.

Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said fully vaccinated tourists from travel partners including New Zealand, Australia, the UK and the United States can enter Fiji from 1 December.

Case numbers have soared and Germany on Wednesday registered its highest rate of infection since the pandemic began, with almost 40,000 cases in a day.

"We have to act right now," said Christian Drosten, who described a real emergency situation.

Doctors in the intensive care Covid ward at Leipzig University Hospital warn this fourth wave could be the worst yet.

One patient here, a woman in her 20s, has just given birth. Her baby is fine, but staff say they don't know whether she'll survive.

The Ministry of Health’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. James Fong said this is indicating a better control of community transmission.

Fong added that they test for Covid-19 to strengthen the public health response and not to appease the public.

“It would be the height of stupidity for us to go and reduce the amount of testing to match the narrative of opening the border. We did not decide on the opening of the border based on that.”

Doctor Fong also said they can’t hold the whole country back because a small group of people are not vaccinated.

The cases have been recorded for the period of the past seven days accounting for one percent of the cumulative cases nationally.

The Central Division recorded 64 cases, 48 in the West and two in the Eastern Division within the same period.

The Ministry of Health said travel for short-term goals to the North is likely to be adversely affected if a person turns out positive while in quarantine.

The refugees came from the Australian offshore detention camps in Manus (Papua New Guinea) and Nauru, and were brought to the mainland for medical treatment.

They are being held at the Park Hotel in Carlton, where 22 of them now have Covid-19, with one hospitalised.

The Refugee Action Coalition's Ian Rintoul claimed the proper protocols of separating the infected from those without the virus had been ignored by Australian officials.

He said the Australian government has created a Covid incubator in the Park Hotel.