Lockdown

Victoria State Premier Daniel Andrews said the restrictions would be in place until 28 September, with a slight relaxation.

A gradual easing of the measures will be implemented from October.

The state has been the epicentre of the country's second wave, accounting for 90% of Australia's 753 deaths.

Australia has recorded a total of 26,000 cases in a population of 25 million.

The Pacific Pharmacists Association is a pharmaceutical workforce that aims to meet the health needs of Pacific people in accordance with their culture, custom and heritage.

Auckland is currently on alert level three, while the rest of New Zealand is on alert level two. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said the settings would be reviewed on 21 August.

But for 3,000 people living in public housing tower blocks, an even stricter lockdown was imposed on Saturday.

Unlike other Melburnians, residents of the nine towers cannot leave for any reason - they are subject to a police guard.

It's the toughest lockdown seen in Australia so far.

The "detention directions" in suburbs of Flemington and North Melbourne are designed to contain a cluster of infections found in some of the buildings.

Prime Minister James Marape said the government had been advised by technical and health experts to extend the Covid-19 national emergency but it was considering other options.

Mr Marape said once the the emergency ended then a specific Act of Parliament would embrace how people lived, used transport, went to school, and conducted themselves in order to keep defences strong against the coronavirus.

He said Cabinet had directed the Health Department and State lawyers to come up with a specific Act.

From 8 June, restaurants, hotels, shopping centres and places of worship will be allowed to re-open in many areas in the first stage of a three-phase plan.

Weeks later, probably in July, schools and colleges will resume teaching.

But areas with high numbers of Covid-19 cases will remain under tight lockdown.

The plan comes after India registered a new record single-day rise in confirmed infections, with nearly 8,000 cases reported on Saturday.

Social distancing curbs were loosened for most of the country on 14 May as new infections fell, but the government had kept Tokyo and four other prefectures under watch.

Japan's economy minister told reporters on Monday local time the government had received approval from key advisers to remove the state of emergency for all remaining regions.

It would be the first time the country has been completely free from the state of emergency since it was first declared a month and a half ago.

The Nga Vaka o Kāiga Tapu campaign was launched this month by The Cause Collective, a Pacific social change agency.

The Cause Collective have spent the past three years working with family violence practitioners, Pacific providers and community leaders, including police, social workers and church ministers and training using specific cultural frameworks in eight different Pacific languages through the Nga Vaka o Kāiga Tapu programme.

He stressed that a mix of social distancing, testing, contact tracing and isolation, will be crucial to further curb the spread of the new coronavirus already devastating much of the globe. 

“We’re all learning all the time and adjusting our strategy, based on the latest available evidence”, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, summarising the guidance which will be available in full on the agency’s website on Tuesday.   

More than 500 people including police officers, church ministers and representative rugby players have been arrested for breaching the quarantine, lockdown and curfew restrictions.

Twenty-four people were also detained for holding gatherings of more than 20.

Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama warned anyone caught breaking the law would be dealt with severely.

"This level of lawlessness is irresponsible, un-Fijian and just plain stupid," he said.

Lautoka and Suva are now lockdown with the latter entering its first day following the announcement of two confirmed cases of the coronavirus there yesterday.

Fiji's Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho said the two officers arrested would be charged and will face internal disciplinary action.

Mr Qiliho warned police officers caught breaking the law would be expelled from the force, including those responsible for social gatherings at the police barracks.