Solomon nurses

The 19 nurses were due to fly out of Port Vila on Wednesday on an Air Vanuatu charter flight but were told they couldn't board the plane.

One of them, Dudley Toata, said they were told they could not return if they were not fully vaccinated against covid-19.

However, he says they weren't told this before they went to the airport.

Due to two detected positive covid cases in Port Vila among passengers from New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands government has declared that everyone coming into the country must be fully vaccinated.

The Director General of Health, George Taleo, told 96 Buzz FM Vanuatu will be getting about 20 Solomon nurses initially.

They are being hired to plug a gap resulting from retirements while the Vanuatu College of Nursing Education is only graduating about 30 nurses each year, he said.

Rhere are plans to expand the nursing school and recruiting foreign nurses should be phased out by 2025, Mr Taleo said.

The ministry has requested $US1.5 million dollars from the government to hire more than 70 Solomon nurses in total.