PINA

There will be no restrictions on the size of outdoor gatherings after Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama announced ease of COVID-19 restrictions Sunday. Funerals, weddings, birthdays and other events can be held outdoors without restrictions on the number in attendance. Indoor venues can operate at 80 percent capacity, and everyone at the event must be fully vaccinated. The Fijian Government will continue...

Fiji has recorded 16 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday, increasing the total number of cases to 51,429 and 651 deaths since the outbreak in April. Permanent secretary for Health, Dr James Fong said there have been 62 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 2,636 active cases. “There have been 51,429 cases during the...

Hospitals in Papua New Guinea are being pushed to the brink and morgues are overflowing, as the country suffers what health authorities say is the worst surge in Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began. The country’s health care system has long been plagued by shortages of drugs, funding, an ailing infrastructure and a severe lack of health workers. Now, major hospitals...

Pacific island leaders have urged industrialised nations to bring plans for real action, not good intentions, to upcoming climate talks, painting a grim picture of the environmental horrors they face. Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said low-lying Pacific states were bearing the brunt of global warming's impact and their voices must be heard at UN-brokered climate negotiations in Glasgow next...

The Fijian Drua, Super Rugby Pacific’s newest club, have unveiled another six additions to their roster for the 2022 competition. New additions include promising former Fijian and New Zealand age-group prop and rising Northland (NPC) star Kaliopasi Uluilakepa, former NRC Drua centre Apisalome Vota, 2016 Rio Olympics Fiji 7s gold medallist Kitione Taliga, Fiji U20 lock Isoa Nasilasila, Nadroga flanker...

Palau now accepts travelers who have been vaccinated with Taiwan-made COVID-19 vaccine Medigen in addition to those already approved by US FDA and WHO. The Taiwan homegrown vaccine was given an emergency use authorization by Taiwan regulators in mid-July and rolled out on August 23rd. Palau’s Ministry of Health and Human Service Directive 32-21 states for travelers, “Vaccine received must be...

The UN World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday unveiled an US$8 billion pathway out of the COVID-19 pandemic, in a bid to make vaccines accessible to everyone, everywhere. The Global COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy aims to inoculate 40 percent of people in all countries by the end of the year, and 70 percent by the middle of 2022. WHO had previously pressed...

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board has approved 13 new projects for mitigation and adaptation action, allocating USD 1.2 billion in GCF resources for climate action – a record amount for a single Board meeting. The new projects bring the total size of the GCF portfolio to USD$ 10 billion, representing USD$ 37.2 billion in assets, including co-financing. Recognising the...

Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, the President of the Marshall Islands David Kabua and the Prime Minister of Samoa Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa exchanged views with the European Union executive Vice-President in a virtual public conference. Representatives from the governments of Timor-Leste, Papua-New Guinea and Bhutan also contributed to the discussion. The aim of the conference between the EU and Indo-Pacific states...

Covid’s Delta strain is overwhelming Papua New Guinea’s fragile health system, forcing the closure of Port Moresby’s only public ­hospital to non-critical care and sparking emergency oxygen deliveries to the remote highlands. Port Moresby General Hospital – where only 10 per cent of nurses are vaccinated – issued a bulletin this week announcing a “scaling down of services”, including the...