PINA

France has declared a health emergency in New Caledonia because of the sharp resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government decision was announced by the spokesperson for the French prime minister Jean Castex, saying the situation amounts to a health catastrophe. Daily infection rates have shot up to more than 1500 a day - with now more than 7, 600 active...

A top Defence Force officer has said the Australian navy vessel HMAS Adelaide was not responsible for the emerging COVID-19 outbreak that has sent Tonga into lockdown. Australia has also promised to help the Pacific nation identify the source of the outbreak by testing samples from the two dock workers who tested positive on Tuesday. The number of COVID cases grew...

Australia is working in partnership with Kiribati as it responds to the country’s first COVID19 outbreak. A five-member Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT) arrived in Tarawa Wednewsday along with a further 27,300 doses of Australian COVID-19 vaccines and medical equipment from both Australia and New Zealand. The AUSMAT team will work closely with the Kiribati Ministry of Health and Medical Services...

A six-month-old is among eight people who died in Fiji from COVID-19 between 27January and 01 February. The baby was admitted at the CWM Hospital and her medical records reflect that she had a congenital medical condition that contributed to the severity of her illness and death on Monday. All eight deceased were from the Central division. 809 people have died due...

Vanuatu is now operating the COVID-19 emergency under the amended Public Health Act , after almost two years of powering responses under the Disaster Risk Management Act No.23 of 2019 ended early this week. Minister of Health, Silas Bule, declared a Public Health Emergency for the whole of Vanuatu, under the Public Health Act. This means that the original State...

Seabed mining can affect fisheries and the flow-on social equity issues need to be addressed. By Aline Jaeckel, Quentin Hanich, Harriet Harden-Davies, Judith van Leeuwen, Holly Niner, Katherine L. Seto and Michelle Voyer What is currently hundreds of metres down below the ocean floor could soon be found in our electronics and on construction sites. The desire to explore the...

Fiji’s first professional rugby team is targeting an ambitious top eight finish in the inaugural season of Super Rugby Pacific this year. The Drua have had three months together at Lennox Head on the NSW north coast and will play just one trial game, against the Rebels next week, before they open their season against the Waratahs on 18 February Made...

International powerhouse and Wallaby Test centurion Sekope Kepu will Captain Moana Pasifika for their debut season in Super Rugby Pacific. Kepu’s duty gets under way with this Friday’s pre-season game against the Gallagher Chiefs at Mt Smart Stadium. With 110 Test caps and three Rugby World Cup campaigns to his name, Sydney-born Kepu has been a natural choice for the Moana...

Kiribati Ministry of Health and Medical Services has confirmed the Omicron variant is now spreading in the community after the results were confirmed by the Melbourne-based MDU PHL Doherty Institute. A statement from the ministry said 39 samples were sent to Australia on 25 January for testing. 17 samples were collected from passengers from Fiji and 13 from community transmission...

Solomon Islands Ministry of Health and Medical services has closed all vaccination sites in Honiara today. The Health Ministry said they have had to close off the sites to prevent the spread of the virus to the public and health workers. There were chaotic scenes at the vaccination sites in Honiara, hundreds packed the area, with no control over the flow...