PINA

The manner in which the Fijian Government has enforced directives on people to get vaccinated for COVID-19 is concerning. Fiji Law Society president William Wylie Clarke says there are better ways for Government to address the issue. He was responding to a directive from Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama that people could lose their jobs if they failed to vaccinate to get...

The Pacific Islands Forum on Saturday reminded Samoa’s caretaker Government of the Biketawa Declaration, which amongst other guiding principles promotes the peaceful transfer of power and the rule of law in Forum member states. Forum Secretary General Henry Puna, in a statement said Samoa has for a long time been a shining example of self-determination and democracy within our Forum...

Written by Sargam Goundar, Kim Andreas Kessler Fiji’s COVID-19 story started with the Fijian Government taking action in the form of travel restrictions to Fiji and mandatory border quarantine to keep the virus out. This was largely driven by an anticipation of Fiji’s lack of resilience due to communal living, high NCD (non-communicable disease) rates, a fragile health system,...

Task Force Oceania’s Pacific augmentation teams recently completed their first rotational tours providing continuous support to Pacific island countries in Oceania demonstrating U.S Army Pacific and U.S Indo Pacific Command’s commitment to our allies and partners in the region. And while the Department of Defence is committed to our allies and partners like the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic...

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, has called on political leaders in Samoa to uphold the rule of law and adhere to the values and principles set out in the Commonwealth Charter. Speaking on the situation, the Secretary-General said: “The Commonwealth is a community that is underpinned by shared values and principles, including democracy, respect for the rule of law and the...

Fiji has reported 485 new cases of COVID-19 and three COVID-19 deaths Sunday. Ministry of Health permanent secretary Dr James Fong has reported that the first COVID-19 death is a 77-year-old woman from Colo-i-Suva who died at home. Dr Fong said the woman’s family reported that she had been feeling unwell for three days. He said the deceased was not vaccinated. Dr Fong...

After receiving reports of heart inflammation cases due to myocarditis and pericarditis following vaccination with COVID-19 Pfizer and Moderna shots, World Health Organisation (WHO) experts on Friday said that the benefits of the vaccines still outweigh the risks in reducing hospitalisations and deaths due to infection. Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle and pericarditis an inflammation of the...

Papua New Guinea has recorded six new COVID-19 cases Friday increasing the total number of cases to 17,340. The cases were reported in four provinces: National Capital District(NCD) reported three cases whilst Jiwaka, Madang and Morobe reported a single case each. Of the six cases reported, four are males whilst two are females. Their ages range from 18 to 55 years. Five...

Fijians above 60 years of age and have medical conditions such as chronic lung disease, significant cardiac disease, severe obesity, diabetes, liver disease and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections are encouraged to get the Moderna vaccine for protection. The government in a recent statement noted that this new COVID-19 vaccine is expected to arrive in the country soon. “An individual requires...

A five-year EUR 9 million(US$10.2 million) project aimed at strengthening the production, availability, delivery and application of science-based information, supporting decision-makers was today launched at the Pacific Climate Change Centre in Apia, Samoa. This project will provide innovative and collaborative solutions to manage climate-related risks and to support sustainable development in the Pacific. The Intra-ACP Climate Services and Related Applications...