PINA

Just four months ago, Fiji had kept COVID-19 at bay. The Pacific country, which instituted strict border controls and quarantine, had recorded 68 cases between March 2020 and 09 April 2021. A travel bubble with Australia and New Zealand, which would have revived its struggling economy, was on the table. Today, the country is recording daily case numbers of over 700 infections,...

Three months since Papua New Guinea launched its Covid vaccine rollout, just 60,000 people – or 0.6% of the population – have received their first dose, with many people hesitant due to misinformation and fears around the vaccine. Despite a recent surge in cases that has overwhelmed the already rickety health system, just over 2,800 people have received their second...

Commonwealth countries are estimated to have lost up to US$345 billion worth of trade in 2020, including US$60 billion in intra-Commonwealth trade, according to 2021 Commonwealth Trade Review on "Energising Commonwealth Trade in a Digital World: Paths to Recovery Post-COVID". Released today, the Commonwealth Trade Review provides a timely and comprehensive analysis of the impact of the pandemic on the...

Australia is sending a second medical assistance team (AUSMAT) to assist Fiji’s worsening COVID-19 crisis, as diplomatic tensions in the region escalate. The rapid response has been welcomed in Fiji, with the Pacific nation recording 873 new COVID-19 cases in the Health Ministry's latest figures on Monday. Opposition MP Biman Prasad told SBS News the situation in the country is deteriorating. “There...

Fiji has reported 647 new cases of COVID-19 and one COVID-19 death Tuesday. Ministry of Health and Medical Services permanent secretary Dr James Fong says the COVID-19 death  is a 58-year-old man from Delaivalelevu who died at home. He said the man’s family reported that he had been feeling unwell for one week. “He received his first dose of the vaccine in...

Fiji is among other Pacific island countries that will face a longer period of recovery from the impact of COVID-19 because it has depended on tourism as a major income. In addressing the Forum Economic Ministers Meeting from Washington DC in America Tuesday, International Monetary Fund deputy managing director Tao Zhang said the region may not get back to the...

By Brian Lezutuni Climate finance brings in big money – more than SBD$1.1 billion SBD (US$159.6 million) in the past 10 years. If initiatives to be put to the Forum Economic Ministers’ meeting this week are endorsed Solomon Islands may see that figure increase – with private sector involvement. Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Climate Finance adviser Exsley Taloiburi says at a...

Samoa's caretaker HRPP administration and its leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi have been accused of an unprecedented attack on the rule of law. The call comes from the winner of April's election, majority party FAST, which has raised concern about what it described as "disturbing developments" in recent days. This includes the HRRP lodging a complaint to the Judiciary Services Commission, accusing...

The Chinese vaccine, Sinopharm, that arrived in Papua New Guinea last month was launched Tuesday at the Port Moresby General Hospital. This means that it will now be rolled out as one of the COVID-19 vaccines through the National country's Department of Health's vaccine distribution system. It is for persons aged 18 years old and above and is recommended for two...

Forum Secretary General Henry Puna says the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected Pacific economies and exacerbated the Pacific region’s vulnerabilities to external shocks as developing and small island developing states. Speaking at his first virtual Forum Economic Minister Ministers Meeting (FEMM2021), Puna said the International Monetary Fund (IM)F has forecasted a negative economic outlook for the region. “Economic output measured GDP...