Increase in cases

Senior Justice Vui Clarence Nelson was commenting as he sentenced a 20-year-old man to 12 years' in jail for raping an 11-year-old girl, who is part of his extended family.

The accused was sentenced last month after he was found guilty of rape and four sexual connection charges.

Justice Nelson said instead of protecting his female family member, the defendant sought to prey on the young girl.

Justice Nelson handed down 12 years for the charge of rape and a five-year sentence for sexual connection, to be served concurrently.

The health ministry said 3,574 new Covid-19 infections were recorded on Wednesday - the third consecutive day the figure has exceeded 3,000.

Another 59 people with the disease died, raising the toll to 8,071.

The president has said restrictions may be re-imposed if people do not follow social distancing and hygiene rules.

Before Wednesday's new infections were reported, bringing the overall total to 164,270, the previous high was 3,186 on 30 March. The number of cases then declined steadily until 2 May, when 802 were recorded.