COVID-19

The Fijian Latui and Manumā Samoa were among six teams from Australia, Asia and the Pacific competing in the 2020 campaign, which was initially suspended after the opening round of matches on 14 March.

Rapid Rugby CEO Mark Evans said the long-term travel restrictions in place as part of the worldwide fight against Covid-19 gave organisers no choice but to abandon the remaining nine rounds of the regular season and the grand final.

Cabinet has agreed that $17 million will be allocated to support a COVID-19 Pacific Response Package, which will:

For unions like Samoa, Fiji and Tonga, commercial viability was already challenging and with USA Rugby filing for bankruptcy along with larger rugby nations facing serious financial worries, Pacific clubs and unions were becoming concerned for their future.

The CEO of Samoa Rugby, Faleomavaega Vincent Fepulea'i, said he was seeking financial support from World Rugby.

The gathering, which included All Black first five Richie Mo'unga, is against the rules set out by the New Zealand government in relation to coronavirus lockdown.

In a statement the Crusaders said:

The Crusaders are aware of some of our players training at Malvern Park in Christchurch today (Monday).

Management have spoken with the players involved, all of whom live within walking distance of Malvern Park.

New York has been hit hard by coronavirus, with more than 3,500 deaths and the number of recorded cases exceeding 113,000.

In collaboration with the Knicks, Nets and Huang, the NBA is moving to help New York's workers.

"The @NBA is contributing 1 million desperately needed surgical masks for New York's essential workers in collaboration with @nyknicks, @BrooklynNets and China's Consul General Huang Ping," governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

"New York thanks you. We are beyond grateful for this gift of critically needed PPE."

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says the first new case is the wife of the man from Labasa. She was taken into isolation two days before being diagnosed positive this morning.

The second new case is the sister of Fiji’s very first case, the flight attendant from Lautoka. 

Bainimarama says this was a case they have long been expecting.

More than 500 people including police officers, church ministers and representative rugby players have been arrested for breaching the quarantine, lockdown and curfew restrictions.

Twenty-four people were also detained for holding gatherings of more than 20.

Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama warned anyone caught breaking the law would be dealt with severely.

"This level of lawlessness is irresponsible, un-Fijian and just plain stupid," he said.

The Bronx Zoo, in New York City, says the test result was confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa.

Nadia, her sister Azul, as well as two Amur tigers and three African lions, had developed a dry cough and all are expected to fully recover, it says.

The cats are believed to have been infected by a zoo keeper.

"We tested the cat [Nadia] out of an abundance of caution and will ensure any knowledge we gain about Covid-19 will contribute to the world's continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus," the zoo said in a statement on Sunday.

He "continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus", a spokeswoman said - including a high temperature.

It was described as a "precautionary step" taken on the advice of his doctor.

The prime minister remains in charge of the government and urged people to follow its social distancing advice.

"On the advice of his doctor, the prime minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests," the spokeswoman said.

The tally also shows that the number of carriers in hospital is unchanged at one.

All cases are concentrated on Tahiti and Moorea.

Travel restrictions between islands are in force and there is a nightly curfew until at least 15 April.

A ban on the sale of alcohol has been extended to last until restrictions on movement are lifted.