COVID-19

In an official statement, the Ministry of Health confirmed that since the State of Emergency was declared a total of 26 samples had been sent for testing.

Twenty of those samples have all returned negative results, with only six waiting to be sent as they were done after the last plane flew out of the country following the closing of borders here and in New Zealand.

The Ministry also confirmed the news Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi had broken earlier in the day, that a flight attendant was under surveillance.

There has been another confirmed Covid-19 infection in French Polynesia, raising the total to 36.

One of the carriers is in hospital care.

The latest update shows that for two consecutive days there has been an increase of the tally by just one.

The person who tested positive on Rangiroa was to be transferred to Tahiti which has the majority of cases.

The Wallabies are set to take on Andy Farrell’s Ireland in Brisbane on July 4 and Sydney on July 11, before playing Fiji in Townsville on July 18.

Yet with the global rugby calendar facing huge uncertainty as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, those games look set to be postponed, or even cancelled.

Rugby Australia held their annual general meeting on Monday, where they revealed a $9.4 million operating deficit for the World Cup year of 2019.

The club has confirmed the news, although they have not announced which coach has contracted the virus.

The announcement came just a few hours after the Newcastle Jets, who also play in the A-League competition, confirmed one of their players has also tested positive for Covid-19.

"The club is cooperating fully with all the relevant health authorities, and is focussed on supporting staff, as well as ensuring that all government protocols are being closely adhered to," they said.

In a message to staff, chief executive Greg Foran said international travel made up two-thirds of the company's revenue and that was gone now for the forseeable future.

The airline is now expecting to earn less than $500m year. Before Covid-19, Air New Zealand had annual revenue of around $5.8 billion and a profit of $374m.

Foran said the only way the financial situation would improve was if New Zealanders embrace domestic travel after the lockdown was over.

Fewer deaths in Italy but restrictions look set to be extended

There have been 756 deaths in Italy in the last day, bringing the total to 10,779 - more than a third of all deaths from the virus worldwide.

There were 133 fewer deaths than the 889 deaths reported on Saturday, when the numbers fell from a record high of 919 on Friday.

While the total number of confirmed cases rose to 97,689 on Sunday from a previous 92,472, it was the lowest daily rise in new cases since Wednesday.

On Sunday, the National Emergency Committee (NEC) said all hands were working on "developing and implementing plans and measures to better prepare and prevent the entry and spread of Covid-19."

On Friday, the construction of a Covid-19 testing facility began and was expected to be completed this week.

The NEC and the Ministry of Health were also working with numerous hoteliers that had offered their properties as isolation sites for passengers' 14-day quarantine.

The Belarusian Premier League rarely gets a mention in normal circumstances yet it is attracting attention from foreign fans as one of the few places around the globe - and the only place in Europe - where football is still being played.

On Saturday, there were six top-flight games in the eastern European country including the derby between FC Minsk and Dinamo Minsk watched by a capacity 3,000 crowd in Belarus' capital.

"It so happened that this derby was practically the only official football match on earth," read Dinamo's match report after their 3-2 defeat.

The Official Charts Company's "lockdown listening list" is based o

Dr Anthony