COVID-19 cases

Today's daily case count is the lowest recorded in Victoria since 26 September, when the state recorded 845 cases, 695 of which were local.

There are now 17,518 active cases of the virus in Victoria, and 416 people have died in the state during the current Delta outbreak.

There are 378 people in hospital with the virus, of whom 78 are in intensive care and 48 are on a ventilator.

The health department said a further 71 people are in intensive care, but their Covid-19 infections are no longer considered active.

There was no media conference today. In a statement, the Ministry of Health said 78 of today's cases are yet to be linked, and there are 645 unlinked cases from the past 14 days.

It said 109 of today's cases were in Auckland, with three in Waikato and one in Northland.

There are 74 people in hospital, including five in intensive care. All are in Auckland and the average age is 51.

Today's figures are almost half the record 206 cases recorded yesterday.

There was also one new case detected at the border.

This follows a surge in Covid-19 infections in recent weeks.

Last weekend alone there were four deaths at the main hospital in Buka and nine cases detected on Monday and Tuesday.

During the lockdown, issued by the regional pandemic controller, Clement Totavun, all educational institutions are to continue to operate, but at new hours of 8am to 2pm.

The main town markets are to close, but road side markets can still trade.

Other businesses, and government offices, can remain open but must apply the safety protocols.

There were also five cases reported in managed isolation.

There was no media conference. In a statement, the Health Ministry said 46 of the cases are unlinked. There are now 287 unlinked cases from the past 14 days.

There are 50 people in hospital, including four people in intensive care. The Ministry said the average age of those in hospital is 44.

Yesterday the Ministry of Health reported 104 community cases of Covid-19.

The two new cases in Waikato - one in Te Awamutu and one in Hamilton - remain unlinked, along with five other cases in the region.

There were 56 cases in the city yesterday, the highest since 1 September, with three in Waikato and one in the Bay of Plenty.

But there was also hope, as first-dose vaccination rates hit 86 percent.

Covid-19 modeller professor Shaun Hendy said as cases trend upwards, the outbreak was at a critical point.

"It is possible that we could end up in the triple digits so that's something that the government should be considering and it should be developing a plan for what happens ... because that will put real strain on the health system in Auckland," he said.

It brings the total number of active cases in the state to 17,199 and the total death toll for the current outbreak to 80.

At state-run sites, 41,177 doses of the vaccine were administered, with more than 56 percent of Victoria's over-16 population now fully vaccinated.

It comes as the City of Mildura was thrust into a seven-day lockdown at 11:59pm yesterday in response to a concerning jump in case numbers.

Three medical staff from Western province's Daru Hospital died due to COVID in the past fortnight.

The deputy controller of the pandemic response, Dr Daoni Esorom, said these people were all still in their prime age, but that's what COVID-19 does.

He said the deaths are most likely due to the Delta variant because it spreads fast and is deadlier for those with co-morbidities and the elderly.

Dr Esorom reiterated calls for people throughout PNG to adhere to the "Niupela Pasin" or "New Normal" by following good hygiene and distancing measures.

There are 50 people in intensive care and this is why the state has chartered an aircraft to fly the patients to Paris.

Another two people have died in the past day, and 167 people are hospitalised.

This takes the death toll to 585 since COVID-19 first hit.

The figures have come down over the past week and La Premier Polynesie website reports this has prompted the government to announce that from Monday some restrictions on movement will be lifted.

New Caledonia

Meanwhile in New Caledonia the pandemic is worsening.

Eight people are reported by health authorities to have died from COVID in Western Province in the past week.

The National Pandemic Response deputy controller Dr Daoni Esorom said the deaths were highly likely to be Delta-variant-related.

Western is one of PNG's most remote provinces and one of two that share a border with Indonesia's West Papua region. The porous border is difficult to secure, and many traditional border crossers travel back and forth.

Fortune has not been kind to Joey Cirilo of late.

In March 2020, his girlfriend - who has a pre-existing heart condition - was left immobilised for weeks with a "really bad" case of COVID-19.

Then this year Mr Cirilo, 36, lost his job at a local charity, leaving him without a steady source of income.

And now, his life has been "completely changed" again, he said, this time because of Hurricane Ida.

The most powerful Atlantic storm of the 2021 hurricane season has forced the evacuation of thousands from Louisiana, Mr Cirilo among them.