Lockdown

From 8 June, restaurants, hotels, shopping centres and places of worship will be allowed to re-open in many areas in the first stage of a three-phase plan.

Weeks later, probably in July, schools and colleges will resume teaching.

But areas with high numbers of Covid-19 cases will remain under tight lockdown.

The plan comes after India registered a new record single-day rise in confirmed infections, with nearly 8,000 cases reported on Saturday.

Social distancing curbs were loosened for most of the country on 14 May as new infections fell, but the government had kept Tokyo and four other prefectures under watch.

Japan's economy minister told reporters on Monday local time the government had received approval from key advisers to remove the state of emergency for all remaining regions.

It would be the first time the country has been completely free from the state of emergency since it was first declared a month and a half ago.

The Nga Vaka o Kāiga Tapu campaign was launched this month by The Cause Collective, a Pacific social change agency.

The Cause Collective have spent the past three years working with family violence practitioners, Pacific providers and community leaders, including police, social workers and church ministers and training using specific cultural frameworks in eight different Pacific languages through the Nga Vaka o Kāiga Tapu programme.

He stressed that a mix of social distancing, testing, contact tracing and isolation, will be crucial to further curb the spread of the new coronavirus already devastating much of the globe. 

“We’re all learning all the time and adjusting our strategy, based on the latest available evidence”, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, summarising the guidance which will be available in full on the agency’s website on Tuesday.   

The 30-year-old second rower captains Toulouse Olympique in the second-tier RFL Championship and has been based in the south-west of France since 2016.

Toulouse made a perfect start to the 2020 season with Mika leading the team, which includes fellow Toa Samoa alumni Frank Winterstein and Harrison Hansen, to five straight wins and top spot in the competition standings before the season was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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.

Lautoka and Suva are now lockdown with the latter entering its first day following the announcement of two confirmed cases of the coronavirus there yesterday.

Fiji's Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho said the two officers arrested would be charged and will face internal disciplinary action.

Mr Qiliho warned police officers caught breaking the law would be expelled from the force, including those responsible for social gatherings at the police barracks.

In a televised address, Duterte said it was vital everyone cooperate and follow home quarantine measures, as authorities tried to slow the contagion and spare the country's fragile health system from being overwhelmed.

The Philippines has recorded 96 coronavirus deaths and 2311 confirmed cases, all but three in the past three weeks, with infections now being reported by the hundreds every day.

If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP - don't show up at a medical centre

Fiji closed its border to Europe, China, South Korea and Iran on 8 March due to the Covid-19 threat.

Foreign Affairs Minister Inia Seruiratu said the government received a request from the British High Commission and is working with Fiji Airways to find an alternative route for those stranded.

"It's not only about getting them out of Fiji but to which destination. That is a challenge. It's not that simple. We have to have agreements because other countries have locked down as well."

Inia Seruiratu said a committee had been set up to look into the matter.

The government said people or organisations who don't adhere to new Covid-19 lockdown requirements will face finds.

Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi said the last flights from Fiji, New Zealand and American Samoa had arrived and all passengers are now under 14 days quarantine.

The flights from New Zealand and Fiji were mostly scholarship students ordered home by government after the closure of their educational institutions.