Looking at the success of the Solomon Islands Covid free status in the light of regional coronavirus outbreaks.

The Solomon Islands remains free of Covid 19 and, as I have previously mentioned, credit for this is due to the efficient and effective early emergency measures introduced by the government, with the dedicated work of the local MHMS, front line workers and with the support of several of the countries diplomatic partners and international agencies

 Regionally, the same cannot be said about the presence and threat of coronavirus and I will relate a summary of today’s news to underscore my point.

There are worries in PNG has Covid-19 cases continue to rise and health workers are especially exposed and seen at risk.

Radio New Zealand is continuing to give updates on the situation in Papua New Guinea, in Fiji and in Malaysia and in Australia and New Zealand and today I will share with readers a selection of news bulletins.

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The man heading Papua New Guinea's response to Covid-19 is urging health workers to get vacccinated.

This comes after the Pandemic Controller, the Police Commissioner David Manning, had issued the latest figures, showing 28 health workers tested positive on Thursday.

In total there are 225 new cases, taking the PNG tally to 15,772, with the official death toll holding at 162.

1,533 health care workers have caught the virus since the outbreak began nearly three months ago.

Mr. Manning said these figures are unacceptable, "the health care workers are central to our national pandemic response and must be protected."

Mr. Manning said a significant number of health workers have yet to get vaccinated, while a total of 28,677 essential workers have so far received it.

He said the PNG health system is under stress and the country cannot afford to have its health workers testing positive in large numbers.

Mr. Manning also said that "under no circumstances, no health worker must attend to suspected COVID-19 cases without wearing personal protection equipment."

He said they also need to learn to wear PPE properly, to avoid gaps and overlaps that may allow the virus to pass through.

End of quote.

Forty six people from Fiji's central division where the capital Suva is located have tested positive for Covid-19, taking the national total to 195 active cases.

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Fiji has had 360 cases in total since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 161 recoveries and four deaths.

Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Dr James Fong said two patients were in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva.

"Today has not been an easy day, nor do I expect that the days ahead will get any better. Many of you have questions. I hope to answer some now and I am assured that a press conference will be organised soon to answer

Calling attention to what he described as the troublesome nature of final rites, Dr Fong said funerals were the spreader events of the current outbreak of the Indian B.1.617 variant of Covid-19.

He called on Fijians to adjust funerals and while he acknowledged it was a difficult time for all involved, he asked that people adjust activities to suit the current situation.

Authorities have restricted funerals to graveside services with only 10 persons in attendance at the cemetery and lead up events.

Families are urged to limit graveside services to 10 persons and to limit gatherings before or after the burial to 10 persons or less.

Meanwhile forty-three of the new cases are linked to existing clusters which had been under investigation and were detected through contact tracing and targeted screening.

Of the 43 new cases, 28 are from Nadali in Nausori town and three are from Navosai near Nausori which are linked to the Narere funeral cluster. Two are from the Muanikoso cluster which stems from a staff of Extra Supermarket in Suva city where an outbreak occurred a fortnight ago.

Meanwhile, nine more naval officers are confirmed positive, nine of whom are from Kinoya in Nasinu town and 1 is from Nadonumai in Lami which had previously been Covid-19 free.

One cluster is linked to a Samabula household where a funeral had taken place a week ago.

The remaining three new positive cases are not yet linked to other cases and were still being investigated.

The Nadali red zone is on day 29 into a targeted lockdown while Muanikoso is on day six.

"It is important to note that the majority of these cases have been found as a result of our extensive contact tracing effort and are linked to known clusters. This increase was not unexpected, but it should serve to show how easily this virus is transmitted and why restrictions are in place," Dr Fong said.

"We expect the number of cases to rise because we are testing aggressively in areas where we know the virus is spreading. We have a number of prominent locations under investigation including Government buildings and Kadavu House."

End of quote.

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Friday announced a nationwide "total lockdown" starting in June as coronavirus infections in the country surged to record levels.

PM Muhyiddin said the stricter lockdown from 1 to 14 June was for all social and economic areas, and that only essential services and economic sectors would remain in operation, which would be listed by the national Security Council.

The Covid-19 spread in the Southeast Asian nation in recent weeks has been more severe, partly due to highly transmissible coronavirus variants. Hospitals are also strained.

"With the latest rise in daily cases showing a drastically upward trend, hospital capacity across the country to treat Covid-19 patients are becoming limited,” PM Muhyiddin said in a statement.

Malaysia reported 8290 new coronavirus cases on Friday, its fourth straight day of record infections, bringing its total to 549,514. The number of daily fatalities has also reached records, with 63 earlier this week.

It reported 61 deaths on Friday, taking the total to 2552.

Malaysia has started its Covid-19 inoculation drive, though critics say the rollout has been slow. About 1.7 million people have received at least one dose of a vaccine as of Thursday.

Given the full closure of the economy, the finance ministry will announce a relief package for individuals and economic sectors soon, Muhyiddin said.

If Malaysia could reduce the number of cases in the first two weeks of the lockdown, the government would allow some sectors to reopen slowly over the course of the next four weeks - after which all economic sectors would be allowed to operate, he said.

Malaysia has already rolled out over 300 billion ringgit ($NZ100b) of stimulus packages since last year to cushion the impact of the pandemic on the economy.

It is also under a state of emergency since January to curb the spread of the virus, suspending parliament and essentially putting an end to political activities amid a power struggle.

Malaysia's economy was on the path to recovery in the first quarter before infections began to spike.

It fell 5.6 percent in 2020, its worst annual performance since the Asian financial crisis, but the central bank had projected growth of 6-7.5 percent this year.

End of quote.

Less than two months from the start of the Olympics Japan has extended a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas as the Covid-19 pandemic shows no signs of easing.

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The state of emergency in the capital and eight other prefectures had been scheduled to end on 31 May but will carry on until 20 June, as strains on the medical system remain severe.

Japan has seen a record number of Covid-19 patients in critical condition in recent days, even as the number of new infections has slowed.

"In Osaka and Tokyo, the flow of people is starting to creep up, and there are concerns that infections will rise," said Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who heads the country's coronavirus countermeasures, at the start of a meeting with experts.

The experts later approved the government proposal and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga officially announced the extensions.

Worries about variants of the novel coronavirus and a slow vaccination drive have prompted urgent calls from doctors, some high-profile business executives, and hundreds of thousands of citizens to cancel the Olympic Games, due to start on 23 July.

Japanese officials, Olympics organisers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have said the Games would go ahead under strict virus-prevention measures.

IOC senior official John Coates, who oversees the preparations, said last week the Games were on whether or not the host city, Tokyo, was under a state of emergency at the time.

Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee President Seiko Hashimoto told a news conference she had received pledges from India - now battling a deadly second Covid-19 wave - and five other countries to vaccinate all their Olympic delegates as a measure against a new variant that has emerged in India.

IOC president Thomas Bach has said 80 percent of the 10,500 athletes expected in Japan would be vaccinated, and on Thursday urged Olympians to get their shots if they could. Delegates must also be tested before and after arrival.

After meeting with Japanese officials on Thursday, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen backed Tokyo's hosting of the Olympics. She said the European Union had authorised the export to Japan of more than 100 million vaccine doses, enough to inoculate about 40 percent of the population.

International spectators will not be allowed for the Games but some 90,000 people, including athletes and their delegations, will be coming. No decision has been made yet on domestic fans, and Tokyo 2020's Hashimoto said the situation regarding the state of emergency would need to be taken into account.

Polls show a majority of Japanese want the Games either cancelled or put off again. Originally they were scheduled to start almost to the day, a year earlier, but were postponed last year due to Covid-19.

End of quote.

New Zealand's pause on the quarantine-free travel bubble with Victoria has been extended for a further seven days, with the Australian state going into lockdown to contain a growing Covid-19 outbreak in Melbourne.

The extension of the pause on travel will take it through to next Friday.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield have provided an update on the travel bubble situation.

This afternoon, the Victorian government announced the state would go into lockdown for a week to contain a growing Covid-19 outbreak in Melbourne.

Hipkins said the current situation was the biggest challenge to the trans-Tasman bubble so far.

He said anybody who had been in a location of interest in Melbourne could not travel to New Zealand for at least 14 days since visiting the location.

"We are considering whether further restrictions should be put in place. We will make decision on that in the next 24 hours or so.

Dr Bloomfield has implemented new rules under the Health Act regarding anyone who was in Melbourne from 20-25 May.

"Anyone who has travelled to New Zealand is required to isolate, be tested, and keep isolating until they receive a test result.

The number of active community cases in Melbourne continues to rise and was at 34 at 1pm (NZ time), according to Health Victoria.

In its daily Covid-19 update, the Ministry of Health said anyone who has come over from the state and been at a location of interest at the specified time must immediately self-isolate and call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 for advice on when to get tested.

Thousands of people who recently arrived from the area were sent an email about the situation.

"Anyone in New Zealand who has been in the wider Melbourne area since 11 May who develops symptoms while in New Zealand should also ring Healthline and arrange to get tested.

"The number of locations of interest being announced by Health Victoria is also continuing to rise and there are now 150 exposure sites across Melbourne.

"Given the time frames, it is crucial that everyone who has been in the state of Victoria since 11 May keeps checking Victoria Health's website detailing the locations of interest."

End of quote.

 In the very latest news, Victoria has recorded five new locally acquired cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours.

Victoria has recorded five new locally acquired cases of coronavirus as the state enters its second day of a snap lockdown.

The five new cases were detected from 56,624 test results processed on Friday, an apparent record for the state.

The outbreak linked to Melbourne's northern suburbs had grown to 30 cases yesterday. Further information about whether the five new cases are linked to the cluster is expected later today.

There are now 45 active cases of Covid-19 in the state, which includes another two recorded in hotel quarantine.

An urgent alert was issued overnight after it was revealed a Covid-19-positive person worked at a large food distribution centre while infectious.

The person did not have symptoms when they visited multiple food stores across Melbourne between 18 and 27 May. They tested positive on Thursday.

The Department of Health added 20 exposure times at a dozen venues spanning suburbs from Epping in Melbourne's north to Dandenong in the east and Carrum Downs in the south-east.

They are all Tier 1 sites, meaning anyone who was there during the specified times must be tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days.

The department is continuing to update the list on its website, which has grown to more than 150 venues.

Thousands of people who have recently arrived in New Zealand from Victoria have been contacted by the Ministry of Health and warned to take all possible precautions

The New Zealand government yesterday introduced pre-departure testing for anyone who visited Victoria between 20 and 25 May.

End of quote.

Source: Radio New Zealand.

Comment

Putting all this reported news in context on the continuing threat of Covid in the Region, the Solomon Islands must keep up its effective deterrent health precautions and heed the advice of the MHMS and continue the active roll out of vaccine delivery to all.

Yours sincerely

Frank Short

www.solomonislandsinfocus.com