Fiji

Regional governments and public applaud the ‘I Am Digital’ campaign

Agreeing in unison on the initiative's timeliness, the respective governments and its people all see the urgent need to educate youths and individuals on online safety etiquettes.   

‘I Am Digital’ is a new social media online safety education campaign for Save the Children and Facebook, uniquely tailored for audiences in the Pacific Islands. The high-profile campaign is designed to help educate and empower Pacific Island teenagers and young people to have safer and more positive online experiences.

Fiji has two new Covid cases in quarantine

The Health Ministry says a 22-year-old man and a 66-year-old woman are the latest cases.

The ministry said the man had arrived in the country from Durban, South Africa, and had transited through Auckland.

He returned a positive result during routine quarantine testing while undergoing the mandatory 14-day quarantine in a government designated border quarantine facility in Nadi.

The ministry said the man currently has no symptoms, and further investigations are underway to determine whether this is a historical case of the coronavirus.

Fiji prepares for second cyclone

Tropical Cyclone Bina formed to the northwest of the country and its centre is forecast to go between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.

It is expected to remain a category 1 system.

TC Bina was named less than a day after category 2 system TC Ana unleashed her fury on Fiji.

One person drowned and five people are reported missing.

Among the missing are four fishermen and a three-year-old toddler who went with his grandfather to tie up their boat.

More than 7000 people are sheltering in evacuation centres after heavy rain and high seas caused flooding.

One drowning and five missing in Fiji as Cyclone Ana hits

In a statement this afternoon, the National Disaster Management Office said a 49 year old man had drowned.

The NDMO also said there were five people missing including a three year boy from Lautoka who hasn't been seen since yesterday.

The other four were fishermen who had gone out earlier in the week as the storm developed, two from Cikobia, Vanua Levu and the others from near Suva.

Cyclone Ana moves over Fiji capital

The category two storm, packing gusts up to 140 kilometres an hour, made landfall on the main island of Viti Levu this morning and had been moving south-southwest towards Suva since.

The Fiji Meteorological Service's, Sakeasi Waibuta, said many parts of the country had already suffered from severe flooding with over 100 millimetres of rain overnight and the downpours continuing today.

TC Ana is region’s first cyclone for 2021

The category 1 cyclone was located about 350km northwest of Nadi early this morning.

Its moving southeast at 20km/hr and is likely to make landfall over Fiji on Sunday.

The National Disaster Management Office in Fiji has warned the public to prepare for heavy rain, flooding and possible damaging winds.

A national curfew comes into effect this afternoon and will be lifted at 4am on Monday (local time).

The curfew in the western division is from 12pm today to 4am Monday.

Women test positive for Covid in Fiji after flight from Auckland

The Fijian health ministry said the two women, aged 49 and 58, arrived on flight NZ-492 on the December 24.

The ministry said they were asymptomatic and well when they arrived.

The pair tested positive for the coronavirus after undergoing final tests before they left the country's mandatory isolation facility in Nadi.

The two women have since been moved to an isolation ward at a hospital in Lautoka.

 

Photo Fiji MOH Caption: Lautoka Hospital     

UN Human Rights Council elects Fiji’s Nazhat Shameem Khan as president

Ambassador Khan was elected through a secret ballot process through which all 47 members of the Geneva-based human rights body cast their vote to appoint its president for 2021 – the Council’s 15th annual cycle.

A statement said Ambassador Khan, whose presidency takes immediate effect, joins the Ambassadors of the Bahamas, Sudan and Netherlands, who were elected vice-presidents of the Council in December, to serve on the Council Bureau for the current year.

Four new Covid-19 border cases in Fiji

The first case is a 35-year-old man who travelled from the United Kingdom and arrived in Fiji on flight NZ 952 from Auckland on 24 December.

The other two cases are a 25-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman who arrived in Nadi on flight GA 8250 from New Delhi on 21 December.

The fourth case is a 55-year-old man who travelled from Mali and arrived on 31 December on flight NZ952 from Auckland.

NZDF completes survey flights over Fiji after tropical cyclone Yasa

The Category 5 Tropical Cyclone, which has now been downgraded to a tropical low, has made its way through the Fijian islands and is tracking away through open seas in the South West Pacific.

A team from Headquarters Joint Forces, responsible for coordinating the NZDF response, deployed an NZDF C-130 Hercules from Base Auckland to conduct an initial survey flight on Saturday 19 December. 

According to the NZ defence Force, for operational reasons, the surveillance flights were conducted by an NZDF C-130 Hercules rather than the P3 Orion.