Coco Talanoa — Coco News / Page 13

via RNZ Pacific  & local news outlets

Cover photo of Fiji health workers by Leon Lord/AFP/Getty Images

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Solomon Islands figures soar, Vanuatu confirms their first Covid related death, Medical staff test positive in American Samoa, Over 200 active cases in the Cook Islands, the Tongan Prime Minister tests positive for Covid and more ...

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AMERICAN SAMOA

American Samoa now has 527 reported cases of Covid-19 in the community.  51 new cases were confirmed after tests were conducted at Department of Health clinics and LBJ Hospital over the weekend.

Acting Chief of Staff for LBJ Hospital Dr Akapusi Ledua reported a physician from LBJ Hospital had been admitted to the Covid ward - one of four doctors among 11 staff members of the hospital who have tested positive.

80.9% of the territory's population is fully vaccinated.  Federal medical personnel are on island helping the territorial health authorities's response.

As Covid-19 continues to spread across Tutuila health officials are encouraging people to stock up or prepare for when one family member becomes positive.

Governor Lemanu P. S.…more

Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali'i Karanina Sumeo was on Breakfast to talk about the importance of addressing ALL pay gaps - ethnic, gender and disability pay gaps and urgently introducing pay transparency as we celebrate International Women's Day.

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Via the NZ Human Rights Commission

Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali'i Karanina Sumeo was on Breakfast to talk about the importance of addressing ALL pay gaps - ethnic, gender and disability pay gaps and urgently introducing pay transparency as we celebrate International Women's Day.

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Via the NZ Human Rights Commission

“I’m in South Lismore and it’s completely gone. In my house, all my furniture has been destroyed, my beds gone, my clothing’s all wet, the carpets caked in mud, the walls are sweating”

When Analia Tamamoka Hedley moved to Australia two years ago to live and work, she was greeted by smoke in the sky from the Australian bush fires.  

Shortly after settling into her new life in Lismore, northeastern New South Wales, the world shut down with Covid.  Today she went home to find everything she owns has been destroyed in the flooding that has overwhelmed Lismore and other parts of Queensland & NSW.

“Things come in threes right? So this has to be it, that’s enough now, I’ve had enough” she laughs 

Analia who is of Niuean heritage and born & bred in New Zealand, said the first she heard about evacuating was from the SES (State Emergency Services) at about 4.30pm on Sunday.  

“Someone had sent me a screenshot of a message from SES and so before I left I tidied my kitchen.…more

via Radio New Zealand 

The Southern Cross Cable cut during the volcanic eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai and subsequent tsunami last month has been finally repaired.

Tonga Cable Limited chair Samuiela Fonua confirmed that the cable was restored and handed over to his company just before midday today.

He said he was very pleased to get the restored cable which resumes Tonga's phone and internet fully today after they had limited internet for a month.

"We just had a long meeting with the cable repair team, we are preparing a presentation to the Prime Minster of Tonga tomorrow," he said.

"It is all done now, the cable was handed over to us this morning just before noon, now it's with the ISPs (Internet Service Providers)."

The cable repair ship Reliance took 20-days to repair the fibre-optic cable and finally handed it over after 24-hours of testing yesterday.…more

Extra support is being made available to Māori and Pacific communities as they continue to face the impact of the current Omicron outbreak.

This is in addition to the Care in the Community boost the Government announced last week to help all families who need to self-isolate as well as the social service organisations and community providers working hard to support them.

“We know Omicron is likely to disproportionately affect Māori and Pasifika communities and the Government is committed to making sure vulnerable whanau received the support and care they deserve,” Minister for Whanau Ora and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare said.

“With Omicron cases increasing it is important whānau have the support they need to self-isolate and stop the spread of the virus."

Using the $140 million funding, 160 Māori and Pacific health providers will together support Māori and Pacific households throughout Aotearoa.…more

via Radio New Zealand   

A quick round-up of the latest Covid news in the Pacific region from the last couple of days. 

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Cook Islands 4th positive case confirmed 

via Covid19 Cook Islands response 

The Cook Islands is reporting a fourth person who has tested positive for Covid-19.

The case is a New Zealand-based Cook Islander who arrived in Rarotonga for a family funeral on February 15 on-board an Air NZ flight.  Health Ministry Te Marae Ora (TMO) confirmed the case tested positive on Thursday from a sibling who had tested positive in New Zealand.

The positive case and 3 of the adults are fully vaccinated, with the young contact with their first vaccine dose.  An additional 16 close contacts have been identified, connected through the family funeral the case attended on Wednesday.

Due to the new positive case, the Cook Islands government has announced an extension to their suspension of passenger travel to the rest of the Pa Enua (other islands) to midnight of February 23.…more

by Shaneel Lal

I was born in Vakasalewalewa and Hijra in Fiji, a colonised Christian Island. My community knew I was queer before I did; I carried myself in the fashion of a woman. My community was given a choice between the church and their child. I wish they had seen the broken heart of a child and chosen me. I cannot describe the excruciating pain a child feels when they are rejected by the only people they've ever known and loved. 

After five long years of activism, New Zealand banned conversion therapy on the 15th of February. I will always remember this day as a win for indigenous peoples. Before colonisation, queer people were integral to indigenous communities, playing a role in raising children, cleaning the house, caring for the elders, and doing things indigenous peoples relied upon to survive.…more

via Radio New Zealand 

A quick round-up of the latest Covid news in the Pacific region from the last couple of days.  We will provide an update again at the end of the week.  

Cover image photo credit:  Unicef

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American Samoa - two more cases from Hawaiian airlines flight 

American Samoa has two new positive Covid-19 cases in MIQ after a third round of Covid tests.

Close to 200 travellers, who've spent 14 days in MIQ since arriving in the territory January 27 on a Hawaiian airlines flight, have not been released.

They have been told that they will undergo a fourth test on a Sunday and all those who test negative will be allowed to go home on Monday.

The two new positives are passengers, bringing the total number of positives from the January 27 Hawaiian Airlines flight to 43 - 35 passengers and eight Health Department quarantine staff.

Health Director Motusa Tuileama Nua said the overriding objective is to protect the territory's nearly 50,000 residents and stop a community transmission.…more

Story collated and written by Haitelenisia Afemui ‘Uhila Angilau for her 'Ordinary Tongan Lives' facebook page.  She is currently covering survivors stories from the Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption and subsequent tsunami.

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“This is the 50th year of living and working at Pangaimotu. And we’re still going. I’m part Tongan; I came here when I was 24. The dream was to develop an island in an idealistic tourist way. Not too commercial but just a nice place. Much of the dream has been taken away by a few cyclones but we just start again after each one. We started the business at 1972.

I remember cyclone Isaac back in 1982 which was a big one. There was another one called son of Isaac but it’s not recorded in history. The hurricane left and came back the next week and hit us again. That’s why the Lady Lata—the sunken ship—is at Pangaimotu now. Although here have been many cyclones, this is the first tsunami. The business has been affected so badly by the COVID lockdown then omicron came and made things worse.…more