Kiwis appear eager to begin travelling again, with a significant uptick in flight bookings to Rarotonga in the winter months following the announcement of a quarantine-free travel bubble. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, after her Friday meeting with Cook Islands counterpart Mark Brown, said there was as yet no set date for the two-way bubble, but ... read more
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The Cook Islands Cabinet met yesterday and has agreed to resume flights from Auckland to Rarotonga. The move comes following recommendations from the Cook Islands Ministry of Health. Prime Minister Mark Brown said in a statement on Facebook he now “had confidence in the New Zealand systems and contact tracing regime” after a week straight of ... read more
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While Pacific Island countries have, so far, been spared a catastrophic spread of COVID-19, their economies have been devastated by the effects of border closures, internal lockdowns and the demise of international tourism and trade. With the global pandemic far from over, Pacific Islanders are looking to their local and regional economies to drive resilience ... read more
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Despites key setbacks this week, Government is sticking to its target of opening the border to two-way quarantine-free travel with New Zealand by the end of next month. With new community cases in Auckland and ongoing delays in setting up mass Covid-19 testing capabilities at Rarotonga Hospital, the Government is committed to opening the border ... read more
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Forum HQ, Suva, FIJI– Pacific Islands Forum Leaders have concluded their Special Leaders Retreat overnight and have announced Henry Puna as the incoming Secretary General. Also on the agenda of the Special Leaders Retreat was the COVID-19 pandemic, including the distribution of vaccines to the region. Leaders acknowledged the region’s efforts to date to manage the spread of the COIVD-19 pandemic in the Pacific region, including through the ... read more
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