Wallis and Futuna eases two-month lockdown

The lockdown imposed in Wallis and Futuna in March is being eased as Covid-19 cases have plummeted.

The territory went into a sudden lockdown on March 9th when the first community case was detected, which within days snowballed into hundreds of infections.

A total of 434 cases have been recorded, of which seven were fatal.

However, since April 26th, no new case has been registered, and from today businesses are allowed to operate but restaurants remain shut.

A nine-hour nightly curfew applies and gatherings of up to 10 people are allowed, with the exception of funerals, which may be attended by up to 30 people.

Schools are scheduled for a partial re-opening in a week. Churches may reopen but only fill them partly.

The outbreak prompted Paris to send large medical teams and within three weeks, about 40 percent of the population was vaccinated.

The inoculation has slowed and in the past month only an additional five percent of the population accepted the Moderna jab.

The outbreak in Wallis and Futuna, whose origin is yet to be determined, spread to nearby New Caledonia, prompting also a lockdown there in early March.

A month ago, New Caledonia lifted its last internal restrictions.

Source : RNZ 10 May 2021