Pacific Islands

Two Marshall Islanders died from dengue fever this week at Majuro hospital emphasizing the severity of the outbreak now in its eighth month.

Nine people lost at sea in the Solomon Islands are now presumed dead with the official search called off.

Samoa’s Ministry of Health has confirmed that two Samoan sailors are in quarantine for 14 days at the Faleolo District Hospital amid fears they might be carrying China’s coronavirus.

The death toll from Samoa’s measles epidemic remains at 79, with no fatalities in the past two days.

Another child under the age of five has died in Samoa’s measles epidemic, bringing the toll to 77.

With measles spreading throughout the Pacific region, the Marshall Islands has stepped up its prevention campaign this week.

The people of Bougainville, an island group in Papua New Guinea, have voted overwhelmingly for independence.

One of the world’s most iconic actors, Will Smith has arrived yesterday in Tanna to shoot a geographical film at the Mt. Yasur Volcano.

Seasonal workers returning home to Samoa for Christmas should be given the measles vaccine before they go, says a doctor leading New Zealand’s medical response to the epidemic in Samoa.

The death toll from Samoa’s measles epidemic has reached 70, with two deaths recorded in the past 24 hours.

The Samoan government says thanks to a two day mass vaccination programme, 89 percent of people have now been vaccinated.

There are now 65 measles related deaths in Samoa following two more fatalities over the past 24 hours.