Hugh McClure

Two-thirds of Papua New Guinea’s small and medium-sized businesses have been forced to close their doors as a result of COVID-19, whilst French Polynesia’s president has tested positive for the virus, Hugh McClure writes.

COVID-19 has emerged in the Solomon Islands, whilst PNG is slowly opening up to international travel, Hugh McClure writes.

Papua New Guinea’s opposition leader is putting pressure on the government to lift restrictions, whilst newly released analysis has predicted French Polynesia to be on track for 100,000 COVID-19 cases by year-end, writes Hugh McClure.

Papua New Guinea is looking to ease travel restrictions and New Zealand’s first repatriation flight to Samoa since COVID-19 remerged in Auckland touched down this week, with 300 seasonal workers on board, writes Hugh McClure.

There are fears that rural Papua New Guinea may be underreporting COVID-19 cases, whilst the leaders of Micronesian states free of the virus are preparing to meet in person for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, writes Hugh McClure.