Asia Pacific Report newsdesk
French High Commissioner Patrice Faure in New Caledonia has declared an eight hour curfew for 15 days from tonight as health authorities reported 256 new cases yesterday in the covid delta variant outbreak.
The curfew will run from 9pm to 5am
Government spokesman Yannick Slamet and Health Director Dr Mabon de la Dass addressed last night’s media conference as the crisis entered its second week.
Dr De la Dass announced 256 new cases, taking the total to 821 cases since the outbreak began just over a week ago.
Seven patients were in intensive care and two people had died, one with other serious illnesses.
Eighty percent of the people hospitalised were unvaccinated.
Slamet said that local “tabac presse” shops — newsagencies — would be closed, but cigarettes and newspapers could be bought at supermarkets that remained open.
It was “inevitable” that the two-week lockdown declared last week would be extended.
