As the number of Fiji’s covid-19 positive cases continues to rise, there is obvious discomfort and great concern among many Fijians.

This is to be expected. When you consider the recent easing of border restrictions in strategic areas around the country, there will be some sense of trepidation.

We may fall back on the advice and reassurance of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, however, it is still difficult for many people to accept the recent turn of events. The rising numbers are worrying.

• READ MORE: More Fiji covid crisis articles
• Fiji’s covid navy cluster still rises as nation records 28 new cases

They are a major concern. Interestingly, in the face of the rising numbers sits questions on adherence to physical distancing rules, and common sense.

There will be issues hovering around public transportation for instance, social gatherings, and funerals.

We learn that public service vehicle (PSV) operators are saying people need to adhere to covid-19 restrictions and social distancing requirements.

This reaction comes in the wake of concerns raised about crowding on PSVs in the Lami, Suva and Nausori containment zone.

It is frightening to note the rise in numbers. However, we can be buoyed by the fact that we know what to do to keep the virus away.

Fiji Bus Operators Association president Nisar Ali said information on social distancing protocols has been widely disseminated and people should follow them.

It was everybody’s responsibility, he pointed out, to ensure that when travelling on public service vehicles, they maintained social distancing.

Drivers, he said, could only tell the travelling public to distance themselves and enforcement was done by the Land Transport Authority and the Ministry of Health and Medical Services.

Fiji Taxi Association president Raben Singh said the same protocols introduced when covid-19 first came applied to taxis.

He said no one would be allowed into taxis without a mask and passenger numbers were now limited.

“Drivers are even selling masks to help facilitate their travel, but people should not be moving around unnecessarily.”

In the face of all these rules, police spokeswoman Savaira Tabua said they would continue to restrict movements of people despite the uplifting of borders.

“Our officers are manning checkpoints to ensure restrictions are followed,” she said.

“We would also like to encourage the public to be responsible. We will not be everywhere, therefore, their support is needed.”

The onus really is on us as individuals to make sound decisions daily. It is unfortunate that many people are not adhering to physical distancing rules when they board buses and cabs. The question is how do we ensure this is done though!

This certainly isn’t the time to be living dangerously. It’s clear that the cluster that attended a funeral recently came off as a major spreader of the virus.

It is a tough ask, but we can only hope that Fijians consider this when farewelling loved ones moving forward.

It is frightening to note the rise in numbers. However, we can be buoyed by the fact that we know what to do to keep the virus away.

The challenge is to be vigilant. Thousands of Fijians depend on us all making the right decisions daily.

The Fiji Times editorial, 3 June 2021. Republished with permission.

The symbolic handover of money to Indonesia’s Finance Ministry Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) to repay scholarship funds received by human rights lawyer and activist Veronica Koman by the Papuan People’s Solidarity Team was not able to go ahead because the LPDP office was closed yesterday.

Initially, several Papua People’s Solidarity Team representatives – former political prisoners Ambrosius Mulait and Dano Tabuni, who were accompanied by Papua human rights lawyer Michael Himan – arrived at the LPDP office.

The Solidarity Team brought 3 million rupiah (US$200) in cash which was to be handed over along with a national red-and-white flag and a copy of a transfer receipt for the rest of the scholarship money.

• READ MORE: Reversing silences in West Papua – Pacific Journalism Review profile of Veronica Koman’s human rights work

Mulait and Tabuni could be seen wearing traditional Papuan costumes complete with penis gourds (koteka).

“I feel disappointed with the LPDP office, we had already sent a letter dated September 15. (The LPDP) did not respond to us when we arrived on the grounds that the office was closed,” Himan told journalists.

The team was not even able to enter the LPDP office because the front gates were also closed.

Security personnel guarding the building said that the office was not operating because of the Large Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) to curb the spread of the coronavirus which have been in force in Jakarta since Monday.

Money already paid back
Although the symbolic handover was unable to take place, Himan emphasised that the scholarship money amounting to 773,876,918 rupiah (US$52,760) which the LPDP demanded Koman pay back had already been returned through a bank transfer.

“This is a symbolic handover of 3 million rupiah from the Papuan mama-mama [traditional Papuan women traders] which they sent to us,” he said.

Himan said, however, that the group would continue waiting until the LPDP opened so they could hand over the money.

“We won’t use it because it’s from the little people. We will definitely return, when the office is open we will come back,” he said.

In August, Koman announced on her Twitter account that the LPDP had asked her to return her scholarship amounting to 773 million rupiah which she received in 2016 to study for her Master’s degree in Australia.

The demand for the return of the money was seen as a form of pressure by the Indonesian government so that she would stop talking about and advocating human rights issues in Papua.

Koman herself is currently a suspect on charges of incitement related to an attack on a Papuan student dormitory in the East Java city of Surabaya on August 16, 2019.

Denial by LPDP office
The LPDP management, however, denied that the request for the return of the money was related to her activities.

According to the LPDP’s system, Koman had failed to live up to her contract and obligation to return to Indonesia after completing her studies.

Koman did indeed return to Indonesia in 2018 but then flew back to Australia before graduating from her studies.

Koman graduated in July 2019 but only reported her graduation through the LPDP’s evaluation and monitoring system on September 23, 2019.

Based on this, the LPDP issued a letter from the executive director on the sanctions in the form of the return of the LPDP scholarship funds amounting to 773.87 million rupiah to Koman on October 24, 2019.

The first letter of claim was issued on November 22, 2019.

Papuan ‘people’s campaign’
In the letter detailing the sanctions and claim, the LPDP stated that on February 15, 2020, Koman agreed to an offer to return the scholarship funds by paying it off in 12 installments.

The first installment of 64.5 million rupiah was paid and the money deposited in a state account in April 2020.

In response to the demand for the money, Papuan Solidarity and international groups launched a fundraising campaign.

The fundraising campaign was referred to as an act of solidarity from the Papuan people to Koman who has been active in advocating human rights issues in the “land of the Bird of Paradise” – as West Papua is known.

There has yet to be any statement from the LPDP on the closure of their office.

Translated by James Balowski of IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Beasiswa Veronica Koman Dikembalikan, Kantor LPDP Tutup”.

Australia’s Victorian state government told returned travellers to quarantine for two weeks. Some broke the rules.

It then paid for them to stay in hotels with security guards. Some of the guards couldn’t keep their dicks in their pants. Some of the returned travellers broke the rules.

It then eased some restrictions, and asked people to maintain social distancing and not hold large gatherings. Some broke the rules.

READ MORE: Victoria announces Melbourne to return to lockdown

• Al Jazeera coronavirus live updates: ‘Where a mask – period’ – US cases surge

While these rules were being broken a competent, terrifying enemy we thought we’d held back re-emerged.

Energised, it started to spread through a city whose people vastly underestimated its power.

The state government then gave suburbs slated for lockdowns a day’s notice.

Of course, some broke the rules. Residents moved to friends’ or relatives’ homes or used their loved ones’ homes to change their addresses on the Vicroads website.

The enemy snaked its way into inner suburbs
The enemy was reinforced – it snaked its way to Ascot Vale, Maribyrnong, Travancore … it encroached onto the inner city suburbs of North Melbourne and Flemington where 3000 underprivileged people live in high rise towers in close quarters, many with underlying health conditions.

(The inadequacy of some of the public housing in Australia is an issue which, to our shame, should have been dealt with before the powder keg of covid-19 blew up our lives.)

These tower blocks are vertical “cruise ships” – their inhabitants are sitting ducks. Some of the towers are designated for elderly residents. If not stopped, the enemy will soon discover that this is like shooting fish in a barrel – easy, easy kills.

Premier Daniel Andrews can’t afford to take any more chances. If a day, or eight hours, or five hours, or one hour is given, some will break the rules. (Andrews yesterday ordered a six week lockdown of metro Melbourne and Mitchell shire).

Rush to the shops while unknowingly helping the enemy spread. Rush to change their address online. Rush to move elsewhere, helping the enemy spread its vicious wings.

During a pandemic, the rights of the individual take a back seat for the greater good. If they don’t, you get situations where the enemy rages uncontrolled, infecting at will, and handing out painful deaths, and leaving survivors with after effects whose extent we still don’t fully know about.

High density public housing
In New York city, high density public housing bore the brunt of the enemy’s attacks.

In Singapore the second wave started in the packed homes of migrant workers, which also had to be locked down. Returned travellers are video-called more than once a day and visited more than once a day by immigration cops; step outside the apartment and it’s a prison sentence. (This is why Singapore can have nice things.)

When I look at this tower filled with elderly people metres from where I live, I think “there, but for the grace of Allah, go I” and I feel utter terror for them.

If the enemy is not contained, they’ll be pulling bodies out of here.

And across the state people will be baying for blood, asking why the government didn’t do something.

Dr Nasya Bahfen is a journalist and media academic living in Melbourne, Victoria. This is her personal view expressed on social media. The commentary has been republished by the Pacific Media Centre with permission.

Thousands of people took part in the Black Lives Matter protests in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin today.

Auckland’s Aotea Square protesters, largely peaceful and family oriented, marched to Custom Street and demonstrated outside the American consulate where protesters took a knee and observed a minute of silence for George Floyd.

This was one of two mass gatherings in Auckland today after the 23rd day in a row of New Zealand being covid-19 free.

READ MORE: George Floyd: What we know about the officers charged over his death

The other was at Eden Park which displayed a “sold out” sign after a capacity 43,000 tickets had been sold for the Blues-Hurricanes Super Rugby Aotearoa match this afternoon. This match and one between the Highlanders and Chiefs in Dunedin last night kicked of the world’s first post-covid live crowd rugby matches.

The Black Lives Matter protests around the world started with the death of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis, USA, on May 25 when white policeman Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes.

Chauvin was videoed by Darnella Fraizer, a 17-year-old high school senior, as Floyd pleaded: “I can’t breathe.”

He has been charged with second degree murder, third degree murder and manslaughter. Three other policemen have been charged for aiding and abetting and all four officers were sacked from the police.

‘Keep it peaceful’
The Auckland protest march opened with a karakia at Aotea Square and a mihi whakatau from Graham Tipene of Ngāti Whātua, who told the crowd to “keep it peaceful”.

“Our kids are here, so let’s do it right and fight for what’s right,” he said.

Members of the black African communities addressed the crowd on the Black Lives Matter movement, along with social justice campaigner Julia Whaipooti, who talked about the use of armed police in predominantly Māori and Pasifika areas.

“For many of us this is not a new moment in time, not a hashtag on Instagram,” she said.

Emilie Rakete from People Against Prisons Aotearoa and the Arms Down movement spoke about armed police, particularly in South Auckland.

She said the “truth is that we live on a graveyard in Aotearoa”, with NZ police laying down the bodies.

“When the cops say hands up, we say arms down.”

‘They love to profit off our pain’
Auckland-based Somali-NZ rapper Mo Muse performed a piece written in the past two weeks, saying “they love to profit off our pain”.

“Tell Winston Peters he can see me in hell cos we won’t be silenced.”

Auckland University of Technology academic Associate Professor Camille Nakhid, who researched police discrimination against the African community in New Zealand, said racism was the knee on the neck of Māori, Pasifika and other communities of colour in New Zealand.

“Everyone is talking and thinking about the murder of George Floyd in the US and the knee that was on his neck. But I want to talk about the knees on our neck, the Black indigenous people of colour in Aotearoa”, said Nr Nakhid, who is also chair of AUT’s Pacific Media Centre.

She said things such as putting students into lower streams in schools, lower standards of health and the uplifting of children were the knees upon the neck of people of colour in this country.

“This protest is because we love who we are. Do not let them turn our love into hate against each other.

“We have to remain awake because we need to get those knees off our neck.”

Wellington, Dunedin rallies
In Wellington, RNZ News reports that thousands of people gathered in Civic Square, to march to Parliament in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

The march was organised by a group of community advocates, including Guled Mire.

In Dunedin, hundreds of people gathered at the Otago Museum reserve to show solidarity with the movement. They marched down George Street to the Octagon, where a rally was held.

The Auckland march, which started at Aotea Square, headed down Queen St and ended at the US consulate, where protesters took a knee and observed a minute of silence for George Floyd.

There is now a 95 percent chance covid-19 has been eliminated in New Zealand, according to our modelling, based on official Ministry of Health data.

As of June 4, New Zealand has had 20 consecutive days of zero new cases, with only one active case remaining. The last new reported case of covid-19 was on May 15 (going by the date the case was first suspected rather than later confirmed).

This still leaves a small chance of undetected cases, and we know that covid-19 is passed on at superspreading events.

READ MORE: Don’t stand so close to me – understanding consent can help with those tricky social distancing moments

New Zealand is now preparing to relax its covid-19 restrictions to alert level 1 from as early as Wednesday with an announcement by the government expected today, which would end physical distancing and size restrictions on gatherings. But our modelling suggests removing limits on large gatherings will increase the risk of a very large new outbreak from 3 percent to 8 percent.

To reduce this risk, New Zealanders will need to continue avoiding the three Cs of possible infection: closed spaces, crowded places and close contact.

As crowds return, the risks will rise
New Zealand is now very close to its elimination target. But there is still a 5 percent chance of undetected cases.

On June 3, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced details of the impending alert level 1 rules. Border closures will largely remain (except for returning New Zealanders) but all other significant restrictions on people’s movement within New Zealand will end.

From the perspective of the virus, the most significant change will be the end of restrictions on the size of gatherings. Airlines can fill up economy class again, nightclubs can pack their dancefloors and universities can open their lecture theatres.

Someone who caught the virus three or four weeks ago may not have developed severe symptoms (which happens in around 30 percent of people) and not got a test. They could have passed the virus on to someone else, who also missed out on a test.

A chain of infections like this could continue for a while before it is detected. Some segments of the population, such as younger people, are less likely to develop symptoms and are therefore more likely to sustain hidden infection chains.

Covid-19 is a superspreading virus. The reproduction number (R0) tells us that on average each infected person infects another 2.5 people. But for every ten people who catch covid-19, nine probably won’t pass it on, while the tenth person may turn up at an event and infect 25 others.

Risk from returning travellers
There is also a chance covid-19 could enter New Zealand with an international traveller. Last week, around 200 people, almost all returning Kiwis, touched down in New Zealand every day.

Many came from places like Australia, Hong Kong or Tonga – all countries relatively free of covid-19. Some also arrived from the USA, where the virus is widespread. Between February and April, we know that between 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent of all arrivals tested positive. With these numbers, we should expect one or two new cases to arrive each week.

New arrivals must remain in quarantine for at least 14 days. The incubation period for covid-19 is usually five to six days and it is rare for symptoms to begin more than 14 days after being exposed.

The bigger risk is a symptom-free person arriving and passing the virus onto someone at the same quarantine hotel, who then leaves before their symptoms appear.

Ministry of Health data show eight of New Zealand’s 500 imported cases developed their first symptoms more than two weeks after arriving. Maybe they caught it before they arrived or maybe they caught it during quarantine. Either way, they would have been infectious after they left quarantine.

People who work at the border – airline cabin crew, biosecurity or immigration personnel and staff at quarantine hotels – are at similar risk.

The inevitable new case
Our models show the risk of new cases coming from within New Zealand is now comparable to that from international travellers. The risk from international arrivals stays about the same whether we’re at level 1 or 2, while the risk of domestic transmission is decreasing.

The most important question is how we will cope when the inevitable new case arrives.

Each active case is like a small spark waiting to start a fire. Superspreading theory tells us most of those sparks go out, but a small number will ignite. These sparks are the problem: it could be an infected person at a choir rehearsal, at a nightclub, or cheering for their sports team.

New Zealand is fortunate to have highly trained, experienced contact tracers standing by. But they need our help. If you were to test positive, could you remember everywhere you have been for the last week and who else was there? A contact tracer’s nightmare is a large gathering with no record of who attended.

To move to level 1, we first need to ensure our contact tracing systems, including the NZ COVID Tracer app, QR codes and sign-in sheets at shops, are up to scratch. We need to be confident we can manage the risks when hundreds of people gather or attend protest marches. We have to be able to do these things safely while covid-19 is still out there.

Dr Michael Plank is professor in mathematics, University of Canterbury; Dr Alex James is associate professor, University of Canterbury; Dr Audrey Lustig is a research scientist, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research; Nicholas Steyn is a research assistant; Dr Rachelle Binny, is a research scientist, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, and Dr Shaun Hendy, is professor of physics. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

Filipinos on lockdown have sought comic relief online through various memes and social media posts related to the uncomfortable experience of being quarantined for a week – and counting.

Malacañang placed Luzon under lockdown last Tuesday, March 17. This meant the suspension of public transportation, implementation curfews in some areas, and the restriction of movement outside of people’s homes.

The lockdown has forced people inside their homes for at least a month – an experience both unprecendented and sudden for many Filipinos.

READ MORE: Philippines Covid-19 infection toll tops 501, deaths 33

With limited things to do at home, some Filipinos have coped with their current situation through memes that deliver strong messages to authorities supposedly leading the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

These memes have highlighted how a number of politicians and their relatives sought special treatment to get tested for coronavirus first at a time when medical frontliners are overwhelmed with backlogs and a surge of patients.

Other memes reacted to how President Rodrigo Duterte is handling the coronavirus outbreak, evidently prioritising military measures instead of health-oriented solutions.

In a petition released on Friday, the group Scientists Unite Against COVID-19 called on the national government to start mass testing for coronavirus. This call was echoed by an online petition on Change.Org calling for urgent action, including mandatory mass testing nationwide, to address the outbreak.

Instead of ordering mass testing, President Rodrigo Duterte will be asking Congress to declare a “national emergency” and grant him emergency powers “necessary” to address the growing number of novel coronavirus cases in the Philippines.

The reality is, for many Filipinos especially those who follow the “no work, no pay” policy, working from home is not even an option.