Pacific nation Fiji declares itself coronavirus-free

Wellington: Fiji has declared itself free of the coronavirus - at least for now - after all 18 people who tested positive have recovered. Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said Friday that the South Pacific island nation had just cleared the last of its active patients.

He wrote on Twitter: "And even with our testing numbers climbing by the day, it's now been 45 days since we recorded our last case. With no deaths, our recovery rate is 100%"

He added: "Answered prayers, hard work, and affirmation of science!" Fiji, which has a population of 900,000, imposed a lockdown in certain areas in April and put in place ongoing border restrictions.