From the Editor-in-Chief's desk: Your January 5 briefing

Bula vinaka all

Headlines

Here are some headlines that made The Fiji Times’ edition for Wednesday, January 5.

KAILA!

But before that, remember we have the Kaila! edition inside… it’s for the young at heart. It’s brighter and loaded with fun stuff for the kids…

PAGE 1

Community transmission

FIJI has community transmission of both the Delta and Omicron variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, says Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr James Fong.

PAGE 2

Health workers

HEALTH workers who test positive for COVID-19 but whose “absence will severely debilitate the health service” could be allowed to continue working under strict new guidelines, says Dr Fong.

Community leaders

Dr James Fong is calling on community leaders to be proactive by establishing a register of people most vulnerable to severe disease

Low-pressure system

THE Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) is closely monitoring a low-pressure system that has a moderate probability of developing into a tropical cyclone over waters between Vanuatu and Fiji on Sunday.

PAGE 3

Omicron and Delta

WE have community transmission throughout Fiji of both the Omicron and Delta variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, says Dr Fong.

Pre-departure testing

IN light of the high prevalence of COVID-19 on Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, the Health Ministry will not require pre-departure testing for travellers moving between both islands, says Dr Fong.

COVID-19 and children

The Education Ministry says COVID-19 does not pose as high a risk to children as it does to adults, as long as safety measures are followed in schools.

PAGE 4

Poor turnout

THEN India Sanmarga Ikya (TISI) Sangam national president Sadasivan Naicker attributed the poor turnout of students when school resumed yesterday to the hike in COVID-19 cases.

‘Not a good idea’

IT was not a good idea to open school at this time, says Then India Sanmarga Ikya (TISI) Sangam national president Sadasivan Naicker.

PAGE 5

High student turnout

VUNIMONO High School in Nausori had about 98 per cent of its students return to school yesterday.

Naqali school resume classes

TWENTY-FOUR out of 26 Year Eight students of Naqali District School resumed classes yesterday.

Super-spreader

SCHOOLS could become COVID-19 super-spreader centres, says School Management Association president Govind Singh

PAGE 7

Woman wins appeal

A WOMAN who claims she was unfairly dismissed from her job in 2016 because she was pregnant won an appeal against an Employment Relations Tribunal’s 2018 decision that her termination was fair

Jone Vakarisi

JONE Vakarisi, the man accused of instigating the Nabua brawls, may be granted bail today.

Nausori Highlands murder trial

SENIOR forensic scientific officer Naomi Tuitoga told the High Court in Lautoka that the DNA of three individuals , apart from Mohammed Raheesh Isoof, was found on prayer items at a crime scene in the Nausori highlands where five dead bodies were discovered in August 2019.

LETTERS