FIJI is the only country in the region that has the B1617 variant, which was first detected in India.
This, according to Pacific Community acting director public health Taniela Sunia Soakai.
He said the onus was on every country to ensure their people were safe.
“Generally, the Pacific needs to be well protected at this stage,” he said.
“I think we should be very assured of that but we can’t let our guard down and that depends on the readiness of the countries.”
Mr Soakai said the Pacific Community and other partners had been supporting countries with their preparedness and response planning.
He said no Pacific Island country could do genome sequencing and this was sent overseas.
