SUVA, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The school holidays in Fiji has been extended for another two weeks on Tuesday to better cope with the spread of COVID-19.
According to a statement from Fiji's Ministry of Education on Tuesday, Education Minister Rosy Akbar said that all schools in the island nation will remain closed for another two weeks until April 17.
While stressing that the safety and well-being of children, teachers and their families are paramount and cannot be put at undue risk, she said that with the control measures still in place for COVID-19, her ministry will closely monitor the situation and advise on the school resumption date.
The first term school holidays in Fiji were initially scheduled from April 20 to May 1, 2020, but the holidays had to begin on March 23 in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Meanwhile, Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has given a directive to all civil servants to stay home unless they are part of essential services, with an official announcement to be made on Wednesday.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Fiji's Minister For Civil Service Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum assured that civil servants working from home does not mean government services to the public will be reduced in any way.
Fiji's Health Minister Ifereimi Waqainabete said on Tuesday that a whole-action approach is needed to continue to keep the COVID-19 cases at a minimum amount, noting Fiji still has five confirmed cases with no new cases reported after conducting 357 tests.
Currently, Fiji has taken stricter measures to fight COVID-19, including a curfew which started on Monday night and so far 68 people have been arrested for breaching the curfew hours from 10:00 p.m. local time to 5:00 a.m local time every day.
