31 Mar 2022

Vanuatu records first Covid-related deaths

10:46 am on 31 March 2022

Vanuatu's Ministry of Health has confirmed the first two Covid-19 related deaths in the country.

The Minister Bruno Lengkon says the 22-year old woman and a five-year old boy had underlying conditions.

Bruno Lengkon

Bruno Lengkon Photo: Supplied

While Mr Lengkon has not confirmed whether the Port Vila woman had been vaccinated, he says investigations are continuing.

A total of 341 new cases have been reported in the past 24 hours, including 287 on Efate island in Shefa province and 54 on Santo island in Sanma province.

That brings the total number of confirmed cases since the beginning of 2022 to 3,128.

There are six people in hospital in Port Vila - all are in a stable condition.

Meanwhile, the first 20,000 AstraZeneca vaccines have been destroyed after they expired.

The Ministry of Health says they arrived on time but were not used soon enough.

It's being reported that there remains a lot of hesitation to become vaccinated, especially in the capital.