Fiji to reopen its border 11 November [1]
Tuesday, October 12, 2021 - 17:46
Fiji will reopen its border to ‘travel partner countries’ from 11 November, its Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama announced on Fiji Day, 10 October.
Fiji Day marks the day in 1970, 51 years ago, when Prince Charles handed over the Constitutional Instruments to the late Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara at Albert Park in Suva, and Fiji became a sovereign nation.
FijiVillage reported that Fiji’s Travel Partner Countries include Australia, New Zealand, United States of America, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Qatar, Germany, Spain, France, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Japan and most Pacific Island countries and territories. The PM says to come to Fiji, travellers must have spent at least 10 days in any of these places. From November 11 onward there will be no traditional quarantine requirements. Instead there will be different sets of requirements for tourists, residents and those visiting friends and family. After showing proof of vaccination and testing negative for the virus 72 hours before their departure, they will arrive in Fiji and head straight to their hotel.
According to the Prime Minister 80% of Fiji’s adult population has been fully vaccinated and the Fiji Airways is scheduled to arrive in Fiji with its first flight of tourists for an official reopening on 1 December.
Tonga
Tonga is one of Fiji’s Travel Partner Countries, and one of the few island states in the Pacific that is still free of COVID-19.
Tonga renewed its National COVID-19 Restrictions, from 8:00pm, Monday 27 September 2021 until 8:00pm Monday 25 October 2021, including its border closure.
The Tongan Government has yet to confirm its reaction to Fiji’s opening up of its border. Many Tongan nationals remain stranded in Fiji after Tonga stopped admitting passenger flights from there.
According to Paula Ma’u, the Secretary of the National Emergency Task Force for COVID-19, they would meet again today to consider Fiji’s opening up of its border.
Tonga's Task Force was launched on 27 August under the Tonga Strategic Roadmap for Emergency and Disaster Risk Management to achieve a number of outcomes over the next three years, including having fully functioning Emergency Operation Centres, and clear standards and guidelines for evacuation process management with increased safety and security of evacuation centres.