The current State of Public Emergency (SOPE) was extended for another 7 days after it expired 12 midnight last night.

Governor General Sir David Vunagi made the declaration last night on the advice of the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare after he consulted Cabinet.

The extension will give time for Parliament to debate and decide whether the SOPE should be extended, pending the health emergency bill which is still being developed.

A government statement said, the declaration by the Governor General is necessary to ensure that COVID-19 measures can be enforced under the Emergency Powers Act.

When the Governor General first declared that a state of public emergency exist in Solomon Islands on 25th March 2020 the statistics on COVID-19 were 422,566 cases with 18,887 deaths worldwide.

Today the figures now stand at 124 million cases and 2.74 million deaths worldwide.

News Desk