Covid-19 cases in Solomon Islands are soaring.
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare made a national address yesterday saying there are now 2790 cases in the country.
Sogavare said this was within 20 days of the country's first case of domestic transmission of the virus.
Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare. Photo: SIG news service
He said on Friday alone, health officials identified 430 cases.
Sogavare put the official death toll at 32 but other deaths are believed to have occurred at home.
The prime minister said all but three provinces have reported cases, and transmission was now widespread in the capital, Honiara.
Many of the local lockdowns that had been in place have been lifted but a curfew from 6pm to 6am will still be enforced.
Movement out of Honiara is not allowed.
The prime minister has reiterated calls for people to get vaccinated.
"You have heard me say in almost all my addresses to you that if we have community transmission of Covid-19 we will see a very rapid rise in the number of new cases of the diseases and the number of deaths," Sogavare said.
"You have heard me say that most of the deaths will occur among the elderly and the unvaccinated. Sadly, this is what we are seeing."
Sogavare warned the outbreak would get worse.
"The Covid-19 situation will get worse before it gets better. Many more of us will get infected and, sadly, many more may lose their lives," he said.
"We must rise and fight this virus together - that is the only way. For residents in Honiara, the level of transmission is so high, I am told, that one in two may be carrying the virus."