New Caledonia has decided to cancel the end of year high school exams because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
After a lockdown imposed in early September, many schools reopened last week but absenteeism is reported to be high.
The pandemic has infected more than 10,000 people and killed more than 240 patients but it is on the wane as vaccinations are being ramped up.
New Caledonia is under lockdown and movements are being checked Photo: supplied FB French High Commission in New Caledonia
The government has decided to allow small accommodation providers to re-open, subject a range of conditions.
They include a requirement to have a health pass, which was launched last week and obtained by 35,000 people so far.
The government has also called for a roundtable with employers and unions on the law which makes vaccinations for healthcare staff compulsory.
The deadline to comply is the end of October.
However, the ethnic Wallisian Pacific Awakening party has tabled an amendment, proposing the deadline be extended to the end of the year or alternatively, the law be scrapped, if vaccination rates are high.