New Caledonia's Covid-19 community outbreak, which was detected on Monday, has spread, with medical experts saying the virus is now out of control.
Lockdown controls in New Caledonia Photo: supplied FB French High Commission in New Caledonia
The government has confirmed 16 cases and says six of them are in intensive care in Noumea.
The vice president Isabelle Champmoreau said none of the individuals has been vaccinated.
The figures exclude more than a dozen additional cases being reported after rapid tests around New Caledonia, including in Lifou and Mare.
A two-week lockdown came into force on midday Tuesday, triggering a rush to get vaccinated.
Inoculation figures show less than a third of the population has had two jabs, which prompted the government last week to make Covid-19 vaccinations for adults compulsory.
A leading hospital doctor Thierry de Greslan said with the exponential growth of the Delta variant, the hospitals will be full within two to three weeks.
He said there is no point counting the cases as it is clear numbers will increase and that instead efforts should be made to test as many people as possible.
Thierry de Greslan said New Caledonia won't return to its Covid-19 free status and must now live with the virus.
There had been fewer than 140 cases since the start of the pandemic last year and to date, the French territory has recorded no fatality linked to the pandemic.