A Pacific media watchdog is calling on governments to not gag the press now that information is more important than ever.
The Pacific Freedom Forum's Chair, Bernadette Carreon, said governments and the media need to work together to ensure the public is well informed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ms Carreon said State of Emergencies are no excuse for governments to censor the media.
Fiji has detained citizens for alleged social media comments about the government's Covid-19 measures.
New legislation in Cook Islands has also been passed where the government is able to punish what it deems 'harmful information' about the pandemic, while in Vanuatu, media have been told to have all stories vetted by the Disaster Management Office.