Pacific / French Polynesia

Covid-19: Cases in Tahiti near 17,000

07:32 am on 6 January 2021

French Polynesia has recorded four Covid-19 deaths since the start of the year, raising the pandemic's tally to 121.

French Polynesia is one of the places in the Pacific worst hit by the pandemic. Photo: supplied

The government released the territory's first coronavirus figures for the year yesterday, which showed that nearly 17,000 people have been infected since March.

All but 62 of these cases came after the government reopened borders to tourists in July, in a bid to boost tourism.

There are 43 people in hospital, 20 of them in intensive care.

A nightly curfew remains in place as part of measures implemented to control the outbreak.