Fiji: "No jabs, no job" Prime Minister Bainimarama

As it faces a runaway spread of the Delta strain, Fiji has announced intentions to make the coronavirus vaccine mandatory for all workers, with the prime minister giving a stark message: "no jabs, no job."

All state servants in the 930,000-strong South Pacific nation must go on leave if they have not received their first injection by August 15, and will be fired if they have not received their second by November 1.

Employees in the private sector must get their first vaccination by August 1, or face high fines and the danger of being shut down if they do not.

Private sector employees must have their first jab by August 1, with individuals facing hefty fines if they fail to comply and companies threatened with being shut down.

"No jabs, no job -- that is what the science tells us is safest and that is now the policy of the government and enforced through the law," Bainimarama said in a national address late Thursday.