The Latest: Pacific nation Fiji declares itself virus-free

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Fiji has declared itself free of the coronavirus - at least for now - after all 18 people who tested positive have recovered.

Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said Friday that the South Pacific island nation had just cleared the last of its active patients.

He wrote on Twitter: “And even with our testing numbers climbing by the day, it’s now been 45 days since we recorded our last case. With no deaths, our recovery rate is 100%”

He added: “Answered prayers, hard work, and affirmation of science!”

Fiji, which has a population of 900,000, imposed a lockdown in certain areas in April and put in place ongoing border restrictions.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— UK vaccine summit calls for freely available virus vaccine

— Spain study confirms few have developed antibodies to virus

— Study on safety of malaria drugs for coronavirus retracted

— In Nevada, the casino coronavirus closure has ended. Cards are being dealt, dice are rolling and slot machines flash and jingle for the customers who started gambling again early Thursday in Las Vegas and throughout the state. Hotel-casinos in suburban areas were first to open, followed later by a restart of the iconic Bellagio fountain and reopenings of several resorts on the Las Vegas Strip.

— The USS Theodore Roosevelt has returned to sea and is conducting military operations in the Pacific region, 10 weeks after a massive coronavirus outbreak sidelined the aircraft carrier.

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Go to https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak for updates throughout the day.

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING TODAY:

NEW DELHI: India on Friday registered more than 9,800 new cases of the coronavirus in another biggest...