The Vanuatu government has eased international and domestic restrictions brought in to curb the spread of Covid-19.

It came as a petition calling for the lifting of the curfew had begun circulating in Port Vila.

The order to ease restrictions, signed by the Minister of Health, Bruno Leingkon, said travellers from New Zealand, Australia, New Caledonia and Fiji will now only spend 3 days in quarantine instead of 14 days.

Mr Leingkon said the travellers will still have to have rapid antigen, or RAT tests, on their first day of quarantine.

Those arriving from other nations will now be quarantined for 7 days.

The curfew on Efate, where Port Vila is located, and on Santo Island, has now been lifted, but the rules in terms of mask use and social distancing have to be followed.

Meanwhile the discovery of covid cases on Pentecost, in Penama, and Lo in the Torres group in the north of the country, have caused the government to move those regions to the highest level of alert, Level 3.

This is applied when there is community transmission and health officials are yet to isolate its source.