Cook Islands

The Deputy Prime Minister in the Cook Islands is assuring residents on Rarotonga they will not be charged unless their water use is excessive.

The Cook Islands government has confirmed this week a 47 year old woman was medevacced from Rarotonga to New Zealand.

Hopes are high the Cook Islands parliament will reconsider some of the water charges planned to pay for the agency that will run Rarotonga's new reticulation system.

The Cook Islands Opposition claims there is no doubt the bill setting up an authority to run Rarotonga's new water system will have to be overhauled.

The Cook Islands government has extended border closure measures in place for inbound travel.

The Cook Islands has temporarily shut its air border for any incoming travellers. The order came into effect on 13 August at midnight.

The Cook Islands business community is hoping the government will extend the country's wage subsidy. Audio

The Cook Islands has tightened its borders after the confirmation of new coronavirus cases in New Zealand.

NZ's prime minister says a travel bubble with the Cook Islands could be open before the end of the year.

Cases of dengue fever have been confirmed on the Cook Islands' Pa Enua, or outer islands, despite the number of cases in the country declining.

About five Cook Islands families were driven from their homes by flooding this week, during a downpour that brought a month's worth of rain to Rarotonga.