Commonwealth weightlifting gold medallist, 40, dies of Covid-19

WELLINGTON (AFP) - A Commonwealth Games weightlifting champion and Olympian has become the first Covid-19-related death in the tiny Pacific island republic of Nauru, the world's second smallest nation.

"Reanna Solomon, only 40 years of age, lost her life as a result of the Covid-19 virus," the Oceania Weightlifting Federation said in a statement on Thursday (July 7).

President Lionel Aingimea had previously announced the death without disclosing the name, saying the first person to die with Covid-19 in Nauru had passed away on July 1.

Solomon won two gold medals in the super-heavyweight division at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and placed 10th at the Athens Olympics two years later.

"Apart from being a great athlete, Reanna was a devoted mother and wife and has sadly left behind her husband Tavita and their five children," Paul Coffa, the general secretary of the Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation, said.

"Reanna was a superb athlete, naturally strong, who started competing in weightlifting in the 1990s."

Nauru, with a population of fewer than 11,000, has more than 4,100 active Covid-19 cases.

To curb the spread of the disease, the government has introduced on-the-spot fines of up to US$6,800 (S$9,500) for people walking around for non-essential reasons, not wearing a mask, and for gatherings of more than three people.