The Permanent Secretary for Health confirms that moving forward, the health isolation facilities will be dedicated for patients who are most at risk of becoming severely ill or dying from the virus.
Doctor Fong says by placing the most vulnerable in these facilities, they will be able to ensure that they provide them critical treatment and closely monitor and respond if a person shows danger signs of severe COVID-19.
He says they are also establishing an intermediate COVID-care facility at the National Gymnasium with at least 50 beds available for patients who develop severe symptoms of the virus.
If need be, they have identified additional space in the area to expand the capacity of that centre if necessary.
Other patients will be asked to safely isolate themselves at home where they will be provided the guidance and resources to receive home-based care.
Doctor Fong says their highest priority is to provide life-saving care to those Fijians who are most at risk of becoming severely sick, requiring hospitalisation and dying.
He says anyone can experience severe COVID-19, however some people are more at risk, including those over the age of 60 and those with an existing medical condition, like hypertension, diabetes, heart or lung disease, chronic kidney disease, cancer or those who are obese or overweight.
The Permanent Secretary says their top priority is on preventing severe disease and death, and that means reaching and treating the most vulnerable patients as quickly as they can.
Doctor Fong says most people who contract COVID-19 will only have mild symptoms before making a full recovery.
He says of the more than 2,000 Fijians in isolation and quarantine facilities and more than 1,000 in home isolation, they expect most to mount full recoveries.
However Doctor Fong says over the next few weeks, as case numbers increase, their isolation capacity will be significantly tested.
He says as that happens, they need to ensure that they identify and treat those who are most vulnerable to severe COVID-19.
For those individuals in home isolation, they will have a list of patient names paired with contact information so that we can check-in with these individuals on a daily basis over the phone to assess their medical and non-medical needs.
He says as has been the case, they will continue to be provided with groceries and other household essentials so they can securely remain isolated within their homes.
Doctor Fong says they will be told to monitor their symptoms regularly and if they develop any danger signs, will be referred immediately to the nearest hospital or health facility for treatment.
If they aren’t able to transport themselves, they can call 165 for an emergency retrieval team to be dispatched to transport them to a COVID-care centre.
He says this team is based out of ANZ Stadium and they will also be charged with transporting patients with severe symptoms from isolation facilities to COVID-care centres.
Doctor Fong says this phase of their response requires that they move personnel from the field into Ministry offices so that they can check-in with patients remotely.
They have also supplemented their internal staffing with final year medical and dental students from FNU and they are grateful to these young people for stepping up to serve Fiji.
If you live in the Lami-Suva-Nausori containment area and are developing symptoms of COVID-19 or feel sick, go to the nearest health facility and don't call 158.
These are the words of Health Ministry's Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu who adds people should not wait for health teams to come to them as there are a lot of patients that are recorded in the Central Division and their teams are stretched.
Tudravu also confirms that CWM Hospital will transition into a green hospital in the next few days to look after non COVID cases while FEMAT Field Hospital will transition to look after COVID patients.
195 individuals are currently in 6 health facility isolation facilities, 522 individuals are in 8 community isolation facilities, 1,058 COVID-19 patients are in home isolation facilities in Suva and Rewa subdivisions and 1,728 people are awaiting retrieval into their isolation facilities.
Tudravu says the national 7 day average daily test positivity is 8.9 percent and continues on an upward trend.
He says they have now tested 156,924 samples since March this year.
274 new cases of COVID-19 have been announced while Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has raised serious concerns regarding a birthday party at Rifle Range in Lautoka which has resulted in a new cluster of cases.
Doctor Fong who was speaking via zoom as he is in isolation after coming into contact with a positive case, says the cluster of new cases stems from a birthday party with upwards of 14 people in attendance from various locations in Lautoka.
He says not only does this event show a blatant disregard for the COVID-19 safety measures, but it also troubles him that families would recklessly threaten the health of their family members and the broader community, especially those members of the family and community who are most vulnerable.
Doctor Fong says any large gathering of the family may be the last time you see your grandparents or another loved one because they could easily be infected by this highly transmissible variant, develop severe disease, and lose their lives.
He says don’t forget, it’s not only you and your family that suffer these consequences.
The Permanent Secretary says the entire community must now go under strict containment protocols and when someone in attendance at an illegal gathering inevitably gets sick and ends up in the hospital, it is the duty of our doctors and nurses to treat them, and they will.
But he says that preventable case of COVID-19 strains the healthcare system, making it more difficult for others to be treated.
He says following 74 new recoveries since Tuesday, there are now 3,503 active cases in the country.
Doctor Fong says as you will see from the online map of active cases, we are now in a situation of community transmission where there are cases throughout the Central Division.
He says our cases are climbing and we are expecting that the daily case average will continue to rise, including an increase in individuals suffering severe COVID-19.
The Permanent Secretary says they have no new deaths to report today.
However he says during this outbreak, tragically three deaths have occurred before the medical teams had the opportunity to offer treatment.
One patient died at home, two others were declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
He says it is possible for the virus to take hold very quickly and for symptoms to appear and escalate in a matter of hours but often, the timeline is more gradual, as symptoms become visible well before severe disease develops, often many days before.
Doctor Fong urges members of the public, if you feel any flu-like symptoms or you know someone who is experiencing any flu-like symptoms, please visit your nearest screening clinic, now.
If you have a cough, runny nose, extreme tiredness, a fever, if you have lost your sense of taste or smell or suspect you may have COVID-19, report to your nearest screening clinic, now.
He says time is critical, and you cannot afford to waste a precious second that could allow for the virus to spread to others or for you to receive early treatment.
50% of the target population have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca but Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong is puzzled by some people resisting to get the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says there will always be lone voices sowing doubt, some citing what they believe is their own superior insight or even some revelation from God.
But he says as a man of faith, he believes that he and the doctors and nurses he leads have a God-given purpose to protect life.
He believes that God gave them the ability to develop treatments for disease, and this vaccine has the overwhelming endorsement of the worldwide medical, scientific and religious communities.
Doctor Fong says it is helping countries open up around the world, and it will help us do the same.
He says those who refuse to vaccinate themselves do so at their own risk and at the risk of others.
The Permanent Secretary says he cannot say it more plainly than that, and he thanks the heads of the faith who are being vaccinated and encouraging others to do the same.
He says they are rolling out vaccines at a rate that surpasses most high income countries but their mission is not yet achieved.
Doctor Fong says their goal is to make a vaccine available to every eligible adult in Fiji and to have those Fijians all accept this safe and effective protection.
He says he is truly puzzled by the pockets of resistance to this vaccine among some people when they know that vaccines have prevented the spread of dangerous diseases for literally centuries.
The Permanent Secretary says this is a new vaccine because it is combatting a new disease, so every vaccine is new, yet the process of vaccination is time-tested and safe.
He says in the last year, they had successful vaccination campaigns in Fiji to combat outbreaks of measles and Men-C.
Doctor Fong also says this virus arrives in waves.
He says they expect the next wave will arrive in four to five days from now and the Health Ministry expects it will be the most severe yet.
Doctor Fong says while the indicators tell us to expect more fatalities in the coming weeks, the science and the experience of other nations tell us that many thousands of lives can still be saved.
He says the science behind how this virus spreads tells us that masks, physical distance, and handwashing, can work together to slow the spread.
Doctor Fong says the science behind vaccines tells us this protection works extremely well against this variant and our progress in protecting Fijians through vaccines shows us that we are well on our way back to a version of normalcy.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says that it is unfortunate that there is a lot of misinformation circulating about home remedies for COVID-19.
Doctor Fong highlighted this when questioned if home remedies are resulting in people arriving late or even dead when taken to the hospital.
He says remedies are nothing new but now it has become a louder voice during the pandemic.
Doctor Fong says we have not progressed much when it comes to misinformation
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