Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed eleven COVID deaths - two of these deaths are children and three were fully vaccinated individuals who had existing medical conditions that placed them at higher risk of severe disease.
Doctor Fong says he knows that some of you have heard the recent claims made by certain members of the community that vaccines don’t work, but he reminds you that COVID-19 vaccines provide a person with the best protection from becoming seriously ill, hospitalised or dying from COVID-19.
He says global studies and what we learn from other countries like the UK, show us how effective these vaccines are at reducing the number of persons who become seriously ill, hospitalised or dying from COVID-19 by providing a person up to 92% protection.
However the Permanent Secretary says, like any other vaccine, there is a small chance that people who have been partially or fully vaccinated can still get infected with COVID-19, and sadly fully vaccinated people can still get severe COVID-19 and die.
He says 92% is not 100%, and no vaccine offers 100% protection because the effectiveness of vaccines depends on an individual’s immune response.
Doctor Fong says the risk of death in fully vaccinated individuals increases if someone has a medical condition that weakens their immune system, for example, diabetes, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, obesity, or they are in an older age group.
He says these deaths in fully vaccinated individuals are rare, however, we can expect to see these as we continue to see widespread transmission in our community.
However Doctor Fong says the evidence is very clear that vaccines lower your risk of severe disease and death if you get infected with COVID-19.
He says of the 477 deaths recorded in Fiji during this outbreak: 371(77.8%) were not vaccinated, 103 were partially vaccinated (21.6%), and 3 (0.6%)were fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says therefore, 99.4% of people who have died due to COVID-19 in Fiji were not fully vaccinated.
With the announcement of the death of 2 children, Doctor Fong says these losses show us a new picture of how the virus is impacting our community.
An 11 year old girl from Naboutini was declared dead on arrival at the Navua Hospital while a 6 month infant from Nausori Highlands died at Lautoka Hospital 20 days after admission.
He says the death of a child is always terrible and sadly COVID-19 does not discriminate.
Doctor Fong says whilst we know children are at significantly lower risk of suffering severe COVID-19, unfortunately as we continue to see the virus spread in our community, we will see children being infected and some tragically dying from COVID-19.
He says this is why he cannot reinforce enough, whilst COVID-19 vaccines are critically important, we must all continue to practice other COVID-19 safety measures if we want to see a drop in COVID-19 cases in our community.
This means wearing a mask properly, keeping physical distance from others outside our household, washing our hands regularly and avoiding crowds.
The Permanent Secretary says without these measures, plus high levels of vaccination coverage, we can expect to see COVID-19 continue to spread in our communities and find those who are most vulnerable.
78% of COVID-19 deaths during this outbreak occurred at home, or on the way to the hospital, or within 2 days of admission to the hospital - giving no or little opportunity for the Ministry of Health clinical teams to provide potentially life-saving treatment.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says an internal audit of deaths during this COVID-19 crisis indicates that much of the adverse health seeking behaviour that predated this crisis has been potentiated by the misinformation and falsehoods promoted on social and mainstream media.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong. [image: Fijian Govt.]
He says It is even more unfortunate that people from the medical community have promoted this deadly misinformation, doing so is an utter violation of the duty of care they owe the people of Fiji.
Doctor Fong says when they see instances of misinformation, they gather the facts and respond as quickly as possible but the unfortunate reality about inflammatory misinformation is that it can spread far faster than the truth.
He says to help them combat falsehoods and save lives, they are seeking communal support to help to identify persons vulnerable to severe COVID and pre-emptively engage them to have a plan that allows early identification of danger symptoms and signs so they can access clinical care.
Doctor Fong says they know that many of the people that died had been trying to treat themselves at home with herbal medicines and steam baths.
He says whilst these treatments might be helping to alleviate some of their symptoms, they should not be a replacement for treatment at the hospital.
Doctor Fong says COVID-19 is not like the common cold, it is a virus that our bodies have no immunity to protect ourselves against - unless you are vaccinated.
For people who have severe COVID-19, for the majority, the key to their recovery will be placing them on oxygen therapy and a ventilator, as well as giving them specific medications.
Doctor Fong says for many of the individuals who died, there was a real chance that they may have been able to save them if only the health teams were able to see them earlier.
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If someone in your home has severe flu-like symptoms, you need to call 165.
Do not wait. Those symptoms may not go away on their own, and by the time you call, it could be too late.
Doctor Fong also says due to a combination of steady vaccine administration and the adoption of COVID-safe measures, in the Central Division, they are happy to report we are seeing a reduction in the number of individuals being treated in hospitals and dying.
He says unfortunately, the situation in the Western Division is getting worse, as they are seeing an intensifying outbreak.
Doctor Fong says the containment area protocol in the Central Division has prevented a concurrent rise in hospitalizations and deaths in both divisions which would have complicated the medical response.
Eight people from the Western Division have died due to COVID-19 while three people have died in the Central Division between 18th to 26th August, 2021.
An 11 year old girl from Naboutini has passed away after contracting COVID-19.
She was declared dead on arrival at the Navua Hospital.
The second COVID-19 death is a 6 old month infant from Nausori Highlands who died at Lautoka Hospital 20 days after admission.
Three people who were fully vaccinated have also died from this virus.
They include a 49 year old man from Nadi, a 54 year old man from Ba and a 50 year old woman from Rakiraki.
The sixth death is a 43 year old woman from Tailevu who died at home and was not fully vaccinated.
The seventh death is a 68 year old man from Lautoka who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The eighth death is a 78 year old man from Tavua who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The ninth COVID-19 death is a 85 year old woman from Tavua who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The tenth death is a 82 year old woman from Tavua who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The eleventh death is a 87 year old woman from Tavua who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The Head of Health Protection, Dr. Aalisha Sahukhan says 12 more COVID-19 patients have died however their deaths have been classified as non COVID deaths.
She says there have now been 479 deaths in Fiji due to COVID-19.
Dr. Sahukhan says 245 COVID-19 patients are currently admitted in hospital. 21 patients are in severe condition and 10 are in critical condition.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the battle continues to contain COVID-19 cases in Kadavu, Malolo, Yasawa and Labasa.
Doctor Fong says they have confirmed 29 new cases on Kadavu adding to a total of 164 active cases reported on the island.
23 active cases remain on Malolo Island with investigations and further testing of contacts continuing.
Doctor Fong says they have dispatched a 55-member response team to Kadavu this week to assist with containment efforts on the island and offer treatment for those who develop severe disease.
In response to the situation in Malolo Island, they have deployed a public health team to rapidly map out a plan to contain the virus and also identify community members who are most at risk of severe disease.
For Somosomo Village in Naviti, Yasawa, they expect the impact to be more severe.
Doctor Fong says they will be deploying a team to Naviti this weekend to develop a plan to increase their capacity to provide critical care to patients, as well as put in place protective measures for those most vulnerable.
He says unfortunately, their investigations and deployment to Kadavu, Malolo and Naviti have been delayed due to bad weather conditions, however, over the coming days, they hope to see quick measures being placed in these new areas of concern.
In response to the cases reported in the Northern Division, the Namara Tiri Settlement has been placed on lockdown.
Checkpoints will be set up at the 2 road entry points into the settlement.
The first Labasa case is in stable condition and the members of their family have continued to test negative for the virus.
Doctor Fong says all primary contacts’ exit swabs have also returned negative.
60 primary contacts have been established for the three positive cases in Namara Tiri Labasa so far.
Doctor Fong says they have been swabbed and have returned negative results.
There are ongoing investigations to verify the final number of contacts.
Screening teams are sweeping the containment zone and have collected 84 total swabs. Screening and swabbing are also being conducted at vaccination sites and all health stations in the Labasa area.
He says their contact tracing teams have identified the places where the second COVID-19 case went, and because of this, they have placed restricted movement for the greater Labasa Town Area.
The reason for this is to reduce the risk of the virus spreading out of this area, as well as allowing time for the health teams to undertake screening of the local population.
Doctor Fong says they know that when applied and followed by the public, these strict containment measures are successful in reducing the spread and allow the health teams to identify and isolate people who may have been infected with the virus.
He says in the North, this will buy them the precious time needed to allow the vaccination teams to reach all eligible adults for vaccination, in particular those most at risk of severe disease.
The Permanent Secretary says they are also strengthening the network of Northern screening clinics and encourage anyone who has COVID-19 symptoms to visit one immediately.
Health Ministry's Chief Medical Advisor Dr Jemesa Tudravu has revealed that another 27-member contingent team will be deployed to Kadavu tonight.
This comprises of health, police and a support team carrying medical supplies, ambulance and mobile testing machines.
They will join the 55-member team which left for Kadavu this morning.
Dr Tudravu adds the same will be done for Malolo, Naviti and labasa.
He also says that the Ministry has placed protocols to ensure safe travel across borders but unfortunately there have been similar reports in the past of travel breaches leading to outbreak of diseases in the rural communities.
He also says that their careflow pathway which was established in the Central and Western Divisions is working well.
Dr Tudravu says they have patients who are positive and are staying at home which are placed into categories of high, moderate or low risk.
He says the follow up actions to these patients are tailored to their levels of risks.
Dr Tudravu says to date they have 12,098 positive cases in the Western Division who were looked after at home and 9,264 have recovered.
He has revealed that their teams will be deployed in the outer islands amd affected communities in the coming days.
Dr Tudravu says their role will be to undertake trace identification, deliver the care that is required, run awareness sessions in the community, and support the local medical team to treat other illnesses.
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