There are 16 new COVID-19 deaths bringing the total number of deaths recorded since the confirmation of the third wave to 49.
In its latest update, the Health Ministry says the 16 new COVID-19 deaths are from 23rd December 2021 to January 16th 2022.
8 of the newly reported deaths were unvaccinated people, 7 were fully vaccinated but had pre-existing medical conditions while a 21 year old fully vaccinated man with no known pre-exisiting conditions sadly died due to COVID-19.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong confirms the first COVID-19 death is a 53-year old man from the Western Division who died at home on 23rd December 2021. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the second COVID-19 death is a 92-year-old man from the Western Division who died at home on 8th January 2022. This man was not vaccinated.
The Permanent Secretary for Health adds the third COVID-19 death is a 38-year old woman from the Western Division who presented to the Lautoka Hospital on 8th January 2022. She was admitted but later died on 12th January 2022.
Doctor Fong confirms this woman had pre-existing medical conditions that were assessed to have contributed to her death. She was fully vaccinated.
According to Doctor Fong, the fourth COVID-19 death is a 54-year old woman from the Western Division who presented to the Lautoka Hospital on 11th January 2022. She was admitted and later died on 12th January 2022. This woman had pre-existing medical conditions and was fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong also confirms that the fifth COVID-19 death is a 68-year old man from the Western Division who died at home on 16th January 2022. He had pre-existing medical conditions and was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 65-year old man from the Western division who died at home on 12th January 2022. He had pre-existing medical conditions and was fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong adds the seventh COVID-19 death is a 69-year old woman from the Western Division who died at home on 14th January 2022. She was not vaccinated.
He adds the eighth COVID-19 death is a 66- year old man from the Western division who died at home on 14th January 2022. He had a significant pre-existing medical condition which was assessed to have contributed to his death. He was fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong confirms the ninth COVID-19 death is an 81-year old man from the Western Division who died on 11th January 2022. He was not vaccinated.
He says the tenth COVID-19 death is a 71-year old woman from the Central Division who died on 14th January 2022. She had pre-existing medical conditions and was not vaccinated.
The eleventh COVID-19 death is a 47-year old woman from the Central Division who died at home on 15th January 2022. She had multiple pre-existing medical conditions and was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong also revealed that the twelfth COVID-19 death is a 21-year old man from the Central Division who died at home on 16th January 2022. He had no known pre-existing medical conditions and he was fully vaccinated.
He says in accordance with the protocol for all deaths outside the hospital or on arrival, a sample was collected after the death and tested for COVID-19, with a positive result.
Doctor Fong adds after an investigation, it has been determined that, in the absence of evidence of other illnesses, COVID-19 was the cause of death.
The Permanent Secretary adds the thirteenth COVID-19 death is a 55-year old woman from the Central Division who died at home on 13th January 2022. She had a pre-existing medical condition and was fully vaccinated.
The fourteenth COVID-19 death to report is a 97-year-old man from the Central Division who died at home on 15th January 2022. She was fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong adds the fifteenth COVID-19 death is a 60-year old woman from the Central Division who died at home on 12th January 2022. She had pre-existing medical conditions and was not vaccinated.
The sixteenth COVID-19 death is a 74-year old man from the Central Division who presented to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department on 15th January 2022. He was admitted and later died on 16th January 2022. He was fully vaccinated.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says the increasing deaths, including the death of a 21-year-old man announced in the latest COVID-19 update is a sad reminder of the ongoing toll this virus has taken on individuals and our community.
There are 16 new COVID-19 deaths bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths recorded since confirmation of the third wave to 49.
Doctor Fong says the 21-year old man from the Central Division died at home on 16th January 2022. He had no known pre-existing medical conditions and was fully vaccinated.
He says in accordance with the protocol for all deaths outside the hospital or on arrival, a sample was collected after death and tested for COVID-19, with a positive result.
Doctor Fong adds after an investigation, it has been determined that, in the absence of evidence of other illnesses, COVID-19 was the cause of death.
He says they know that Omicron is less likely to cause severe disease than other variants, meaning that most people who get infected will recover well at home without the need for medical intervention.
Doctor Fong adds the high vaccination rates will also continue to provide protection against severe disease.
He stresses that however, people who are over the age of 50 or have significant chronic illnesses, still have a higher risk of severe disease.
Doctor Fong says sadly, when cases in the community are very high, rare events also occur, such as severe illness and deaths in the young without significant chronic illness.
He says they saw this during the second wave and they are now beginning to see this in the third wave.
Doctor Fong adds they urge everyone to take heed of the advice on how to prevent yourself and others from getting infected and developing severe disease.
He says they ask everyone to be aware of the symptoms of severe COVID-19 disease and to immediately seek medical care if it present.
The symptoms include having trouble breathing (shortness of breath or difficulty breathing), ongoing chest pain, severe headache, confusion, inability to stay awake or wake up, pale, grey or blue-colored skin, lips or fingernails, worsening weakness, coughing blood.
Click here for the full COVID-19 update
329 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded by the Health Ministry since Saturday.
142 new cases were recorded on Sunday and 187 new cases in the last 24 hours ending at 8am yesterday.
213 cases were recorded in the Central Division; 105 cases were recorded in the Western Division, 11 cases were recorded in the Northern Division, and nil cases in the Eastern Division.
Overall, there have been 59,715 cases recorded with 68% of the cases from the Central Division, 28% of the cases from the Western Division, 1% of the cases from the Eastern Division and 3% from the Northern Division.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 41.8%. The high positivity rate is an indication of widespread community transmission.
There are 3, 116 active COVID-19 cases in Fiji based on numbers by the Health Ministry.
Click here for the full COVID-19 update
More than 90% of Fijians over the age of 15 are now fully vaccinated.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says the immunity that has been built through vaccination, together with the numbers of people who have gained immunity due to prior infection means that the vast majority of people infected by Omicron will have a manageable illness and can recover at home.
Dr Fong says for the current vaccination campaign, 48,946 adults have received their booster dose while 142,240 people are still due.
He says their current stock of the Moderna vaccine which is being used as the booster dose are in excess of 100,000 doses and they are also expecting more doses of the Pfizer vaccine this month.
Dr Fong adds the Ministry of Health has almost completed preparations to facilitate the deployment of Pfizer doses to be used as booster doses for adults and for children above 12 years of age.
Meanwhile 92.5% adults in Fiji have received both doses so far while 97.9% have atleast received the first dose.
30,124 children between the ages of 15 and 17 are fully vaccinated while 10,657 children between the ages of 12 and 14 have received both doses.
Click here for the full COVID-19 update
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