Non-work gatherings should not be happening of any size, anywhere in Fiji – Dr Fong

Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says non-work gatherings should not be happening of any size, anywhere in Fiji.

Doctor Fong says he knows this is a bitter pill to swallow for those who had planned religious celebrations but this is a life or death matter.

He says those services, no matter how small, could put lives at risk.

Doctor Fong says their discipline and sacrifice today will keep COVID-stricken patients out of ICUs and prevent loss of life.

He asks people for now, please keep your celebrations within your homes and restricted to members of your households.

Doctor Fong says find comfort in family, and have faith that our strict adherence to these health measures will restore our precious freedom to gather for religious services once Fiji is safe again.

Meanwhile Doctor Fong says he has been extremely disappointed by media coverage that has been misleading.

He highlighted in particular, The Fiji Times published a troubling headline on their Facebook page saying “Vaccines do not protect you from getting the virus”.

Doctor Fong says the headline was wrong.

He says it is contradicted by science, and many people will be swayed by it without ever reading the article.

Doctor Fong says all of us who provide information to the public must take extreme care in what we say and how we say it to avoid giving information that is misleading, unproven, premature or, at worst, false.

He says their reckless words may have deadly consequences.

Doctor Fong states that vaccines absolutely do protect you from getting the virus, particularly after both doses of the vaccine are administered.

He says so far, they have only administered the first of two doses in Fiji, that means they only offered partial protection.

Doctor Fong says the soldier and the maid both received one dose of the vaccine, but neither were fully immunised.

He says no vaccine stops transmission 100% of the time but when a person is fully immunised, the likelihood of contracting the virus plummets, as does the severity of the symptoms.

Doctor Fong says as countries vaccinate more people, infections and deaths decline. That is happening in Israel, the US, the UK, Australia and elsewhere.

He also shares the Prime Minister’s concerns that our experience in containing the virus may have made us complacent, life-risking habits have taken hold in too many ways over the past several months.

People are sharing takis, bilos and cigarettes, and forgoing handwashing and strict physical distancing.

Doctor Fong says we all need to recommit ourselves to the practices that have protected us until we reach herd immunity through mass vaccination.