Restricted movement will be initiated within Nabouwalu in Vanua Levu for the next 14 days

Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says as a precautionary measure, an area of restricted movement has been initiated within Nabouwalu in Vanua Levu for the next 14 days.

This follows the COVID-19 positive case at Nabouwalu Wharf over the weekend.

The containment area will extend from Raralevu-i-Cake to Wainisevu and along the coast of Nabouwalu Village.

Doctor Fong says the two checkpoints maintained in the containment will be checkpoint one opposite the Nabouwalu Market controlling movement into the main road that runs into the containment area and checkpoint two at Raralevu-I-cake past Nabouwalu Village towards Wainunu.

He says the objectives of this containment zone protocol is to facilitate heightened community surveillance, conduct more contacts tracing, escalate our COVID Safe community engagement program and to implement a program to increase vaccination coverage in targeted areas throughout the Nabouwalu Containment Zone.

Movement into and out of the containment area will be restricted to facilitate essential service provision and access to groceries and post office services.

The office of the Provincial Administrator and Subdivisional Medical Teams have been carrying out community awareness on other specific movement restriction protocols and will continue this awareness exercise throughout the day tomorrow.

Doctor Fong says for health services, the Northern health team is setting up clinic sites at the Solevu Immaculate Conception Junior Secondary School, the Bua Nursing Station, and the Lekutu Health Centre to cater for the health needs of those living outside the containment area.

Nabouwalu Hospital will be used by the health teams for emergency care only.

He confirms contact tracing has identified 33 primary contacts and 70 secondary contacts of the case from Nabouwalu Wharf.

All contacts have tested negative for COVID-19 so far and remain under quarantine.