Contact tracing continues for most parts of Suva and Nausori.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says the soldier who contracted COVID-19 at a quarantine facility in Nadi is reported to not have left the site at any time during the transmission window however given that the potential window for transmission may be prolonged, they have to assume that the soldier had some contact with the daytime staff of the quarantine facility, including hotel workers.
He says these are staff who have gone on to enter public spaces.
The soldier in question tested negative for the virus during routine testing for border staff on the 10th of April 2021.
Doctor Fong says despite showing no symptoms, he was tested again on the 17th of April in line with border quarantine procedures.
That was when the positive result was registered.
Doctor Fong adds they suspect the soldier contracted the virus from two Fijian citizens who returned to Fiji from India on 10th April.
The two Fijian citizens both tested positive for the virus and were transported to the isolation ward of Lautoka Hospital on 16th April.
Doctor Fong stresses that the soldier was staying onsite at the quarantine facility, as is the protocol for all military personnel on rotation through border quarantine duties.
The Permanent Secretary adds while this is still a border quarantine case, there is a serious risk that cases could have entered the community.
He says that is why they are acting with decisive precaution to prevent any widespread transmission from this case.
The Permanent Secretary for Health says for them, this level of extreme precaution is the benchmark for keeping people safe. He says from last night, they have embarked on a contact tracing effort to identify those who came into contact with this individual as well as members of their households. Doctor Fong adds they have identified 69 first-generation contacts.
He says these are individuals who were working in the quarantine facility during the window of transmission and while they may not all be close contacts of this case, they have deliberately widened their definition of a first-generation contact to cast a wide net out of an abundance of caution.
Doctor Fong adds these individuals are all now in quarantine facilities, where they will be quarantined for 14 days.
He has revealed that so far, 56 have tested negative for the virus.
Doctor Fong says 13 results are still being processed.
He further says that they have identified and contained 267 second-generation contacts.
Doctor Fong explained that these are individuals sharing a household with the first generation contacts of the soldier.
He says these individuals were also taken into quarantine facilities last night and are being tested.
Doctor Fong says they should have the results starting from tomorrow. He says as these results come in, they will have a clear idea about whether their contact tracing needs to expand.
Doctor Fong stresses as of today, they are comfortable with the net they have cast.
Click here to view the statement
Positive case detected on Saturday Soldier in question was tested negative on the 10th of April.
Dr Fong says they suspect he contracted COVID-19 from a couple who arrived from India.
The soldier was staying on site at the quarantine facility in Nadi.
Dr Fong says the soldier may have come into contact with daytime staff at the quarantine facility.
He says contact tracing started last night
69 first generation contacts have been identified.
While they may not be in contact with the soldier, they are all in quarantine for 14 days 56 tests have come back negative 13 results still being awaited.
More tests are underway.
As the results come in, the Health Ministry will decide on further contact tracing.
Avoid non essential travel and gatherings as requested by the Prime Minister.
More decisions along this line will be made after further tests and assessments tomorrow.
Dr Fong says we all should not be complacent.
This is a test for Fiji’s next level of containment.
Total of 336 contact tracing done.
Lot of lessons learnt to work quickly and contact trace 336 from last night to this morning.
Stay focused on maintaining COVID-19 guidelines.
Next batch of vaccines arrive tomorrow.
Dr Fong calls on people to get vaccinated
Tests for the first generation contacts will be tested again on Day 12.
He also calls on people to only get information from official sources.
Contact tracing app is really useful. Right now they are working from the border quarantine case and whether any case went into the community.
What this case has shown is that the border guidelines are working - Dr Aalisha Sahukhan.
Dr Fong says there are certain things in quarantine that are hard to mitigate.
Something as simple as opening a hotel door on the corridor can result in the spread of the virus - Dr Sahukhan.
Dr Fong says we will only declare a lockdown as and when the measure dictates that they have to take that step.
He says lockdowns will not just be declared as some in Nadi and Lautoka have been asking for.
He says the interaction is also kept at a minimum.
All first and second generation contacts will be tested of the soldier who has tested positive in the border quarantine facility.
Many of the contacts of the second generation group has also been assembled in case there is a positive case - Dr Fong.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has confirmed that yesterday, they became aware of a new border quarantine case that could pose a risk of transmission beyond the border which requires immediate steps from everyone to mitigate.
He says this case of the virus has been detected during a routine test of a member of our security forces working within a quarantine facility.
Bainimarama says they know he contracted the virus anytime from one to six days prior and that he interacted with other daytime staff in the quarantine facility during that time.
The Prime Minister says that means there may have been some exposure outside of the facility that they have to manage.
He says when it comes to containing a disease as insidious as the coronavirus, the risks are simply too high to take chances.
Bainimarama says they are responding to this case with the same extreme precaution they have employed from the start of the pandemic.
He says last night, they began entering into quarantine staff who were working in the facility during the potential window for transmission and also members of their households.
Bainimarama says some factors are working in their favour.
He says the soldier has received his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and that means his risk of severe infection is reduced and it is likely his risk of transmission was lower.
Bainimarama stresses that doesn’t mean we can afford to take any chances particularly given the rise of new and more contagious variants of COVID-19 around the world.
The Prime Minister says if the soldier hadn’t received that first dose, the risk to him and others would have been much higher.
Bainimarama says as they continue to identify other potential contacts tied to this case, he cannot stress enough how important it is that they adhere to the habits of handwashing and physical distancing, where possible, that have kept Fiji safe through today.
He says if you are called by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services teams as a potential contact, please come forward immediately.
Bainimarama says they have been exploring the relaxation of some of the remaining health restrictions, including the capacity of large public events and the curfew hours, in particular as vaccines have been administered.
The Prime Minister adds unfortunately, that will have to wait until they are certain this case does not pose a risk to the public.
He says in fact, they should prepare for these measures to become more stringent if they find there has been transmission to the public.
Bainimarama says for now, do not gather and do not travel unless it is essential.
He says large gatherings, especially, are not safe.
Bainimarama says nothing suggests there was a breach of protocol at this stage and they will continue to strengthen procedures to further reduce the risk of transmission within our quarantine facilities.
SODELPA Leader Viliame Gavoka is calling on authorities to review protocols immediately to protect frontline workers and the health of the public.
He says while they appreciate the effort, the new cases raise questions with respect to the monitoring of frontline workers at different quarantine facilities.
Gavoka adds they note that the 53-year-old woman who is the latest COVID-19 patient interacted with the soldier who earlier contracted the virus at a quarantine facility.
The SODELPA Leader says the major concern is that workers at quarantine facilities can return to their homes and enter the public space soon after completion of their daily shift.
He adds it defeats the purpose of instituting mandatory quarantine for all overseas arrivals when frontline workers that deal with them can leave the facility and enter the public space.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says their investigation has revealed that the woman had an interaction with the soldier when he showed up early to his room as it was being cleaned.
He says protocol dictates that overlap should not have happened, that is why the woman was not tested before re-entering the public.
The Prime Minister says they will have to wait and see what further investigations reveal.
He says what is clear is that this breach in protocol cannot be repeated.
Bainimarama adds in the meantime, they are confident that their system of border quarantine can function to the high degree it has over the past year.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says right now their biggest area of interest is Tavakubu, Lautoka where the 53-year-old woman who tested positive for COVID-19 attended a funeral on Friday and Saturday.
Dr Fong says the information they are getting from the woman indicates that apart from three individuals who had travelled to Moturiki, Lomaiviti all other people at the funeral were from a church circuit within Lautoka.
He further says they have traced the 3 people who went to Moturiki.
Dr Fong adds their team in the West has shown a boundary that they maintained and they will be going through that group as part of the screening process.
He says they will have to set up a number of mobile and fixed screening clinics throughout Nadi and Lautoka.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says only 1 of the 69 first-generation contacts of the soldier that tested positive for COVID-19, has tested positive for the disease.
Bainimarama says 68 have tested negative.
He says the positive patient is the 53-year-old woman working as a maid in the quarantine facility.
Bainimarama says their investigation has revealed she had an interaction with the soldier when he showed up early to his room as it was being cleaned. He says protocol dictates that overlap should not have happened, that is why the woman was not tested before re-entering the public.
The Prime Minister says they will have to wait and see what further investigations reveal.
He says what is clear today is that this breach in protocol cannot be repeated.
In the meantime, they are confident that their system of border quarantine can function to the high degree it has over the past year.
The woman is a daytime worker and she resides in Nadi.
It has been revealed that she had symptoms on Thursday, and authorities were not notified.
The Prime Minister says that means she was contagious when she was at work on Thursday and later on Friday and Saturday when she travelled through the Lautoka and Nadi areas.
Bainimarama says perhaps most worryingly, she attended a funeral in Tavakubu Lautoka on Friday and Saturday, travelling alongside other passengers by minibus.
The Prime Minister says the woman’s movement using public transport, and her attendance in close proximity alongside many other Fijians at the two-day funeral makes further transmission in the community highly likely.
To limit the risk of mass community transmission, and to better screen the local population, Bainimarama said they had established a Nadi and Lautoka Containment Area and brought new stringent health protection measures into effect. The Nadi and Lautoka Containment Area has been established from Qeleloa bearing towards Sigatoka, to Nacilau, Vakabuli, and the Waiwai Crossing bearing towards Ba.
Ministry of Health and Medical Services personnel and disciplined forces have rapidly established screening points at these entry points.
The timeline for administration of the Astrazeneca vaccines cannot be moved.
This was confirmed by the Head of Health Protection at the Ministry of Health, Doctor Alisha Sahukhan who says that they know from the studies that the maximum level of protection from the vaccine is achieved if the dose is spaced out to up to 12 weeks.
Doctor Sahukhan says they want to make sure that everyone that gets the vaccine to develop the most immunity that they can.
She says if this time is reduced, the effect of the vaccines can be diminished.
Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama says the government is allowing for limited movement and COVID-safe activity within the Containment Area in Nadi and Lautoka area from this afternoon and the 24 hour curfew has been lifted.
Bainimarama says the curfew hours will revert to 11pm to 4am for the Nadi and Lautoka area.
He says supermarkets and shops selling food can open from today so that people can buy food.
Banks, pharmacies, FNPF, other businesses such as factories and shops, can open as well.
However, Bainimarama says it is vital that vendors and businesses ensure strict physical distancing before opening their doors.
The Prime Minister has told businesses to make sure customers in queues are spaced out by two metres and manage crowding.
He says customer-facing businesses should limit customer capacity to 50 percent.
Bainimarama stresses that businesses that do not manage these risks with COVID-safe plans will be shut down.
Within the Nadi and Lautoka Containment Area, higher-risk businesses, such as gyms, movie theatres, video gaming shops, cyber cafes, taverns, bars, billiard shops and amusement arcades cannot open for at least the next 14 days.
The Prime Minister says restaurants may not open for in-person dining, but may offer delivery and takeaway services.
He says they are also making arrangements to ensure fresh produce, basic food items, manufactured items, and other items can be sent in and out of the containment area.
Police have been instructed to be quick about these approvals so that these goods can flow as freely as possible.
Bainimarama says they expect these measures to be maintained for at least the next 14 days.
The new measures do not end at the borders of the containment area.
The Prime Minister says nationwide, schools, including private schools, will be closed from tomorrow through at least the end of the term.
School boarders will return to where they reside. If they are in the containment area and need to return home outside of the area, they will be allowed to leave in a highly controlled manner. For the rest of Fiji, the Prime Minister says over the next 14 days, major events, including the Coca-Cola Games, university graduations and rugby matches, will have to be cancelled.
For the next 14 days no religious services are to be held and non-work gatherings should not happen at all.
Bainimarama says businesses can remain open with COVID safe plans.
All businesses must require customers display the careFIJI app or they must register their details for contact tracing purposes.
Civil servants living outside of the containment area who work within the area should report to the nearest office outside of the Nadi and Lautoka Containment Area. For those outside of Nadi and Lautoka, you have 24 hours to enter the containment area if you need to.
But you will not be allowed to leave for at least the next 14 days.
Bainimarama says those living outside of the containment area who are unable to attend work in the containment area will be allowed to access $220 a fortnight from their FNPF. If funds are insufficient, the government will top up their accounts.
The Prime Minister says they will also approve individuals to travel through the containment area for flights out of Nadi.
Aside from some cancellations today, repatriation flights will continue at Nadi International Airport.
Bainimarama says to ensure we have adequate space in quarantine facilities, those currently in their quarantine periods will be securely ferried out of the containment area to where they reside once they finish their 14 days of quarantine and clear a negative COVID test result.
Monday 19/09/2020
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says right now their biggest area of interest is Tavakubu, Lautoka where the 53-year-old woman who tested positive for COVID-19 attended a funeral on Friday and Saturday.
Dr Fong says the information they are getting from the woman indicates that apart from three individuals who had travelled to Moturiki, Lomaiviti all other people at the funeral were from a church circuit within Lautoka.
He further says they have traced the 3 people who went to Moturiki.
Dr Fong adds their team in the West has shown a boundary that they maintained and they will be going through that group as part of the screening process.
He says they will have to set up a number of mobile and fixed screening clinics throughout Nadi and Lautoka.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says only 1 of the 69 first-generation contacts of the soldier that tested positive for COVID-19, has tested positive for the disease.
Bainimarama says 68 have tested negative.
He says the positive patient is the 53-year-old woman working as a maid in the quarantine facility.
Bainimarama says their investigation has revealed she had an interaction with the soldier when he showed up early to his room as it was being cleaned. He says protocol dictates that overlap should not have happened, that is why the woman was not tested before re-entering the public.
The Prime Minister says they will have to wait and see what further investigations reveal.
He says what is clear today is that this breach in the protocol cannot be repeated.
In the meantime, they are confident that their system of border quarantine can function to the high degree it has over the past year.
The woman is a daytime worker and she resides in Nadi.
It has been revealed that she had symptoms on Thursday, and authorities were not notified.
The Prime Minister says that means she was contagious when she was at work on Thursday and later on Friday and Saturday when she travelled through the Lautoka and Nadi areas.
Bainimarama says perhaps most worryingly, she attended a funeral in Tavakubu Lautoka on Friday and Saturday, travelling alongside other passengers by minibus.
The Prime Minister says the woman’s movement using public transport, and her attendance in close proximity alongside many other Fijians at the two-day funeral makes further transmission in the community highly likely.
To limit the risk of mass community transmission, and to better screen the local population, Bainimarama said they had established a Nadi and Lautoka Containment Area and brought new stringent health protection measures into effect.
The Nadi and Lautoka Containment Area has been established from Qeleloa bearing towards Sigatoka, to Nacilau, Vakabuli, and the Waiwai Crossing bearing towards Ba.
Ministry of Health and Medical Services personnel and disciplined forces have rapidly established screening points at these entry points.
Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama advises Fijians in the containment area in Nadi and Lautoka to wear masks as it’s the one thing that may be most important in stopping the spread of COVID-19.
Bainimarama says masks are absolutely proven to protect yourself and others from contracting COVID, so we need each of you to urgently pick up this habit.
He says he knows that, for the past year, we have had the luxury of not needing to put on masks every day, like billions of others have around the world.
But he says today, that needs to change. Bainimarama also says he can’t stress this enough, that everyone needs to download the careFIJI app on their phones if you can.
He says situations like the current COVID case are exactly why they created the careFIJI app, and it’s use now is more critical than ever before.
The Prime Minister says social distancing has been ignored, masks have gathered dust tucked away in drawers, and businesses went back to operating as usual.
He says the healthy habits that we learned 12 months ago were all but forgotten.
But over the course of the past year, the science has become even more clear that mask-wearing and physical distancing is absolutely essential to stop the virus from spreading.
Bainimarama says now, more than ever, we need every woman, man, and child, and every business of every size, to go back to following that proven rule book.
He says that is why they are enforcing the same, strict containment measures that have proven successful in the past, and it’s why their contact tracing team is working overtime to identify and isolate every known contact of this latest case.
The Prime Minister says we need every Fijian to do their part to contain this virus, and each and every one of you can help them again defeat this disease.
They are also re-activating the network of screening clinics across the country to keep those with COVID-like symptoms away from vulnerable people who visit health centres and into separate, dedicated spaces specially designed to effectively identify possible COVID-19 cases.
If you have a fever, or any symptoms, like a dry cough or a loss of taste, visit one of these clinics immediately.
As of today, 24,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be arriving through the COVAX facility.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr James Fong will be announcing the details of their vaccine deployment soon.
Please call 158 if you are feeling unwell.
All schools will be closed from tomorrow for 3 weeks.
Education Minister, Rosy Akbar confirms that they are taking this step as a COVID-19 precautionary measure.
Akbar says they are bringing the holidays earlier after their meeting chaired by the Prime Minister this morning.
Stay with us for updates.
Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama will have a national announcement in relation to COVID-19 in Fiji at 3pm today.
Bainimarama is currently meeting with senior government officials regarding the COVID situation in the country and the measures to be taken.
We will have live coverage of the Prime Minister’s announcement on our website, fijivillage.
The announcement later today will cover when essential businesses, including banks, supermarkets, pharmacies, and other essential service providers in the greater Nadi and Lautoka area, may safely resume operation with strict physical distancing enforced. For now, all schools and businesses will be closed in Nadi and Lautoka.
In a statement the Ministry of Health has announced a lockdown of the Greater Nadi and Lautoka Area after a 53-year-old woman of Nadi who is a first generation contact of the soldier that tested positive for COVID-19 has also registered a positive COVID-19 test result.
They are defining the Greater Nadi and Lautoka Area as the areas spanning from Momi Junction and the Mulomulo Police Post bearing towards Sigatoka, to Nacilau, Vakabuli, and the Waiwai crossing bearing towards Ba.
Within the Greater Nadi and Lautoka Area, Police have enforced a 24-hour curfew which will end at 4am tomorrow.
They say all Fijians in the Greater Nadi and Lautoka Area should stay home and public gatherings should not happen adding no services should run except for essential medical services.
Passenger travel out of this area has been halted by road, air, and sea. Passenger travel into the area will be permitted over the next 24 hours for Fijians who reside within the Greater Nadi and Lautoka Area. However, those allowed to enter the area must head straight home and will not be allowed to come out of the lockdown area.
For the rest of Fiji, workplaces, businesses and inter-island shipping services may remain open. However, the government encourages people to avoid non-essential travel and large gatherings. Outside the Greater Nadi and Lautoka Area, curfew hours will remain from 11pm to 4am.
The Ministry will also be re-activating fever clinics within the Greater Nadi and Lautoka Area to keep people with fevers away from vulnerable people who visit Health Centres and into separate, dedicated spaces specially designed to effectively identify possible COVID-19 cases.
The Ministry says they are more equipped than they have ever been to contain the spread of the virus together.
Lautoka residents are starting from zero again today with a lockdown now in effect in the greater Nadi and Lautoka areas.
For many residents, it feels like a repeat of last year’s lockdown in March which lasted for more than two weeks.
Lautoka resident Narayan Reddy says although the curfew and lockdown was in effect at 4 o’clock this morning, many people were still on the road after 6am because they did not know about it.
Reddy says he went to buy bread this morning and also picked up some people on the way because he wanted to deliver groceries to a family.
He adds people heard about the lockdown in the news much later.
Reddy says he knows that there are some families who were coming back from Suva and others that are stuck in Lautoka and want to go out.
He told us that he got a call from a friend who was checking out of a hotel at 11am and does not know what to do now because he does not have enough money to continue to stay at the hotel.
Reddy says he feels for people in the lockdown area who are already struggling.
Reddy says people need to follow what the Ministry of Health is telling them because if everyone does their part there will be no need for a lockdown.
A 53-year-old woman of Nadi who is a first-generation contact of the soldier that tested positive for COVID-19 has also registered a positive COVID-19 test result.
The Health Ministry says this woman worked in a border quarantine facility but has since entered public spaces and has a travel history in Nadi and Lautoka.
All members of her household have already been entered into quarantine.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health has announced a lockdown of the Greater Nadi and Lautoka Area.
They are defining the Greater Nadi and Lautoka Area as the areas spanning from Momi Junction and the Mulomulo Police Post bearing towards Sigatoka, to Nacilau, Vakabuli, and the Waiwai crossing bearing towards Ba.
Within the Greater Nadi and Lautoka Area, effective immediately, Police are enforcing a 24-hour curfew.
They say all Fijians in the Greater Nadi and Lautoka Area should stay home and public gatherings should not happen adding no services should run except for essential medical services.
Later today, an announcement will cover when essential businesses, including banks, supermarkets, pharmacies, and other essential service providers, may safely resume operation with strict physical distancing enforced. For now, all schools and businesses will be closed.
Passenger travel out of this area has been halted by road, air, and sea. Passenger travel into the area will be permitted over the next 24 hours for Fijians who reside within the Greater Nadi and Lautoka Area. However, those allowed to enter the area must head straight home and will not be allowed to come out of the lockdown area.
For the rest of Fiji, schools, workplaces, businesses and inter-island shipping services may remain open. However, the government encourages people to avoid non-essential travel and large gatherings. Outside the Greater Nadi and Lautoka Area, curfew hours will remain from 11pm to 4am.
The Ministry will also be re-activating fever clinics within the Greater Nadi and Lautoka Area to keep people with fevers away from vulnerable people who visit Health Centres and into separate, dedicated spaces specially designed to effectively identify possible COVID-19 cases.
The Ministry says they are more equipped than they have ever been to contain the spread of the virus together.
The Health Ministry is expected to confirm tomorrow the COVID-19 test results of the three people from Naicabecabe Village in Moturiki who travelled with Fiji’s latest COVID-19 patients.
A 53-year-old hotel worker and the daughter are the two latest positive cases in the country.
It has been confirmed that they travelled with three family members who were visiting from Naicabecabe Village in Moturiki last week.
The three people from Moturiki also stayed with the mother and daughter at their home in Nadi.
The three people are in home quarantine in Naicabecabe which is now on lockdown.
The Health Ministry’s Head of Health Protection Doctor Alisha Sahukhan says they are awaiting the samples of the three people in Moturiki.
She says the three will be tested and they should have the results by today.
If you have a fever, or any symptoms, like a dry cough or a loss of taste, visit one of these clinics immediately.
Please call 158 if you are feeling unwell.
A new COVID-19 case has been confirmed as contact tracing continues for the potential super spreader event which is a funeral at Peceliema Church in Tavakubu Lautoka on Friday 16th April and Saturday 17th April.
In a press conference, Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms the second positive community case is the daughter of the 53-year-old hotel worker.
Doctor Fong says the soldier who tested positive over the weekend remains in border quarantine facility and he never entered public spaces.
He says their contact tracing has been limited to his 69 primary contacts within the facility as well as their 267 secondary contacts. These contacts are all in quarantine.
The 53-year-old maid is the only positive case from the 69 primary contacts.
Doctor Fong also says the woman, her daughter with the rest of her family have been in quarantine since Sunday morning.
He says due to her extensive exposure with the public, this hotel staff and now her daughter, have been the central focus of their contact tracing.
Doctor Fong says together these two patients represent the highest risk cases Fiji has ever contended with.
At about 9pm Friday, 16th April the mother and 11 other family members travelled from Nadi to the funeral in Tavakubu using a hired mini bus. The mini bus is identified and the driver is in quarantine.
Doctor Fong says outside this family, there were no other passengers.
He says the mother and eight of her family members returned to Nadi later at 12.30am Saturday. They went again in a hired mini bus. It drove from Tavakubu to Nadi. There were no other outside passengers.
On Saturday, the woman and 7 other family members travelled to Tavakubu at 9am by hired mini bus without any other passengers. They are also trying to contact the driver of the mini bus.
After the funeral on Saturday, the hotel worker and another family member travelled in a grey taxi from Tavakubu to the Lautoka Mini Bus Stand, then took a public mini bus from Lautoka to Nadi at around 5pm. The Health Ministry has not found the taxi or the mini bus.
Doctor Fong says they need to find the driver of the grey taxi and the driver and passengers of the mini bus.
The other family members who had travelled with the hotel worker to Lautoka all returned to Nadi by other means.
All these family members based in the west have been entered into quarantine and have tested negative for the virus.
As the Health Ministry presses ahead with contact tracing, they are urging anyone with details about the grey taxi and the mini bus to come forward with information.
If you travelled by mini bus between Lautoka Mini Bus Stand to Nadi after 5pm Saturday 17th April, please call 158.
If you are the driver of a grey taxi or have information about the driver, please call 158.
Now that the ministry knows that both the mother and the daughter are COVID positive, the risk that there was transmission of the virus to the mother’s fellow passengers from the Tavakubu funeral to Nadi on Saturday is high.
The funeral is now treated as a potential super spreader event.
Throughout this period the woman and her daughter also travelled with three family members who were visiting from Naicabecabe Village in Moturiki. These three also stayed with the mother and daughter at their home in Nadi.
The three individuals have been identified, they have been swabbed and are in home quarantine in Naicabecabe.
The entire village of Naicabecabe is now a containment area.
Dr Fong says they know that there were more than 500 people present in the funeral in Tavakubu. The mother was there for a few hours which was more than enough time to transmit the virus to others.
The Health Ministry has directed all those present at the funeral to stay at home for the next two weeks while they await screening by the ministry.
If you attended the funeral at Peceliema Church in Tavakubu on Friday 16th April or Saturday 17th April, please call 158.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they are certain there are more COVID-19 cases out there however they have yet to confirm it via tests.
Doctor Fong says they are mobilising a massive house-to-house screening effort in the Nadi and Lautoka Containment Area to determine people’s travel history, so they know where they have been and screen for COVID-like symptoms.
He says they have the capacity to run 600 COVID tests per day.
Doctor Fong says that is how many tests they plan to run every day for the next two weeks.
For this screening effort to be done well, they need to ensure that people in the Nadi and Lautoka Containment Area are at home as much as possible.
From today, the Health Ministry is asking that movement within the Nadi and Lautoka Containment Area be restricted for emergencies and essential purposes only.
If you do not have an essential reason to travel, don’t.
Doctor Fong says they need everyone at home as often as possible.
He says if you are living within the containment area, you should treat everyone as COVID positive until it is proven otherwise.
If you need to go outside, wear a mask.
Keep your distance from others, and head straight home once you have finished shopping for food, medicine or getting money.
Doctor Fong says for those businesses which are open, he cannot stress enough how important it is that you enforce physical distancing within your businesses and require that customers have the careFIJI app turned on while they are on the premises.
He says they have been informed that some supermarkets are not enforcing these measures.
The Permanent Secretary says shops will be shut down if these reports are found to be true.
Doctor Fong stresses that he also wants to be clear with everyone – the problem here is the virus, not any one person.
He says we need to shake the harmful stigma around people who are living with COVID-19.
If you feel you have symptoms, if you know someone experiencing symptoms and if you suspect you have had contact with either of our two confirmed patients, call 158.
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.
There are two more confirmed COVID-19 border quarantine cases in Fiji.
The Head of Health Protection at the Ministry of Health, Doctor Alisha Sahukhan says these cases are two soldiers aged 25 and 32 who recently returned from duties overseas.
Doctor Sahukhan says these are the cases that they are used to, where people come from overseas and go to the isolation ward at Lautoka Hospital in accordance with their normal protocol for positive cases.
She says with this latest border cases, there are now 10 active cases admitted at the Lautoka Isolation Unit.
Doctor Sahukhan says the first five cases are the older border quarantine cases that were announced up until the end of last week and the recent five are the ones that have just been announced.
She says this means that Fiji has had 77 cases in total since our first case on March 19th 2020.
Doctor Sahukhan says 55 of these cases have been international travel associated detected in border quarantine.
She says the two recent cases who is the quarantine hotel worker and the soldier are our first case of local transmission in over one year.
Sahukhan says 43,241 COVID-19 tests have been conducted with a daily average of 277 test per day over the last 7 days and a weekly average of 18,092 tests a week, over the last two weeks.
She says there are currently 800 people who have recently arrived from overseas and are undergoing mandatory 14-day quarantine in the border quarantine facilities in Nadi.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says sometimes their presence in public spaces is just to investigate and it does not mean something will happen in the area.
There are reports circulating that a woman from a village in Nausori had attended the funeral in Tavakubu and there is a potential threat of the area being placed under lockdown.
Dr Fong says every time they try to investigate a suspected step, people start thinking that there is something happening.
He is urging the people not to be afraid when they see health staff in their area.
Dr Fong says they understand public anxiety but they will inform the people if there is something.
Health Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. James Fong says the quarantine is an operation run by human beings and no quarantine process in the whole world has been 100 percent full proof.
Dr. Fong says every single quarantine system in the world has been breached.
He says for them, the breach at the quarantine facility in Nadi was an incident waiting to happen.
Dr. Fong adds they got a lot of community support on the first night of operations when they were looking for 310 people that are now in quarantine.
He says Rosie Holidays gave them vehicles and told them to use it while Pacific Destinations Limited told them they will go anywhere to help the Ministry to reach these people.
Dr. Fong says there were other people that came forward with the help and this assistance allowed them to secure 310 people in 12 hours which is a huge achievement.
He says their biggest priority at the moment is getting the containment plan working and the exercise of going through the whole of Lautoka and Nadi is a huge logistical exercise.
He also reveals there will be 19 screening locations in the Central Division by tomorrow and they are also setting up locations in the Northern Division.
Mini buses are operating in the lockdown area in Nadi and Lautoka today with full capacity and passengers are not wearing masks according to Viti Minibuses Co-operative Limited’s founding member, Albert Jackson.
Viti Minibuses is calling on authorities to enforce the wearing of masks as they cannot afford to make trips with half capacity.
Jackson says mini buses cannot make trips with only 10 or less passengers as it will not be profitable.
He says they want all passengers to wear masks and even carry hand sanitisers.
More than 100 mini buses are operating under the Viti Minibuses Co-operative Limited.
Acting Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu is advising everyone to bear with Police and follow COVID-19 restrictions that have been issued on non-work gatherings such as social and sports activities and no religious services.
When asked about by Legend FM News, Tudravu says these restrictions are all to be adhered to within 14 days.
He says all Fijians must make the work easier for all government agencies by following the law.
The Acting Commissioner says while officers strictly monitor the lockdown areas in the Western Division, all those living in the non–lockdown areas are advised to follow restrictions and cooperate with respective government agencies.
Tudravu says at this stage, officers are strictly monitoring the movement of people within the lockdown areas from Qeleloa bearing towards Sigatoka to Nacilau, Vakabuli, and the Waiwai Crossing bearing towards Ba and they seek your assistance and cooperation with this regard.
He says this does not mean that only those living in these lockdown areas are to follow the restrictions.
The Acting Commissioner says every Fijian is requested to follow the instructions that were already issued by the Prime Minister yesterday.
Tudravu says everyone needs to understand the seriousness of the issue and please do what the government is saying.
The Health Ministry is expected to provide more details soon.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they will set up a number of fixed and mobile screening clinics throughout Lautoka and Nadi to be able to pick up any other random cases after confirmation that the 53-year-old woman who tested positive for COVID-19 travelled in a minibus and attended a funeral.
The 53-year-old woman was working as a maid in the quarantine facility.
She contracted COVID-19 from a soldier in the same quarantine facility. They both tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend.
The woman attended a funeral in Tavakubu Lautoka on Friday and Saturday and she travelled with passengers by minibus.
Doctor Fong says their teams have already tracked some people.
Doctor Fong stresses the COVID safe measures will stop the virus even if people did not know about it.
If you have a fever, or any symptoms, like a dry cough or a loss of taste, visit one of these clinics immediately.
Please call 158 if you are feeling unwell.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says if there are no new COVID-19 cases over the next two weeks to one month, then they will be more relaxed with the restrictions in place and we can go back to where we were.
Doctor Fong says everything depends on the new cases that they pick up in their escalated community surveillance program.
He says within the current contained area they have really escalated their surveillance program.
Doctor Fong says there is community surveillance that will be happening in the Central Division.
He says they will also be setting up mobile fever clinics throughout Fiji.
Doctor Fong says they will be going back to what they were doing when we had the 18 cases last year.
He says for now the agreement is to cancel sports activities and large gatherings and work out over the next 14 days on the amount of information that they can get.
The Suva City Council has closed Suva Olympic Pool, Albert Park, My Suva Park and all other SCC’s sporting facilities until further notice.
SCC confirms this is in line with the Prime Minister’s announcement.
Stay safe and adhere to all COVID restrictions.
The Damodar City Aquatic Centre and the National Fitness Centre are closed for the next 14 days.
The Fiji Sports Council says their properties such as the ANZ Stadium and Ground, National Netball Centre, Vodafone Arena Halls, FMF Gymnasium, National Hockey Centre, Multipurpose Courts and Victoria Tennis Court remain open.
They are urging people to follow the COVID-19 hygiene measures.
The Methodist Church in Fiji has cancelled all gatherings for the next 14-days to comply with the government’s requirement.
The President of the Methodist Church in Fiji Reverend Ili Vunisuwai says this includes the Annual General Meeting for every district that was scheduled for this week, church services, district meetings, rallies, outreach programmes, visitations and any other meetings that were to be held within the next 14-days.
He says COVID-19 is not an easy disease to deal with, so they need to look at the bigger picture and follow what the government has set out.
The Shree Sanatan Dharm Purohit Brahman Maha Sabha of Fiji has urged its members conducting Hindu rituals/prayers including Ram Navami celebration to cancel religious gatherings.
The Acting National Secretary-General, Krishneel Krishan Tiwari says this is in accordance with the directives given by the government.
Tiwari says Hindu funeral rituals are to be carried out with immediate family members under strict COVID-19 protocols.
He adds necessary approvals must be taken from the nearest police station.
Lautoka Chamber of Commerce Chairman, Pyara Singh says they will be liaising with all businesses to ensure they are following all COVID-19 related protocols.
Singh says they welcome government’s decision to open businesses in the lockdown area as it will bring relief to the workers and business owners.
He says they will notify all business owners in Lautoka this morning to strictly adhere to the protocols announced by the Prime Minister.
Singh says he has also been informed that bus services will normalise in Lautoka from this morning.
Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama says supermarkets and shops selling food can open in the Nadi and Lautoka Containment Area so that people can buy food.
Banks, pharmacies, FNPF, other businesses such as factories and shops, can open as well.
However, Bainimarama says it is vital that vendors and businesses ensure strict physical distancing before opening their doors.
The Prime Minister has told businesses to make sure customers in queues are spaced out by two metres and manage crowding.
He says customer-facing businesses should limit customer capacity to 50 percent.
Bainimarama stresses that businesses that do not manage these risks with COVID-safe plans will be shut down.
Within the Nadi and Lautoka Containment Area, higher-risk businesses, such as gyms, movie theatres, video gaming shops, cyber cafes, taverns, bars, billiard shops and amusement arcades cannot open for at least the next 14 days.
The Prime Minister says restaurants may not open for in-person dining, but may offer delivery and take-away services.
The Fiji Labour Party is calling for a thorough investigation into how the COVID-19 protocol was breached at a quarantine centre in Nadi which has forced a virtual lockdown of the greater Nadi and Lautoka areas while Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete says the matter is being thoroughly investigated by their team on the ground.
Party Leader Mahendra Chaudhry says thousands of families are being inconvenienced and their lives have been disrupted just because of the lapse or a lack of responsibility on the part of one person.
Chaudhry says the social and economic impact of this is enormous with schools closed, major sporting events and religious gatherings banned and USP’s graduation ceremony put on hold.
The Party Leader adds it is believed that the security personnel may have contracted the virus from a couple already in quarantine who had tested positive.
He says this raises greater questions about whether strict discipline is being enforced in quarantine centres holding positive cases.
Chaudhry says just one instance of irresponsibility has put the whole nation on alert because the extent of contamination is still not known.
He says so far the concentration has been on contact tracing which is fine but they insist that it is equally important that the matter of how the soldier got contaminated and passed it on to others is thoroughly examined to prevent this from happening again.
Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete says we have to remember that these are the people that have been working hard to keep us COVID-19 contained for over a year.
He says investigations are ongoing and they are looking at ways to improve their processes because they do not want these things to happen again.
Dr Waqainabete adds medical experts are doing an audit of the things that happened.
The University of the South Pacific graduation ceremonies that were scheduled to take place this Thursday and Friday have been cancelled.
USP says details on how the certificates will be distributed will be decided at a later date.
Fiji has another COVID-19 community case which has also resulted in the Health Ministry announcing new guidelines for the whole of Viti Levu while some guidelines remain for the whole country.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says after the announcement about the funeral in Tavakubu, Lautoka last Friday and Saturday, a family in Suva has come forward to let the health officials know that they had attended the funeral.
He says as of yesterday morning, one of these family members, a 40-year-old woman has tested positive for COVID-19.
The woman resides in Wainitarawau Settlement in Cunningham. She lives at home with her husband and five children. They are all in isolation at Navua Hospital.
Her family members have all tested negative for the virus so far.
From 10pm Tuesday through yesterday, the ministry has activated containment teams to establish a screening zone at the Wainitarawau Settlement.
Doctor Fong says the rules for the zone are simple: No one is allowed out. Those who live in this area are being allowed back in, but they must stay there.
They are screening every Fijian in that zone, and they will keep the area contained for at least the next 14 days.
He says the density of people living within the settlement make this area particularly high-risk for the spread of the virus, so they are not taking any chances.
Doctor Fong says they are still terming the Tavakubu funeral as a super spreader event.
He says this virus is as deadly as it has ever been.
Doctor Fong says it is more transmissible, and we must treat it more seriously than we ever have before.
If you were at the funeral in Tavakubu, either at the residence or at Peceliema Church, on Friday 16th April or Saturday 17th April and the Ministry of Health and Medical Services has not yet contacted you, please call 158 right now.
Your life, and the lives of those you love, may be at-risk.
Please, pick up the phone and dial 158.
Higher-risk businesses, such as gyms, movie theatres, video gaming shops, cyber cafes, taverns, bars, billiard shops and amusement arcades in Viti Levu cannot open for at least the next 14 days.
Restaurants in Viti Levu may not open for in-person dining but may offer delivery and takeaway services.
The curfew hours will remain from 11pm to 4am.
Supermarkets and shops selling food and open-air markets can open so that people can buy food.
Banks, FNPF and pharmacies can open.
However, it is vital that vendors and businesses ensure strict physical distancing before opening their doors.
Make sure customers in queues are spaced out by two metres and manage crowding.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says all employers who can allow their employees to work from home should do so. Other businesses and places of work can open, though staff must have careFIJI downloaded on their phones. If someone does not have a smartphone, their contact tracing details must be recorded every day.
Customer-facing businesses should limit customer capacity to 50 percent.
The Permanent Secretary for Health says businesses that do not manage these risks with COVID-safe plans will be shut down.
He says the virus is here and we cannot afford to turn a crowded market into the next centre of an outbreak.
Doctor Fong says everyone should wear masks.
If you cough or sneeze, do it in your elbow or in a disposable tissue.
Report your symptoms to the nearest fever clinic.
Non-work gatherings of any size cannot take place anywhere. That includes religious services, weddings and other events. This gathering restriction applies nationwide.
However the ministry will be allowing people to hold funeral services with up to 20 people.
If you do not have an essential reason to leave your house, do not leave your house. Stay home and keep your children at home.
If you absolutely need to travel, wear a mask and make sure you have the careFIJI app switched on.
Outdoor exercise is allowed but you should only interact with other members of your household and keep a two-metre distance from all others.
Team contact sports like rugby, basketball and soccer cannot be played.
Doctor Fong says if the measures are not followed and if they see massive crowds of maskless people milling about, they will shut down entire towns and cities. From midday today, they are also suspending outbound inter-island passenger travel from Viti Levu. Passengers can travel to Viti Levu, but no one on Viti Levu can leave until these measures have expired.
Domestic passenger flights off Viti Levu have also been suspended.
As for international flights, they have suspended all passenger air travel into and out of Fiji for non-medical purposes.
Doctor Fong says we need every available room in quarantine for Fijians in Fiji at this time.
The drivers of two minibuses and the grey taxi all came forward after the descriptions of their vehicles and the times of the travel were announced on Tuesday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the drivers came forward knowing they may have contracted the virus, and they did so because they care about their health, the health of those they love, and the health of their fellow Fijians.
He says they have since been quarantined and will be tested for COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says they all committed acts of patriotism, high responsibility, and courage, that could very well save lives.
He says they are still looking for the driver and passengers of a public minibus that transported the hotel staff and one other family member from Lautoka Mini Bus Stand to Kerebula in Nadi at around 5pm Saturday, April 17th.
They are urging people to help them identify this vehicle and driver.
Doctor Fong also says they are still seeing media outlets bypassing official sources, publishing stories without the proper context and sparking panic among the public.
He says that sort of reckless reporting can set back this entire containment strategy.
Doctor Fong says it puts lives in danger, driving people to make bad decisions with bad information.
He says we don’t deal in rumours, we rely on facts and the media must hold themselves to that same standard.
Doctor Fong says do not publish panicked nonsense for the sake of likes on Facebook or clicks on your website as the nation needs you to do better.
The Health Ministry’s contact tracing, swab tests and screening clinics are currently underway in many parts of the country while house to house visits are underway in the Nadi and Lautoka Containment Area.
We can confirm that tests have been conducted in Cunningham, Valelevu, other parts of Nasinu and Nausori earlier today. Some residents have also been told to self-quarantine while test results will be revealed by the Health Ministry.
fijivillage stresses that the positive test results will only be revealed by the Ministry.
Do not be alarmed when you see Health Ministry officials in the area as they may be just conducting tests and contact tracing.
Please ensure you are following the COVID-19 guidelines – download and keep the careFiji app on, continue to wash your hands or use hand sanitizers and wear face masks when out amongst the members of the public.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says sometimes their presence in public spaces is just to investigate and it does not mean something will happen in the area.
There are reports circulating that a woman from a village in Nausori had attended the funeral in Tavakubu and there is a potential threat of the area being placed under lockdown.
Dr Fong says every time they try to investigate a suspected step, people start thinking that there is something happening.
He is urging the people not to be afraid when they see health staff in their area.
Dr Fong says they understand public anxiety but they will inform the people if there is something.
If you are the driver or know the driver of a mini bus that was hired to carry passengers – a 53-year-old woman and eight of her family members from Tavakubu to Nadi at 10pm Friday the 16th of April; if you are the driver or know the driver of the mini bus that was hired to carry passengers – a 53-year-old woman and seven other family members to Tavakubu, Lautoka from Nadi around 9am Saturday the 17th of April; if you are the driver or know the driver of a grey taxi (as is recalled by the patient), that carried passengers including a 53-year-old woman and one other family member from Tavakubu, Lautoka after they attended a funeral, to Lautoka Mini Bus Stand on Saturday, 17th of April; and if you are the driver and a passenger of a mini bus that departed from Lautoka to Nadi at around 5pm Saturday, 17th of April, along with a 53-year-old woman and one other family member, please contact the Ministry of Health and Medical Services urgently on 158.
People who have completed their 14-day quarantine in the containment area and are tested negative on their second test will be transferred from the quarantine facility to the lockdown border checkpoint in Nadi or Lautoka by the Republic of the Fiji Military Forces.
The Ministry of Health says these people will need to make arrangements for their pick-up at the border.
People who are in quarantine will also have to make sure they inquire with their hotel front desk about their pickup times at the end of their quarantine period.
The Ministry says they have also made arrangements for people travelling outside of Fiji on repatriation flights for their transfers from the main lockdown checkpoints on either side of the border to the Nadi International Airport.
They say all outbound passengers must have their COVID-19 swab results (e-copy is accepted) with them.
People travelling out of Fiji are advised to obtain a pass from the nearest Police Station, if they need to travel during curfew hours, by providing their travel itinerary and swabbing receipt from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services.
The Health Ministry says all passengers must present themselves at the lockdown checkpoint 4 hours before their flight departure and the RFMF will make arrangements for their transfer from the lockdown checkpoint to the Nadi International Airport.
For all passengers coming into the country, the approved quarantine transfer from the Nadi International Airport to their quarantine facility will still be provided.
Scheduled flights on Thursday 22 April 2021:
Flight Number: NZ953 STD: 2.30pm Time at Checkpoint: 10.30am
Flight Number: FJ1411 STD: 4.20pm Time at Checkpoint: 12.20pm
Flight Number: FJ1810 STD: 10pm Time at Checkpoint: 6pm
The Head of Health Protection at the Ministry of Health, Doctor Alisha Sahukhan says the variant of COVID-19 in Fiji will be determined once the samples are sent to their reference lab in Melbourne, Australia.
Doctor Sahukhan says with this, they expect that the samples will go out this week and they should receive the result in the next week or two.
Fiji now has 3 community cases of COVID-19.
There are 78 cases in total since our first case on March 19th 2020.
Doctor Sahukhan says 55 of these cases have been international travel associated detected in border quarantine.
The Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says they would love to make mask-wearing mandatory however it becomes tough to police it.
Dr. Fong has also asked why they need to make it mandatory and why can’t people just react to what they should do, as they all are trying to protect each other.
You can drink grog with people in your household or bubble but everyone should have their own bilo.
This has been clarified by Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong.
He says people should not be using one bilo and passing it around.
The Fiji Bus Operators Association is calling on all passengers who will be travelling in buses to wear their masks as they do not want people to spread COVID-19.
President, Nisar Ali Shah says while they have informed bus companies on the need for bus drivers to monitor their passengers, the responsibility lies with the public at large.
He says they are not an enforcement agency but bus drivers will be asking passengers to wear masks before entering buses.
Shah says those passengers who will not have their masks tomorrow will be told to get one.
When questioned about physical distancing in buses which is currently not happening, Shah says those people who can travel in other trips to towns and cities should not crowd labour trips for the next few weeks.
Shah says during these tough times when everyone is losing out on income, it will be difficult for bus companies to send two buses for a single trip and passengers need to wait for other buses if they see that a bus is getting full.
He says the association will be liaising with all bus companies to put notices in the buses regarding COVID-19 protocols.
The Land Transport Authority has referred all questions regarding people following COVID-19 safety measures to Police.
Police have referred all questions to the Health Ministry.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has made it clear that if you absolutely need to travel, wear a mask and make sure you have the careFIJI app switched on.
The General Secretary of the Fiji Taxi Association Ashwin Lal says it will be up to the individual drivers if they refuse services to people who are not adhering to the COVID-19 protocols set by the Health Ministry.
Lal says they are also urging drivers to only take up to 3 passengers as this will help to maintain social distancing in the taxis.
He further says they are urging drivers to wear masks and use hand sanitizers in battling to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Lal adds people also need to be cautious as they do not know when and where the sickness will go.
He further says they want everyone to be safe and happy.
The Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr James Fong says they feel the soldier may have contracted COVID-19 in the course of handling some baggage and interacting with two passengers who arrived from India on the 10th of April.
Dr Fong says the soldier had his appropriate personal protective equipment on but they feel that was the most likely touch point.
He adds this is based on the fact that he was able to transmit it to someone else and that it had to have harboured for a few days and then transmitted.
The Permanent Secretary also says the next touchpoint was when the lady was cleaning the room and the soldier walked in to put his stuff in the room.
Dr. Fong further adds the soldier stayed there for a bit of time and interacted with the lady.
He says the procedures at the border quarantine facilities do not need to change because what they have been doing is working.
Dr.Fong says what happened was there was a part of a procedure that was not adhered to and that was where the problem is.
National Federation Party President, Pio Tikoduadua says the people of Fiji are now being penalised for the government’s inability to ensure strict enforcement and adherence of protocols around COVID-19 quarantine facilities, however, Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete has said that the matter is being thoroughly investigated by their team on the ground.
Tikoduadua says it is now abundantly clear that those enforcing quarantine protocols often overlook it to come in contact with those staying in quarantine.
He says this clearly happened in the case of the soldier who came into contact with a hotel worker which then led to community transmission.
He says unfortunately for the last two days, the focus is on the 53-year-old woman and not the soldier or the persons he came into contact with.
The NFP President says all we are told that the matter is being fully investigated but this is not good enough.
He says the people of Fiji are entitled to full disclosures on this matter because they are now being made to sacrifice their freedom of movement, worship, gathering and sports.
Tikoduadua says any investigation must first establish how and why the soldier came into contact with persons in quarantine.
Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete says we have to remember that these are the people that have been working hard to keep us COVID-19 contained for over a year.
He says investigations are ongoing and they are looking at ways to improve their processes because they do not want these things to happen again.
Dr Waqainabete adds medical experts are doing an audit of the things that happened.
Tikoduadua also says that the Prime Minister’s announcement of lockdown and restrictive measures are confusing and raises more questions than providing answers.
He says there is total confusion surrounding the announcement of no religious services because there is no clarity about weddings and funeral gatherings especially when there is no social distancing on public transport, streets, shopping malls and restaurants.
Tikoduadua claims that police reportedly told the family of a 90-year-old woman whose funeral is to take place today in Sigatoka that only five people are allowed to gather.
He says common sense dictates that 6 people are required to be pallbearers and in this case, the woman has 16 children and 40 grand-children.
We have contacted Police about this claim. They are yet to comment.
Tikoduadua adds when similar measures were enforced last year the number was restricted to 20 and although it was illogical, it provided some clarity.
He says it seems everyone including enforcers of the law have their own interpretation of the measures announced by the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has made it clear that 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.
Doctor Fong also says the soldier who tested positive over the weekend remains in border quarantine facility and he never entered public spaces.
He says their contact tracing has been limited to his 69 primary contacts within the facility as well as their 267 secondary contacts. These contacts are all in quarantine.
The 53-year-old maid is the only positive case from the soldier’s 69 primary contacts.
Fiji has two new locally transmitted cases of COVID-19.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they are two children from Wainitarawau Settlement in Cunningham which is a containment area.
These two children are a 7-month-old son and the 14-year-old daughter of the 40-year-old woman from Cunningham who was earlier confirmed as a positive case of COVID-19.
Testing and contact tracing has continued through last night and into today.
He says they want everyone to know that they have not identified any new clusters of cases in the community.
Doctor Fong says both children initially tested negative for the virus, on Tuesday April 20th, the day they entered isolation.
He says that gives them a high degree of confidence that they are latent cases, which means they were entered into isolation before they became infectious.
Doctor Fong says while the 14-year-old girl did attend school on Monday April 19th, they believe there is little chance that she passed the virus to others.
However, out of an abundance of caution, they will be running a screening exercise based on the daughter’s movements.
He also reminds everyone that the ministry identified this family because they made the patriotic decision to come forward and because they were honest with them about where they had been.
Doctor Fong says they deserve our thanks and nothing less.
He stresses that the virus is the problem, not any one person, and we have to at all costs, protect the privacy of Fijians living with the virus.
Following the circulation of an internal school email that reveals the name of the 14-year-old girl, Doctor Fong says they are talking about children here, some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
He says children are anxious, they are scared, and the last thing they need is to have their privacy violated, and their information blasted out online.
Doctor Fong says the stigmatisation of Fijians living with COVID-19 has very real consequences, when bullies online take advantage of other people’s suffering
Meanwhile he says they have collected samples that will be tested for 200 people who attended the funeral at Tavakubu that was attended by the hotel staff case.
They have not confirmed any new positive cases at this time.
The window for transmission is still open, and contact tracing for the funeral continues, so that may change.
Nasomo in Tavua, has also been identified as a screening zone based on the movements of the case from Wainitarawau Cunningham after the funeral.
The same rules established for the Wainitarawau Settlement apply here: No one is allowed to leave. Those who reside in the community may return, but they must stay there for at least the next 14 days.
The Health Ministry is still looking for the mini bus driver who drove the hotel staff on the evening of the 17th of April from the Lautoka City Mini Bus Stand to Nadi at around 5pm, as well as the passengers of that mini bus.
After their investigation into the travel history of the mother in Wainitarawau Settlement, the ministry is also expanding their contact tracing to individuals who were at Saweni Beach from 10am to 3:30pm on Saturday 17th April 2021.
Doctor Fong says if you were at Saweni Beach during that period, please call 158 right now.
Stay home until the Ministry can check on you.
Fiji also has six new border quarantine cases.
One is a 38-year-old man who arrived from Malaysia on April 8th.
The other five are members of a family that arrived on 8th April from the Philippines, two other members of the same travelling family had tested positive during entry testing; this was announced on April 17th.
There are now 19 active cases of COVID-19 in Fiji.
This is the highest number of active cases that Fiji has ever registered.
14 of these cases are at the border, and five are locally-transmitted cases.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says he is really disappointed and wished people had more sense and be a little more caring after a confidential email showing the name of one of Fiji’s latest COVID-19 patients was being circulated.
He is calling on people to stop sharing that email if they receive it.
Doctor Fong says people need to be more sensitive and that email could have been easily written and sent without the 14-year-old girl’s name.
Doctor Fong says people should show love.
The Head of School who sent a confidential email stating the name of one of Fiji’s latest COVID-19 patients has been suspended from duties until further notice.
This has been confirmed by Education Minister Rosy Akbar who says she is disappointed towards the way the Head of School handled the COVID-19 reporting and communication protocol.
She says it is rather unfortunate that the details of the student had been released and is now circulating on social media.
Akbar is asking all school heads and teachers to exercise confidentiality when dealing with issues related to Child Safety and Protection.
A team from the Central Division Command Centre is currently contacting the teachers of the school that the 14-year-old student from Cunningham attends.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong confirms the team is also organizing a screening program for them.
He says the operational details involve going to individual homes.
Doctor Fong says he had already anticipated that they will get more cases from the funeral that was held in Tavakubu, Lautoka.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they have collected samples that will be tested for 200 people who attended the funeral at Tavakubu.
Doctor Fong says they have not confirmed any new positive cases from the funeral at this time.
He says the window for transmission is still open, and contact tracing for the funeral continues, so that may change.
Nasomo in Tavua, has also been identified as a screening zone based on the movements of the case from Wainitarawau Cunningham after the funeral.
The same rules established for the Wainitarawau Settlement apply here: No one is allowed to leave. Those who reside in the community may return, but they must stay there for at least the next 14 days.
The Health Ministry is still looking for the mini bus driver who drove the hotel staff on the evening of the 17th of April from the Lautoka City Mini Bus Stand to Nadi at around 5pm, as well as the passengers of that mini bus.
After their investigation into the travel history of the mother in Wainitarawau Settlement, the ministry is also expanding their contact tracing to individuals who were at Saweni Beach from 10am to 3:30pm on Saturday 17th April 2021.
Doctor Fong says if you were at Saweni Beach during that period, please call the Health Ministry on 158. Stay home until the Ministry can check on you.
There are now 19 active cases of COVID-19 in Fiji.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this is the highest number of active cases that Fiji has ever registered.
14 of these cases are at the border, and five are locally-transmitted cases.
Fiji also has six new border quarantine cases.
One is a 38 year old man who arrived from Malaysia on April 8th.
The other five are members of a family that arrived on 8th April from the Philippines, two other members of the same travelling family had tested positive during entry testing; this was announced on April 17th.
The definition of high-risk businesses that have been closed throughout Viti Levu, including in the Nadi and Lautoka Containment Area have been widened.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the businesses include gyms, movie theatres, video gaming shops, cyber cafes, taverns, bars, billiard shops and amusement arcades, as well as hairdressers, barber shops, spas, beauty therapy, massage therapy venues, saunas and tattoo parlours.
He says the nature of these businesses means they cannot operate with proper COVID-safe protocols, including enforced physical distancing of two metres.
Doctor Fong says they should all close everywhere on Viti Levu for at least the next 14 days.
The suspension of international passenger travel is in effect, with the exception of Fijians travelling for medical purposes and other passengers as approved by the Permanent Secretary for Health.
Public health restrictions for Waicoka Village in Tailevu will only be eased once the result of the second COVID-19 test is negative for the three people from Moturiki who attended the funeral at Tavakubu in Lautoka on Saturday.
The Head of Health Protection at the Ministry of Health, Doctor Alisha Sahukhan says their first test came out negative but to be sure they will be testing them for the second time.
Dr Sahukhan says they have established that this group did spend some time in Waicoka Village and for that reason, they have added these public health measures in that village.
She adds that they also understand that the Moturiki group were not infectious when they spent time in the village.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says he would really like the Fiji Mini Bus Association to encourage its members to wear masks and understand that they are doing this for Fiji.
This is after the Viti Mini Buses said that mini bus drivers will decide for themselves if they want to follow the COVID-19 protocols.
He says he really would not like to resort to making the wearing of masks mandatory.
Doctor Fong stresses that mini bus drivers can refuse to take passengers who are not wearing masks.
He says gradually more people will wear masks if the mini bus drivers go ahead and refuse passengers that are not wearing masks.
Doctor Fong says people can go to the Health Ministry website to check out instructions on how to make a homemade face mask.
He says you should have two layers of cloth so that it can cover your nose and also be underneath the chin.
Doctor Fong stresses that this advice is in line with the recommendations by the World Health Organisation and the US Centres for Disease Control.
He says homemade masks offer some protection.
The Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says they are working with organisations like Empower Pacific who are providing psycho-social support to the people in quarantine.
He says there are other civil society organisations that are working with them.
Dr. Fong says they work with them even after cyclones where these organisations provide psycho-social support during recovery period and they are using the same network to also facilitate this service for those in quarantine.
He says this support is being provided through zoom sessions.
Dr. Fong says there are doctors who walk around quarantine, and make assessments based on the questions they ask.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong has stressed that there is no strong evidence that more than three people from the funeral in Tavakubu travelled out of Viti Levu.
He says a programme is underway in Lautoka where they are receiving information on whether any other people that attended the funeral travelled out of Viti Levu.
Dr Fong says there are also rumours spreading in the public about this but whenever they check, these rumours turn out to be untrue.
He adds a lot of work is being done to verify these rumours because not all rumours are based on facts.
The three people from Moturiki have tested negative for COVID-19.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong has highlighted they chose Sunday to restrict the movement of people because they will be ramping up their screening programmes.
He says they understand that most places will not be open today and most people will be spending this day with their families.
Doctor Fong says if they can confine the whole of Viti Levu, it will be easier for them to ramp up their screening programmes in targeted places.
He adds that some supermarkets and pharmacies will be allowed to open today as they are considered essential services.
The screening areas in Viti Levu are Wainitarawau Settlement in Cunningham and Nasomo settlement in Tavua.
Fiji has a new locally transmitted case of COVID-19 which means we now have 20 active cases in isolation
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the patient is the 14 year old daughter of the hotel staff who has been the central focus of the Health Ministry’s contact tracing.
Doctor Fong says the daughter did travel with her mum to the funeral at Tavakubu on April 16th and 17th however she had no symptoms and tested negative when entered into quarantine on Sunday April 18th.
She has tested positive on day 4 of quarantine.
Doctor Fong says this indicates that she was entered into quarantine before she became infectious.
He explains that they know that this virus has an incubation period of up to 14 days. So a person may take up to 14 days to have enough virus in their bodies to develop symptoms, or trigger a positive test result.
He says the level of virus that becomes detectable on a test also relates to how infectious that person is at the time.
Doctor Fong says if someone has no symptoms and tests negative in the community, it is very unlikely that they were infectious, even if they later test positive during the 14-day quarantine period.
We now have 6 locally transmitted cases that can all be traced back to the soldier who caught the virus while working in a border quarantine facility.
The Permanent Secretary says 3 of these latest local cases were not infectious while they were in the community.
He says they know this because they had no symptoms at the time, and were negative on their first test when they entered quarantine. It was only on their second test in quarantine that they tested positive.
Apart from the 6 locally transmitted cases we have 14 from border quarantine.
More than 800 tests were conducted over the last 24 hours.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the nationwide curfew between 11pm and 4am remains however they are asking for restricted movement outside of the curfew hours from 7pm Saturday until 11pm tonight
During this window of restricted movement, businesses such as supermarkets and pharmacies may open at the discretion of their management. Public transportation may run, with mask-wearing enforced.
Doctor Fong says no other workplaces should open.
Apart from shopping for food or medicine, or travelling for a medical emergency, there are no other reasons to leave your home.
If you are out and about without an essential reason, the police will ask you to go back to where you reside.
Doctor Fong says if these protocols are not followed, he will have to recommend lockdown measures for entire towns and cities.
He says everyone should stay in their homes and only spend time with members of their household.
Doctor Fong says it’s important that you do this, because the Health Ministry teams are going to use that window to conduct health screenings in targeted regions throughout Viti Levu.
Health officials will also be checking Fijians for COVID-like symptoms and making sure they have not had contact with someone who was contagious for the virus.
He says there are still too many unknowns to determine how long the rest of the health restrictions will remain in place.
More tests must be run, more time must be given to confirm that the virus is not lurking in some communities. If the numbers point to a wider outbreak, the ministry won’t hesitate to escalate their response.
The Permanent Secretary is also urging businesses to close up shop well before 7pm tonight so that staff and customers have time to head home.
If you are heading home using public transportation, wear a mask, and wear it properly.
He says their teams across Viti Levu have seen a notable increase in mask-wearing among members of the public.
Doctor Fong says that is great news and it means a great deal to them at the ministry to see so many Fijians share their mission to keep Fiji safe.
He also says if you are alone in your personal vehicle, or with other members of your household, you do not need to wear a mask. But when you exit the vehicle, please place one on.
Meanwhile Doctor Fong says he was a bit disturbed by a couple of tweets that went out from a reporter who freelancers for a number of media organisations outside of Fiji.
He says yesterday the reporter posted an incorrect tweet saying Fiji would be under a nationwide curfew starting tonight.
Doctor Fong says that was wrong.
He says they asked her to remove that tweet and thankfully, she did.
An apology tweet was posted however stating that the police would arrest people who were out without an essential reason was also misleading.
Doctor Fong says during the window of restricted movement, the Fiji Police will be asking people to stay home. That is where they want you, at home.
He says we have had a few instances of rule-breaking.
After they established Moturiki Island as a screening zone, a man was picked up on Ovalau after he swam across the channel.
Doctor Fong says the man is with the Police now, and he won’t be swimming anywhere for the next 14 days until he is cleared from the screening zone.
He says that he knows that may be funny to some people, but it is a real problem for the health officials.
The Permanent Secretary for Health has thanked a number of business houses coming forward to assist the Health Ministry in it’s fight against COVID-19.
Doctor James Fong says he was sent some awesome photos of food items donated by Billy Singh of Kundan Singh Supermarket today. This was being delivered to the families within the screening zone at Wainitarawau Settlement in Cunningham.
Doctor Fong says hotels like the Tanoa and the Crow’s Nest have also supported the surgical teams working in Sigatoka and Rakiraki.
The Holiday Inn has helped provide meals and catering to our health officials.
He also thanked Women in Business and the Fiji Chamber of Commerce and Industry for reaching out to their members, and to other businesses, to adhere to the health protocols.
Doctor Fong also made special mention of Tanoa Hotel.
He says they have been with them from the very beginning and have supported them in many different ways.
He hopes to see other business organisations step-up and do the same.
People will not be allowed to leave the country for business trips for the time being.
This is after concerns were raised that the person who the soldier got COVID-19 from had recently returned from a business trip from India.
When questioned if Fiji will limit business trips or not, the Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong has confirmed that at the moment people will only be allowed to travel for medical reasons.
Dr Fong says there are some outgoing flights that are granted on a case by case basis especially those who are going for medical treatment.
He has also confirmed that they have put some countries such as India on red zone.
Dr Fong says the only people they are not refusing are Fijians who are returning however they are currently being affected because the Ministry is reducing the number of flights coming in due to the outbreak.
Central Eastern Mini Bus Association President, Naresh Chand says if the government has directed them to maintain a 2 metres distance in the mini buses, then they will have to follow it even if it means that they will be carrying 1 passenger or not driving at all.
Chand says it will not be profitable and they may have to cease their operation until the government gives them the green light to carry passengers at full capacity.
Fijivillage has seen mini buses operating at full capacity.
When asked what the Association will do to these drivers, Chand says the drivers are aware of the directives and they need to follow it.
He adds law enforcement agencies must enforce the directives.
Viti Mini Buses Cooperative Limited founding member, Albert Jackson says they will follow the directives but they may have to cease operations because it is not viable.
He says if the operators have to adhere to the directives then automatically, they will not operate if they can only carry about 5 passengers.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says he would really like the Mini Buses Association to encourage their members to wear masks knowing that they are doing it for Fiji.
He says he really does not want to resort to mandating it and drivers can refuse passengers who are not wearing masks so that passengers can gradually start wearing masks.
All drivers and passengers will have to wear masks. Drivers will not be allowed to drive if they don't wear masks and people will not be allowed to board public transport if they do not have masks.
The Permanent Secretary says drivers and transport operators must make this sacrifice or they will not be operating at all.
If they do not follow the protocols, those businesses will be shut down.
Land Transport Authority officials will also be on the ground to enforce this.
Fiji has a new locally transmitted case of COVID-19 which means we now have 20 active cases in isolation
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the patient is the 14 year old daughter of the hotel staff who has been the central focus of the Health Ministry’s contact tracing.
Doctor Fong says the daughter did travel with her mum to the funeral at Tavakubu on April 16th and 17th however she had no symptoms and tested negative when entered into quarantine on Sunday April 18th.
She has tested positive on day 4 of quarantine.
Doctor Fong says this indicates that she was entered into quarantine before she became infectious.
He explains that they know that this virus has an incubation period of up to 14 days. So a person may take up to 14 days to have enough virus in their bodies to develop symptoms, or trigger a positive test result.
He says the level of virus that becomes detectable on a test also relates to how infectious that person is at the time.
Doctor Fong says if someone has no symptoms and tests negative in the community, it is very unlikely that they were infectious, even if they later test positive during the 14-day quarantine period.
We now have 6 locally transmitted cases that can all be traced back to the soldier who caught the virus while working in a border quarantine facility.
The Permanent Secretary says 3 of these latest local cases were not infectious while they were in the community.
He says they know this because they had no symptoms at the time, and were negative on their first test when they entered quarantine. It was only on their second test in quarantine that they tested positive.
Apart from the 6 locally transmitted cases we have 14 from border quarantine.
More than 800 tests were conducted over the last 24 hours.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the nationwide curfew between 11pm and 4am remains however they are asking for restricted movement outside of the curfew hours from 7pm Saturday until 11pm tonight
During this window of restricted movement, businesses such as supermarkets and pharmacies may open at the discretion of their management. Public transportation may run, with mask-wearing enforced.
Doctor Fong says no other workplaces should open.
Apart from shopping for food or medicine, or travelling for a medical emergency, there are no other reasons to leave your home.
If you are out and about without an essential reason, the police will ask you to go back to where you reside.
Doctor Fong says if these protocols are not followed, he will have to recommend lockdown measures for entire towns and cities.
He says everyone should stay in their homes and only spend time with members of their household.
Doctor Fong says it’s important that you do this, because the Health Ministry teams are going to use that window to conduct health screenings in targeted regions throughout Viti Levu.
Health officials will also be checking Fijians for COVID-like symptoms and making sure they have not had contact with someone who was contagious for the virus.
He says there are still too many unknowns to determine how long the rest of the health restrictions will remain in place.
More tests must be run, more time must be given to confirm that the virus is not lurking in some communities. If the numbers point to a wider outbreak, the ministry won’t hesitate to escalate their response.
The Permanent Secretary is also urging businesses to close up shop well before 7pm tonight so that staff and customers have time to head home.
If you are heading home using public transportation, wear a mask, and wear it properly.
He says their teams across Viti Levu have seen a notable increase in mask-wearing among members of the public.
Doctor Fong says that is great news and it means a great deal to them at the ministry to see so many Fijians share their mission to keep Fiji safe.
He also says if you are alone in your personal vehicle, or with other members of your household, you do not need to wear a mask. But when you exit the vehicle, please place one on.
Meanwhile Doctor Fong says he was a bit disturbed by a couple of tweets that went out from a reporter who freelancers for a number of media organisations outside of Fiji.
He says yesterday the reporter posted an incorrect tweet saying Fiji would be under a nationwide curfew starting tonight.
Doctor Fong says that was wrong.
He says they asked her to remove that tweet and thankfully, she did.
An apology tweet was posted however stating that the police would arrest people who were out without an essential reason was also misleading.
Doctor Fong says during the window of restricted movement, the Fiji Police will be asking people to stay home. That is where they want you, at home.
He says we have had a few instances of rule-breaking.
After they established Moturiki Island as a screening zone, a man was picked up on Ovalau after he swam across the channel.
Doctor Fong says the man is with the Police now, and he won’t be swimming anywhere for the next 14 days until he is cleared from the screening zone.
He says that he knows that may be funny to some people, but it is a real problem for the health officials.
The Permanent Secretary for Health has thanked a number of business houses coming forward to assist the Health Ministry in it’s fight against COVID-19.
Doctor James Fong says he was sent some awesome photos of food items donated by Billy Singh of Kundan Singh Supermarket today. This was being delivered to the families within the screening zone at Wainitarawau Settlement in Cunningham.
Doctor Fong says hotels like the Tanoa and the Crow’s Nest have also supported the surgical teams working in Sigatoka and Rakiraki.
The Holiday Inn has helped provide meals and catering to our health officials.
He also thanked Women in Business and the Fiji Chamber of Commerce and Industry for reaching out to their members, and to other businesses, to adhere to the health protocols.
Doctor Fong also made special mention of Tanoa Hotel.
He says they have been with them from the very beginning and have supported them in many different ways.
He hopes to see other business organisations step-up and do the same.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they may increase or decrease the size of the containment zone based on the history of the movement of the Makoi case.
When asked about how confident he is in the containment areas of Lami, Suva and Nausori, Doctor Fong says it is a big boundary and the reason for this is that they need as many people as possible to keep still.
Beginning at 4:00 a.m. Monday, when the curfew period ends, and for the next 14 days, the greater public will not be allowed in or out of the following containment zones.
— Fijian Government (@FijianGovt) April 25, 2021
More on the link: https://t.co/xAm0IClbAD#FijiNews #TeamFiji #FijianGovernment #Fiji pic.twitter.com/I9KnQYdIEZ
Fong says once people stop moving, they will then decide the areas that they will prioritise for screening.
He says they will move from the high priority area to the less priority area and keep going on until they cover most of the area of interest.
Meanwhile, Head of Health Protection, Doctor Alisha Sahukhan says if people move, the virus moves with them.
She adds that if you need to go out to get food, designate one person to go do the shopping because people need you to keep still and at home as much as possible.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr James Fong says the case of COVID-19 from Makoi is something that they are worried about and is a big problem for them.
He says they do not know how the woman got the virus.
Also, it is unknown who all she came in contact with from the time she contracted the virus to the time she got positive.
Dr Fong says the woman from Makoi just fell ill and produced herself at the screening clinic where a swab was taken.
He says Makoi is a large area and they are doing house to house screening.
Dr Fong says they will not release the name of the specific place in Makoi for now in the interest of sorting their containment plans.
The vaccination programme will continue to be done around Fiji.
This has been confirmed by the Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong in a press conference this afternoon.
He says it was highlighted by the World Health Organisation consultant in their discussion that the vaccination programme must continue.
Dr Fong says now more than ever, it is important that vaccinations continue and they are making a lot of effort to bring in more vaccines.
Public transportation within the different containment zones will be available from today but limited to 50% seating capacity.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they have made arrangements through the Land Transport Authority for this to be practically implemented.
Civil servants will be authorised to work from home at the discretion of their respective Permanent Secretaries.
Doctor Fong says essential businesses will remain open, as they did during the lockdown period last year.
That list includes air and rescue services, air traffic control services, ports services, civil aviation, telecommunication services, food, and sanitary manufacturing plants, electricity services, emergency services, fire services, health, and hospital services, lighthouse services, meteorological services, mine pumping, ventilation and winding, sanitary services, supply and distribution of fuel and gas, power, telecommunications, garbage collection, transport services, water and sewage services, FNPF and FRCS, civil service, private security services, and roading services.
If your business is not on this list, close it down.
The ports of Lautoka and Suva will remain open for international freight shipping and inter-island cargo shipping.
Any inter-island passenger travel from the ports of Suva, Denarau, Vuda, and Lautoka remain prohibited.
They will implement the previous Agriculture Marketing Authority arrangements to get food and produce into the respective containment zones.
At all checkpoints, suppliers can arrange with a police driver to ensure that produce still comes into the respective containment zones, and they do not let the virus escape the containment zones.
Employers in the listed essential businesses need to arrange a permission document for their employees in order to pass through the checkpoints, as was the case during the previous lockdown.
Employers should also try and make arrangements for their critical workers to move into the zones for the 14 day period.
Please contact 158 to acquire the permission documents which are your passes.
The Fiji Police Force will efficiently facilitate responses.
For those who cannot attend work at all because of the set-up of the containment zones, they will be able to access $220 a fortnight from their FNPF.
If funds are insufficient, the Government will top up the accounts.
Even within the respective containment zones, residents are again advised to avoid large social gatherings, particularly indoors.
Doctor Fong says your interactions should be limited entirely to those already living in your households.
If you need to walk around or exercise you may do so, but wear masks and maintain social distance when you must be out.
It is particularly important to download the careFIJI app and keep your phone Bluetooth turned on.
Wash your hands regularly.
Doctor Fong says we cannot afford to lose the war against this virus.
He says most Fijians are following and respecting the rules put in place but too many still aren’t.
Doctor Fong says if you’ve been thinking that this virus isn’t your problem, or that somehow your behavior hasn’t needed to change, get a grip.
He says this virus is here and it is serious.
Report any symptoms you’re feeling as soon as they develop by calling the COVID-19 Call Centre on toll-free number 158.
Stop sharing bilos and takis. Stop shaking hands, touching and embracing.
Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, multiple times a day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says beginning today, when the curfew period ends, and for the next 14 days, the greater public will not be allowed in or out of the following containment zones :
Lami to Suva Nausori areas - For a period of 14 days, they will be closing off exits at the checkpoints, starting from 4am today, the 26th of April: beginning from Wainadoi to Tamavua-i- Wai which is the Lami containment area, Tamavua-i-Wai to 8 Miles Bridge near Rups Nakasi which is the Suva containment area and 8 Miles Bridge near Rups Nakasi to Logani Village in Tailevu on Kings Road which is the Nausori containment area.
Doctor Fong says the Nadi to Lautoka containment area will be divided into two zones — Nadi Zone will begin from Momi Junction to Lomolomo Police Post and from Lomolomo Police Post to Nacilau.
Doctor Fong says the current free movement between Lautoka to Nadi will no longer be allowed for the next 14 days beginning today.
Only persons traveling for medical purposes will be allowed through checkpoints.
All non-essential businesses must remain closed.
Doctor Fong says supermarkets and shops selling food and other essential items will remain open so that people can buy these essential items within their respective containment zones.
Similar to other essential services, markets will remain open only in and for the respective containment zones.
Pharmacies will also remain open.
The Permanent Secretary for Health says food and essential goods will remain on the shelves of our shops, markets and supermarkets.
He urges people not to run to the supermarkets and bulk buy goods this afternoon as doing so will crowd these stores and put every shopper at risk.
Restaurants can remain open but only for takeaway and delivery orders within and for the containment zones.
Limited banking services will be available, as will FNPF and Fiji Revenue and Customs Service.
The Suva Retailers Association has provided 100 food packs for families in the containment areas and 20 cartons of water and other food items for frontline workers.
Association’s President, Jitesh Patel says the supplies were handed over to the Ministry of Health today who will be coordinating the distribution.
He says the Ministry has a list of families in the containment areas who need assistance.
Patel is urging business houses and other individuals to come forward and assist those affected by the containment areas and the frontline workers.
Fiji now has 24 COVID-19 cases as 4 new cases were recorded on Saturday.
This has resulted in containment areas in Lami, Suva, Nasinu, Nausori, Nadi and Lautoka.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 2 of these cases are in Nadi, 1 is in Lautoka and 1 is in Makoi.
He says 3 of the cases involved persons who attended the funeral that the Health Ministry has identified as a super-spreader event, including a husband and wife who circulated through the community.
Doctor Fong says they were placed in quarantine on Friday, and the Ministry of Health is tracking their movements and contacts for the five days before they went into quarantine.
Regarding the Makoi case, Doctor Fong says they are not certain of the source of the woman’s infection, but the Ministry of Health is busy doing contact tracing to determine who she may have been in contact with before or after she was infected.
He says the woman from Makoi and her husband have been placed in quarantine, but prudence requires them to treat this case as a possible community transmission.
Doctor Fong says because they cannot yet pin down the movements of these people and identify all their contacts, the Health Ministry is forced to take strict precautionary measures against the possibility that the virus has spread within the Lami, Suva and Nausori areas and within the Nadi-Lautoka area.
He says once they receive further information regarding the Makoi case, there will be appropriate variations to these measures.
Doctor Fong says their purpose is to keep people from circulating unnecessarily.
He says if people don’t move, the virus won’t move.
Beginning at 4am tomorrow, when the curfew period ends, and for the next 14 days, the greater public will not be allowed in or out of the following containment zones :
Lami to Suva Nausori areas - For a period of 14 days, they will be closing off exits at the checkpoints, starting from 4am tomorrow morning, the 26th of April: beginning from Wainadoi to Tamavua-i- Wai which is the Lami containment area, Tamavua-i-Wai to 8 Miles near Rups Mega in Nakasi which is the Suva containment area and 8 Miles near Rups Mega in Nakasi to Logani Village on Kings Road which is the Nausori containment area.
Doctor Fong says the Nadi to Lautoka containment area will be divided into two zones — Nadi Zone will begin from Momi Junction to Lomolomo Police Post and from Lomolomo Police Post to Nacilau.
Doctor Fong says the current free movement between Lautoka to Nadi will no longer be allowed for the next 14 days beginning tomorrow.
Only persons travelling for medical purposes will be allowed through checkpoints.
All non-essential businesses must remain closed.
Doctor Fong says supermarkets and shops selling food and other essential items will remain open so that people can buy these essential items within their respective containment zones.
Similar to other essential services, markets will remain open only in and for the respective containment zones.
Pharmacies will also remain open.
The Permanent Secretary for Health says food and essential goods will remain on the shelves of our shops, markets and supermarkets.
He urges people not run to the supermarkets and bulk buy goods this afternoon as doing so will crowd these stores and put every shopper at risk.
Restaurants can remain open but only for takeaway and delivery orders within and for the containment zones. Limited banking services will be available, as will FNPF and Fiji Revenue and Customs Service.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says beginning today, when the curfew period ends, and for the next 14 days, the greater public will not be allowed in or out of the following containment zones :
Lami to Suva Nausori areas - For a period of 14 days, they will be closing off exits at the checkpoints, starting from 4am today, the 26th of April: beginning from Wainadoi to Tamavua-i- Wai which is the Lami containment area, Tamavua-i-Wai to 8 Miles Bridge near Rups Nakasi which is the Suva containment area and 8 Miles Bridge near Rups Nakasi to Logani Village in Tailevu on Kings Road which is the Nausori containment area.
Doctor Fong says the Nadi to Lautoka containment area will be divided into two zones — Nadi Zone will begin from Momi Junction to Lomolomo Police Post and from Lomolomo Police Post to Nacilau.
Doctor Fong says the current free movement between Lautoka to Nadi will no longer be allowed for the next 14 days beginning today.
Only persons traveling for medical purposes will be allowed through checkpoints.
All non-essential businesses must remain closed.
Doctor Fong says supermarkets and shops selling food and other essential items will remain open so that people can buy these essential items within their respective containment zones.
Similar to other essential services, markets will remain open only in and for the respective containment zones.
Pharmacies will also remain open.
The Permanent Secretary for Health says food and essential goods will remain on the shelves of our shops, markets and supermarkets.
He urges people not to run to the supermarkets and bulk buy goods this afternoon as doing so will crowd these stores and put every shopper at risk.
Restaurants can remain open but only for takeaway and delivery orders within and for the containment zones.
Limited banking services will be available, as will FNPF and Fiji Revenue and Customs Service.
Public transportation within the different containment zones will be available from today but limited to 50% seating capacity.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they have made arrangements through the Land Transport Authority for this to be practically implemented.
Civil servants will be authorised to work from home at the discretion of their respective Permanent Secretaries.
Doctor Fong says essential businesses will remain open, as they did during the lockdown period last year.
That list includes air and rescue services, air traffic control services, ports services, civil aviation, telecommunication services, food, and sanitary manufacturing plants, electricity services, emergency services, fire services, health, and hospital services, lighthouse services, meteorological services, mine pumping, ventilation and winding, sanitary services, supply and distribution of fuel and gas, power, telecommunications, garbage collection, transport services, water and sewage services, FNPF and FRCS, civil service, private security services, and roading services.
If your business is not on this list, close it down.
The ports of Lautoka and Suva will remain open for international freight shipping and inter-island cargo shipping.
Any inter-island passenger travel from the ports of Suva, Denarau, Vuda, and Lautoka remain prohibited.
They will implement the previous Agriculture Marketing Authority arrangements to get food and produce into the respective containment zones.
At all checkpoints, suppliers can arrange with a police driver to ensure that produce still comes into the respective containment zones, and they do not let the virus escape the containment zones.
Employers in the listed essential businesses need to arrange a permission document for their employees in order to pass through the checkpoints, as was the case during the previous lockdown.
Employers should also try and make arrangements for their critical workers to move into the zones for the 14 day period.
Please contact 158 to acquire the permission documents which are your passes.
The Fiji Police Force will efficiently facilitate responses.
For those who cannot attend work at all because of the set-up of the containment zones, they will be able to access $220 a fortnight from their FNPF.
If funds are insufficient, the Government will top up the accounts.
Even within the respective containment zones, residents are again advised to avoid large social gatherings, particularly indoors.
Doctor Fong says your interactions should be limited entirely to those already living in your households.
If you need to walk around or exercise you may do so, but wear masks and maintain social distance when you must be out.
It is particularly important to download the careFIJI app and keep your phone Bluetooth turned on.
Wash your hands regularly.
Doctor Fong says we cannot afford to lose the war against this virus.
He says most Fijians are following and respecting the rules put in place but too many still aren’t.
Doctor Fong says if you’ve been thinking that this virus isn’t your problem, or that somehow your behavior hasn’t needed to change, get a grip.
He says this virus is here and it is serious.
Report any symptoms you’re feeling as soon as they develop by calling the COVID-19 Call Centre on toll-free number 158.
Stop sharing bilos and takis. Stop shaking hands, touching and embracing.
Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, multiple times a day.
The Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says they are at a stage where they can keep severe cases of COVID-19 in big hospitals and less severe cases in sub-divisional hospitals.
He says this is where they have sub-divisional hospitals like Nadi and Navua operating as isolation facilities.
Dr. Fong says if things escalate then they will start with community isolation and if it further escalates, then they have to come up with home isolation protocols.
He says everywhere in the world as they get more COVID-19 cases, the authorities start to create isolation facilities in the community where a hospital setting is replicated into community isolation.
The Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong has stressed that its easier to pass the virus from one person to another and we just have to be careful.
While responding to questions on the more infectious variant, Dr. Fong says before they had said the contact duration had to be 15 minutes and now the duration may have to be shorter between people for the virus to catch someone or sharing just one puff of the cigarette may help to pass the virus.
He says while it has become easier to pass the virus from one person to another, the modes of transportation are the same and therefore mitigation measures are the same.
Dr. Fong says we just need to be careful and our mask wearing, hand sanitizing and social distancing protocols have to be applied more stringently.
He also confirms that Fiji has 80 ventilators.
40 ventilators are in use while 40 are in reserve.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says they need the community at large to talk to the people who are playing sports and they should call the police to deal with these people if they persist.
This is after Legend FM News witnessed some people playing volleyball in Nadawa yesterday afternoon while some people contacted us and said that they had seen some youths playing rugby in Caubati and no action was taken.
Dr Fong says he has signed the gazette notices which will give them enough legal powers to stop all these social gatherings.
He says what they normally see is that it is usually the younger ones who are less likely to follow the measures in place and take risks.
Dr Fong says the unfortunate point is that because the younger population are resistant to the severe effects of the virus, they will not incur much of the risk.
The Permanent Secretary says these people are just passing it to the vulnerable group which can lead to a massive outbreak.
He adds this will mean that all the doctors and nurses will have to go back to the hospital.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says from today, people will see a much firmer management of borders along the containment zones in Lami, Suva, Nausori, Nadi and Lautoka.
He says he expects that as they move forward they will start to escalate and tighten up their measures a lot more.
Doctor Fong says they did allow a little bit of free movement yesterday because they needed people to go to their homes.
The Permanent Secretary for Health says he has set up a team to screen people that are requesting to move out of containment zones.
He says people should only make the request to move out of a containment zone if they desperately need to move.
The Health Ministry says it is reasonable to make an assumption that the variant of COVID-19 in Fiji is from India.
Permanent Secretary Dr. James Fong says from the beginning they have acted as if this is the variant.
Dr. Fong also says they have already said that the original virus seems to have come from India.
He adds he expects to get more details from the samples they sent to Australia by today.
Dr.Fong also says this will enable him to discuss more extensively in terms of what it means.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they are currently tracking the movements of the Makoi family who have tested positive of COVID-19, and initial investigations indicate that they had a large number of contacts in the community and moved around extensively.
Doctor Fong confirms that their likely window of transmission for the family, starting with the Makoi woman’s husband extends from Monday April 12th to Sunday April 25th.
He says they have cordoned off a certain area where the Makoi family who have tested positive for COVID-19 resides and it is a very busy area.
Doctor Fong says the zone is marked by two bridges and 31,000 people are living in this zone.
He says these people are earmarked for more intense screening.
The Permanent Secretary says they will be swabbing everyone close to the family home and the 31,000 people.
He says even though they now know that they do not have community transmission, they will still need to maintain the containment areas.
Doctor Fong says the maintenance of the current containment areas will help them trace all their contacts more effectively and quickly.
He says in the meantime all health protocols as announced on Sunday will remain.
Doctor Fong is also making an urgent plea to all those who attended the Nasereci church service in Nadi at 10.30am Sunday 18th April and anyone who travelled from Viti Levu to any of the outer islands including Vanua Levu from Monday 19th April - to contact the nearest health team or the 158 helpline.
He urges all Fijians to stay the course and follow the measures that are necessary to contain this outbreak and get us back to normal.
Please remain at home and try to take care of all necessary business such as shopping for groceries and other necessities in your immediate neighbourhoods.
Wear your masks if you must go out, avoid social gatherings and maintain social distance of at least two metres when you are outside your home.
Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for about 20 seconds each time or use hand sanitizer. Please also ensure you have the careFIJI app on.
Fiji now has 36 active COVID-19 cases in isolation, 14 of which are border quarantine cases, with 22 locally transmitted cases.
While making the announcement, Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they are now able to confirm that contrary to what they feared on Sunday, Fiji does not have a new cluster or community transmission.
Doctor Fong says they have recorded 12 new cases of COVID-19 since their last update on Sunday. The first case is a soldier working in a border quarantine facility in Nadi, and he is the roommate of case 73, the first border quarantine soldier announced to have been infected by the virus on Sunday, April 18th.
Doctor Fong says this new case had tested negative on his first test and does not pose a transmission risk to the public as he has been contained within the government quarantine facility since Sunday, April 18th, and tested positive now after 7 days in quarantine.
4 of the new cases are close contacts of the hotel quarantine staff who traveled to the funeral in Tavakubu.
The 4 tested negative when they entered quarantine but have now tested positive.
Doctor Fong says this indicates that they were not infectious while in the community.
The next 7 new cases are related, and are all close household contacts of the 29-year-old female from Makoi who they revealed on Sunday was potentially the first case of community transmission.
He says by community transmission they mean a case that cannot be linked to other cases or to international travel.
Doctor Fong says finding a case of community transmission is of great concern, because it indicates that an outbreak is widespread and uncontrolled, with a devastating outbreak imminent.
However, he says further investigation has revealed that the infected Makoi woman’s husband is a 30-year-old soldier who works in a border quarantine facility in Nadi, and he has tested positive.
Doctor Fong says as per protocol this soldier was tested for the virus on April 10th before being released to return home to Suva on April 12th, and he had tested negative.
He says they can confirm that, between the negative test result on April 10th and returning home on April 12th, he had close contact with case 73, the border quarantine soldier who had also tested negative on 10th April and likely got infected shortly after swabbing.
Doctor Fong says, unfortunately, this soldier, who is the husband of the Makoi case, came into contact with case 73, before case 73 was found to be positive.
He says the current information indicates that the woman from Makoi caught the virus from her husband. Establishing this link between the Makoi case all the way back to case 73 means that this Makoi case will now be re-classified as a case of local transmission, and not community transmission.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they are currently tracking the movements of the Makoi family who have tested positive of COVID-19, and initial investigations indicate that they had a large number of contacts in the community and moved around extensively.
Doctor Fong confirms that their likely window of transmission for the family, starting with the Makoi woman’s husband extends from Monday April 12th to Sunday April 25th.
He says they have cordoned off a certain area where the Makoi family who have tested positive for COVID-19 resides and it is a very busy area.
Doctor Fong says the zone is marked by two bridges and 31,000 people are living in this zone.
He says these people are earmarked for more intense screening.
The Permanent Secretary says they will be swabbing everyone close to the family home and the 31,000 people.
He says even though they now know that they do not have community transmission, they will still need to maintain the containment areas.
Doctor Fong says the maintenance of the current containment areas will help them trace all their contacts more effectively and quickly.
He says in the meantime all health protocols as announced on Sunday will remain.
Doctor Fong is also making an urgent plea to all those who attended the Nasereci church service in Nadi at 10.30am Sunday 18th April and anyone who travelled from Viti Levu to any of the outer islands including Vanua Levu from Monday 19th April - to contact the nearest health team or the 158 helpline.
He urges all Fijians to stay the course and follow the measures that are necessary to contain this outbreak and get us back to normal.
Please remain at home and try to take care of all necessary business such as shopping for groceries and other necessities in your immediate neighbourhoods.
Wear your masks if you must go out, avoid social gatherings and maintain social distance of at least two metres when you are outside your home.
Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for about 20 seconds each time or use hand sanitizer. Please also ensure you have the careFIJI app on.
The Fiji Bus Operators Association is urging bus drivers to wear masks at all times as they have been seen taking off their masks once they leave the Suva Bus Stand.
The Land Transport Authority and the Suva City Council are monitoring if drivers and passengers are wearing their masks and are maintaining physical distancing in the bus.
Association President, Nisar Ali Shah says drivers have to be responsible enough and look after themselves as most bus companies have provided their drivers with the masks.
He says it is not right for the employees to not follow the directives that could stop the virus from spreading.
Shah has also highlighted that passengers should not board the bus if they see that it has reached 50% capacity and has reiterated that people should not be going into towns or cities if they do not have a valid reason.
Meanwhile, Shah has highlighted that bus operators can suspend their services depending on the number of passengers that are boarding their buses daily.
He says it will not be profitable to take a trip that only has one or two passengers and this will also reduce foot traffic in places such as towns and at the bus stops.
The Association President says bus companies are providing shuttle services within the containment area.
Bus companies such as Nair’s Transport in Nakasi, Raiwaqa Buses in the Suva area and Shore Buses in Lami are operating within their containment areas.
Most people could be seen walking around Suva and wearing their masks this morning but there were also people that could still be seen without a mask.
We saw some people walking around Suva with masks in their hands.
A few people were seen sitting around the Suva Bus Stand area and some of them were not practising social distancing.
Supermarkets are strictly enforcing all guidelines but it is still a concern that some people without the careFIJI app do not write their specific address for contact tracing purposes when entering the supermarket or shops.
Please write your specific address as this will make it easier for contact tracing teams.
Lautoka resident, Narayan Reddy says most of the shops in Lautoka City are closed but people can be seen lining up in front of supermarkets, pharmacies and in front of Energy Fiji Limited to pay bills.
He says people are doing their basic shopping but apart from that, Lautoka looks like a ghost town.
Reddy says there is minimal movement of people who are in masks.
He says one particular supermarket that is not allowing customers without masks into their premises are selling masks at the entrance while another supermarket is checking for the careFIJI app on people’s phones and if people do not have masks, they are selling it at the entrance as well.
The resident also says that they have received calls for help from people but he has explained to them that they are taking care of themselves and their family’s well-being.
Reddy says they will not be able to give food items to families but they can make arrangements with the supermarkets where they will prepay for groceries and the families can pick what they need from the supermarket.
He is urging people to take heed of the measures announced by the government.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says are trying to get COVID-safe measures in all businesses and it will be a gradual process they will go through.
This is after he was asked about a woman being turned away from a supermarket after logging in that she lives in Cunningham.
He says there will be many teething problems.
Doctor Fong says some may apply the rules more stringently and others may be too loosely.
He stresses that he can’t expect everybody to get it right the first time.
Doctor Fong says if some businesses are overly zealous, they will ask them to move down a bit.
There will be consequences for people who breach the COVID-19 regulations within the Suva, Lami, Nausori, Nadi and Lautoka containment areas in the next 14 days.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says whoever breaches the COVID-19 regulations will be dealt with by the law since they have a standing process in place that is already legislated.
He confirms people seen loitering around unnecessarily in the next 14 days will be arrested.
Dr Fong says these lockdowns will be mandated.
Beginning from this morning, when the curfew period ends, and for the next 14 days, the greater public will not be allowed in or out of the following containment zones :
Lami to Suva Nausori areas - For a period of 14 days, they will be closing off exits at the checkpoints, starting from 4am tomorrow morning, the 26th of April: beginning from Wainadoi to Tamavua-i- Wai which is the Lami containment area, Tamavua-i-Wai to 8 Miles near Rups Mega in Nakasi which is the Suva containment area and 8 Miles near Rups Mega in Nakasi to Logani Village on Kings Road which is the Nausori containment area.
Doctor Fong says the Nadi to Lautoka containment area will be divided into two zones — Nadi Zone will begin from Momi Junction to Lomolomo Police Post and from Lomolomo Police Post to Nacilau.
Doctor Fong says the current free movement between Lautoka to Nadi will no longer be allowed for the next 14 days beginning today.
Questions are being raised on how and why some people from the Lami containment zone have been allowed to come into the Suva containment zone at Tamavua-i-Wai Bridge and through the borders in Dokanaisuva near Khalsa Road and Wainibuku Bridge near Rups Mega in Nakasi this morning.
Members of the public are asking why the people are crossing contained areas as the Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong had clearly stated that there should be no crossing of the zones unless there is an emergency situation and passes are required for this.
Doctor Fong stresses the rule remains and there should be no unnecessary movements.
He says any crossing over has to be allowed following the risk assessment and based on emergency situations.
The Permanent Secretary says once people are in a containment zone, they cannot leave that for the next 14 days.
Doctor Fong has also held a discussion with Police on this earlier today.
We are currently trying to get comments from Police.
Stay with us for that.
Fiji now has 42 active COVID-19 cases after confirmation that the Health Ministry has detected 6 more cases in the country.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says all 6 cases were detected among Fijians who are currently in quarantine.
Doctor Fong says 4 of the 6 new cases come from soldiers who recently returned from overseas duties, some, who he says have been fraternising amongst each other during their 14-day quarantine in the border quarantine facility.
The Permanent Secretary says this is against the rules they have set in place.
Doctor Fong says the quarantine period of the soldiers had already been extended due to suspected breaches, and unfortunately, these bad apples mean that they have to reset the clock again for all soldiers within that unit, heroes who have already been separated from their families for far too long.
He says each of these new patients tested negative, multiple times, before this latest diagnosis.
Doctor Fong says that gives the Health Ministry a great level of confidence that they contracted the virus while in quarantine, very recently, from one of their colleagues.
He says this is unacceptable. Doctor Fong says no unnecessary, frivolous contact is worth an extra two weeks in quarantine, but that’s precisely what all of those in the Tanoa Hotel in Nadi will now need to endure, under much stricter watch, as they reset the clock. He stresses that Tanoa Hotel is not the problem as it is the virus that is the problem.
Doctor Fong also says thank God the ministry did so after learning that an earlier case had mingled among his companions otherwise, they would have had more cases, and more clusters, as COVID-positive soldiers returned to their families. He also says out of an abundance of caution, they will also be recalling all individuals discharged from the Tanoa Hotel from 12th of April 2021 to be screened, swabbed and tested. Doctor Fong says in addition to this cluster of soldiers, 2 cases were confirmed among family members of the woman from Wainitarawau in Cunningham.
He says these family members have been admitted in the Navua isolation unit since Wednesday April 21st and tested negative on their first 2 tests in quarantine.
Doctor Fong says as they have now tested positive after 5 days in quarantine, they are not considered a transmission risk to the public. The 6 new COVID-19 patients, all of whom are safely confined within quarantine or isolation units, brings Fiji’s total to 109 confirmed cases since our first case was detected on March 19th 2020.
He says he is saying “confirmed” because, as he has stressed before, the number of actual, undetected cases is likely higher – and that’s precisely why, for your health and the health of your loved ones, you should be wearing a mask at all times.
You must download careFIJI and keep it switched on whenever you are out of your home. Doctor Fong says if you are one of the more than 600,000 Fijians with a smartphone, there is no excuse not to have it downloaded.
He also revealed that the family from Makoi did not have the app installed or running, and that has made contact tracing far more complex than it ought to be.
The Permanent Secretary says lives are now at risk as a result.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says the soldier from Makoi was looking after Novotel Hotel and came into contact with case 73 when he went to Tanoa Hotel in Nadi to pick up people who were ready to be discharged on 12th April.
Case 73 was the first border quarantine soldier announced to have been infected by the virus on Sunday, April 18th.
Dr Fong says case 73 tested negative on the 12th and was only found positive on the 17th of April.
When questioned by fijivillage if the soldier from Makoi was one of the people contact traced when case 73 tested positive, Dr Fong says it would have been much easier to contact trace the Makoi soldier if he just had the careFiji app on.
He says they only found out about the Makoi soldier when they diagnosed his wife and linked him to case 73.
Dr Fong says the contact tracing is only as good as the travel history the ministry receives because the soldier did not have the careFiji app on.
He adds that is why they have been asking Fijians to download the app for a long time now.
The Microbiological Diagnostic Unit at the Peter Doherty Institute in Melbourne has confirmed that recent cases of COVID-19 in Fiji are of the B1617 variant that was first detected in India.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says their contact tracing investigations means that they already strongly suspected that this was the variant in question, as case 73, the soldier working in border quarantine only had contact with recent border quarantine cases who had travelled from India.
He says this newly-confirmed COVID variant is one of several dangerous new variants that have taken root in places like Brazil, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and in India – which is suffering a painful fourth wave the likes of which the world has never seen.
Doctor Fong says a single misstep could bring about the same “COVID tsunami” that our friends in India, Brazil, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States are enduring.
He says stopping that tsunami depends on two major factors: You, staying at home, and the Health Ministry, tracing and isolating all known cases.
Now everyone’s focus is how do they get a pass and they forget the fact that we are trying to stop the movement of the virus.
This was highlighted by the Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong when questioned on the number of people and vehicles that are coming in and going out of the containment zone borders in Lami, Suva, and Nausori.
Doctor Fong says this is the problem when they are trying to make something mandatory but everyone says they need to write in the law.
Doctor Fong says yesterday he was asked to write a check box on what people and businesses need to do in order to get a pass.
He says if he does give a check box, people will try and find a loophole to try and tick the check box.
Doctor Fong says recently they talked about some industries they will have to close because they are non-essential, but because they are manufacturing some medical equipment they will be given a dispensation to move around.
Please take note that any person in a containment zone in Lami, Suva, Nausori, Nadi, and Lautoka must not leave the containment zone they are in, with effect from 4am April 26th, 2021, unless authorised by the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services.
This is clearly stated in the government gazette signed off by Doctor Fong.
Any person outside a containment zone must not enter another containment zone, with effect from 4am April 26th, unless authorised by the Permanent Secretary for Health and any person in a containment zone may only travel within the containment zone for the purposes of employment, accessing a service provided by an essential business, or an emergency.
According to Doctor Fong’s announcement on Sunday, that list includes air and rescue services, air traffic control services, ports services, civil aviation, telecommunications, food, and sanitary manufacturing plants, electricity services, emergency services, fire services, health, and hospital services, lighthouse services, meteorological services, mine pumping, ventilation and winding, sanitary services, supply and distribution of fuel and gas, power, garbage collection, transport services, water and sewage services, FNPF and FRCS, civil service, private security services, and roading services.
Fijivillage stresses that you cannot just get a pass to cross the containment zone as it would defeat the purpose to have a containment zone to contain the virus if people are allowed to travel between one zone to the next.
According to the gazette, the Lami Containment Zone is from Wainadoi Police Post to Tamavua-i-Wai Bridge.
The Suva Containment Zone is from Tamavua-i-Wai Bridge to Wainibuku Bridge near Rups Nakasi.
The Nausori Containment Zone is from Wainibuku Bridge nears Rups Nakasi to Logani Village in Tailevu on Kings Highway.
The Lautoka Containment Zone is from Lomolomo Police Post to Nacilau.
The Nadi Containment Zone is from the junction of Queens Road from Momi Bay to Lomolomo.
Doctor James Fong stresses that people should not move from one zone to the next unless the ministry gives approval after a risk assessment.
More than 93,000 people in Cunningham, Lautoka, Nadi, Wainivula, Caubati, Tacirua and Makoi have been checked for COVID-like symptoms and travel histories that may place them in the path of Fijians living with COVID-19.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they have more than 120,000 Fijians left to screen in these areas, and they need as many Fijians at home as possible to do that job well. He says their contact tracing is designed to flush out cases before they become clusters.
Doctor Fong says this strategy has served them well before but it is not infallible.
He says there are gaps, particularly when it comes to identifying passengers on public transportation.
The Permanent Secretary says the careFIJI app can close those gaps, but only if you have it installed and you keep it on. There have been 200,000 downloads of the careFiji app so far.
Please download the app and keep the Bluetooth on to help the Health Ministry in contact tracing.
Meanwhile Doctor Fong says house-to-house screening, as well, may reveal some of these outbreaks-in-waiting but to screen thoroughly, we must take this effort on as a society. He says there are more than 40 screening clinics open throughout Fiji.
Every Fijian should know which clinic is closest to them and if you feel unwell, go get screened.
If you know someone who is unwell, take them to be screened or stay home and call 158 so the teams can check on you.
The Health Ministry’s Head of Health Protection Doctor Aalisha Sahukhan says Fiji has recorded 109 cases of COVID-19 since the first case on March 19th 2020.
She says there have been 65 recoveries and 2 deaths.
Doctor Sahukhan adds with the 42 active cases, 5 are older border quarantine cases announced before Sunday, 13 are recently announced border quarantine cases and 24 are locally transmitted cases.
She says 48,677 tests have been conducted for
Doctor Sahukhan revealed that there have been 777 tests per day in the last 7 days on average.
She says there were over 500 tests yesterday.
Any business in Fiji must require its employees and customers who are 5 years of age or older, to wear face coverings in the proper manner in order to enter the premises of the business, with effect from last Saturday.
A government gazette signed off by the Health Minister, Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete also says any driver of a public service vehicle, or passenger in a public service vehicle who is 5 years of age or older, must wear a face-covering in the proper manner while driving or travelling in the public service vehicle.
Any driver of a bus and minibus must ensure that all the passengers in the bus are physically distanced from each other.
Face covering in the gazette means a covering with at least 2 layers of material covering the nose and mouth of a person, which is secured by being tied around the person’s ears or head or looped around the person’s ears but does not include a face shield, face visor, scarf, ski mask, balaclava, bandana, turtleneck collar pulled up over the mouth and nose or face mask with slits, valves or punctures.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says the soldier from Makoi was looking after Novotel Hotel and came into contact with case 73 when he went to Tanoa Hotel in Nadi to pick up people who were ready to be discharged on 12th April.
Case 73 was the first border quarantine soldier announced to have been infected by the virus on Sunday, April 18th.
Dr Fong says case 73 tested negative on the 12th and was only found positive on the 17th of April.
When questioned by fijivillage if the soldier from Makoi was one of the people contact traced when case 73 tested positive, Dr Fong says it would have been much easier to contact trace the Makoi soldier if he just had the careFiji app on.
He says they only found out about the Makoi soldier when they diagnosed his wife and linked him to case 73.
Dr Fong says the contact tracing is only as good as the travel history the ministry receives because the soldier did not have the careFiji app on.
He adds that is why they have been asking Fijians to download the app for a long time now.
Now everyone’s focus is how do they get a pass and they forget the fact that we are trying to stop the movement of the virus.
This was highlighted by the Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong when questioned on the number of people and vehicles that are coming in and going out of the containment zone borders in Lami, Suva, and Nausori.
Doctor Fong says this is the problem when they are trying to make something mandatory but everyone says they need to write in the law.
Doctor Fong says yesterday he was asked to write a check box on what people and businesses need to do in order to get a pass.
He says if he does give a check box, people will try and find a loophole to try and tick the check box.
Doctor Fong says recently they talked about some industries they will have to close because they are non-essential, but because they are manufacturing some medical equipment they will be given a dispensation to move around.
Please take note that any person in a containment zone in Lami, Suva, Nausori, Nadi, and Lautoka must not leave the containment zone they are in, with effect from 4am April 26th, 2021, unless authorised by the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services.
This is clearly stated in the government gazette signed off by Doctor Fong.
Any person outside a containment zone must not enter another containment zone, with effect from 4am April 26th, unless authorised by the Permanent Secretary for Health and any person in a containment zone may only travel within the containment zone for the purposes of employment, accessing a service provided by an essential business, or an emergency.
According to Doctor Fong’s announcement on Sunday, that list includes air and rescue services, air traffic control services, ports services, civil aviation, telecommunications, food, and sanitary manufacturing plants, electricity services, emergency services, fire services, health, and hospital services, lighthouse services, meteorological services, mine pumping, ventilation and winding, sanitary services, supply and distribution of fuel and gas, power, garbage collection, transport services, water and sewage services, FNPF and FRCS, civil service, private security services, and roading services.
Fijivillage stresses that you cannot just get a pass to cross the containment zone as it would defeat the purpose to have a containment zone to contain the virus if people are allowed to travel between one zone to the next.
According to the gazette, the Lami Containment Zone is from Wainadoi Police Post to Tamavua-i-Wai Bridge.
The Suva Containment Zone is from Tamavua-i-Wai Bridge to Wainibuku Bridge near Rups Nakasi.
The Nausori Containment Zone is from Wainibuku Bridge nears Rups Nakasi to Logani Village in Tailevu on Kings Highway.
The Lautoka Containment Zone is from Lomolomo Police Post to Nacilau.
The Nadi Containment Zone is from the junction of Queens Road from Momi Bay to Lomolomo.
Doctor James Fong stresses that people should not move from one zone to the next unless the ministry gives approval after a risk assessment.
Fiji National Provident Fund members living or working in any of the lockdown zones will only qualify for the one-off relief of $220, if they are not accessing any of the active COVID-19 relief and are not being paid during the lockdown period.
The relief is for members who will not receive wages as a result of their inability to access their workplace because of the lockdown restrictions.
This also includes employers who may have closed due to its high risk or non-essential services business nature such as barber shops, gyms, bars, etc.
Members who are currently receiving fortnightly relief payments for phase 2 round 5 or phase 3 round 4 do not qualify for this lockdown relief.
Acting Chief Executive Officer Viliame Vodonaivalu says those that do qualify, will require their employer to confirm that they are not being paid any wages during this fortnight.
He says the Fund is relying on the cooperation of employers to clearly identify members living or working in these containment zones and who would qualify for this relief.
Vodonaivalu says members and employers who will try and take advantage of this relief by colluding or attempt to submit forged documents will face the full brunt of the law.
FNPF says employers are requested to revert with their confirmed list of affected staff as soon as possible to enable their staff to apply on the mobile app and employers must also ensure that contributions for their staff are paid up to March 2021 or to at least have the contribution schedule form uploaded.
They say processing time is three working days and members must ensure they provide their correct payment mode details to avoid delays.
The lockdown relief will now close on 10th May 2021.
Minister for Education, Rosy Akbar says it is essential to restrict the unnecessary movement of children, as a precautionary measure, to keep the young ones safe and prevent the spread of COVID-19 within the community.
She is urging all parents and guardians to closely supervise their children and keep them at home during the school holidays.
She says parents and guardians must always be aware of where their children are, at any given time as the safety of their children is in their hands.
The Minister says this is not a responsibility that is to be taken lightly – everyone must do their part to keep Fiji safe from this deadly virus and by limiting our movement, we are limiting the spread of COVID-19.
Akbar is also urging parents to strictly follow COVID-19 safety measures, especially those relating to maintaining good hygiene.
She says parents and guardians make sure they regularly wash their hands with soap and water and maintain social distancing at all times.
Akbar says the safety of children is always their foremost concern, and as parents and guardians, they play the most important part.
Fiji’s efforts to battle the spread of COVID-19 has received a major boost as we have received 4 more GeneXpert machines that can churn out test results in 45 minutes.
While receiving the machines, Health Minister Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete says this will increase the testing capacity for the ministry.
Dr Waqainabete says this machine is also capable of detecting the new variant of COVID we have in Fiji.
The Health Minister has also called on everyone to adhere to the COVID safe guidelines to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
The Fiji Centre for Disease Control already has 2 GeneXpert machines that can churn out test results in 45 minutes.
The donations were from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the Pacific Community.
Fiji now has 42 active COVID-19 cases.
There are 24 locally transmitted cases and 18 border quarantine cases.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they will not impose a national lockdown as they will need to have a balance for people to access essential services.
He says the conditions for the current lockdown is stricter than the one previously.
Dr Fong says if they impose the national lockdown without the balance, there will be more problems.
He says they want to stop the virus but people will need to have the services such as food, health and other essentials provided to them.
Please know the full range of symptoms of COVID-19 and go to the Health Ministry’s screening clinics near you for a check-up.
According to the Fijian Health Ministry and the World Health Organization, the most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough and tiredness.
Other symptoms that are less common and may affect some patients include loss of taste or smell, aches and pains, headache, sore throat, nasal congestion, red eyes, diarrhoea, or a skin rash.
Stay home and self-isolate even if you have minor symptoms such as cough, headache, mild fever, until you recover.
Call the ministry’s helpline on 158 for advice.
If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention immediately.
fijivillage advises you to please ensure you wear a mask when you go out, practice physical distancing and download the careFiji app to beat the virus.
You only need data to download the app. Following that, you just need to keep the Bluetooth on to help the Health Ministry in COVID-19 contact tracing.
Stay with fijivillage for the latest updates.
All food and grog stalls at Centrepoint at Laucala Beach near RB Patel Supermarket have been closed and only vegetable sellers have been allowed to operate with strict measures in place.
The CEO of the Nasinu Town Council, Anurashika Bari says they have allowed these people to sell vegetables as there is no nearby market.
She says the roadside vegetable sellers will be monitored to see they are complying with COVID-19 protocols.
Bari also confirms all juice and fruit sellers on Nokonoko Road have also been removed. She says some vegetable sellers have been relocated to the Laqere Market.
She adds they have also closed some DVD shops in Nasinu as they do not fall under essential services.
Bari also confirms that enforcement officers are now covering all streets in Nasinu and are giving details to people on mask-wearing and the importance of staying at home.
She says they have noticed children playing on the streets and they are calling on parents to keep children inside their compound.
Bari adds they have also instructed all market vendors in Nasinu and Nausori that they cannot bring their family members to the market and only one vendor will be allowed at a stall.
Nasinu town council staff in the public telling people about protocols: [images: Supplied]
Vehicles are still moving in and out of the containment zone borders at the Tamavua-i-Wai and Wainibuku Bridge near Rups Nakasi, and concerns are being raised on what type of assessment is being done to ensure no COVID carrier is going from one zone to the next.
We have noticed Police officers at the borders checking passes and allowing vehicles through.
fijivillage is trying to find out what type of passes these people have that is allowing them to go from one containment zone to the next.
Please take note that any person in a containment zone in Lami, Suva, Nausori, Nadi and Lautoka must not leave the containment zone they are in, with effect from 4am April 26th 2021, unless authorised by the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services.
Containment zone borders in
Lami, Suva and Nausori at 11am today.
This is clearly stated in the government gazette signed off by Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong.
Any person outside a containment zone must not enter another containment zone, with effect from 4am April 26th, unless authorised by the Permanent Secretary for Health and any person in a containment zone may only travel within the containment zone for the purposes of employment, accessing a service provided by an essential business, or an emergency.
According to Doctor Fong’s announcement on Sunday, that list includes air and rescue services, air traffic control services, ports services, civil aviation, telecommunications, food, and sanitary manufacturing plants, electricity services, emergency services, fire services, health, and hospital services, lighthouse services, meteorological services, mine pumping, ventilation and winding, sanitary services, supply and distribution of fuel and gas, power, garbage collection, transport services, water and sewage services, FNPF and FRCS, civil service, private security services and roading services.
fijivillage stresses that you cannot just get a pass to cross the containment zone as it would defeat the purpose to have a containment zone to contain the virus if people are allowed to travel between one zone to the next.
According to the gazette, the Lami Containment Zone is from Wainadoi Police Post to Tamavua-i-Wai Bridge.
The Suva Containment Zone is from Tamavua-i-Wai Bridge to Wainibuku Bridge near Rups Nakasi.
The Nausori Containment Zone is from Wainibuku Bridge nears Rups Nakasi to Logani Village in Tailevu on Kings Highway.
The Lautoka Containment Zone is from Lomolomo Police Post to Nacilau.
The Nadi Containment Zone is from the junction of Queens Road from Momi Bay to Lomolomo.
Doctor James Fong stresses that people should not move from one zone to the next unless the ministry gives approval after a risk assessment. People should focus on accessing services within their own containment zone.
We have sent questions to Doctor Fong on the movement of people and vehicles from one zone to the next.
Questions have also been sent to the Prime Minister.
We are also awaiting the containment border guidelines followed by Police based on the government gazette.
Doctor Fong has already stressed that the containment zones have been set up to ensure people do not move around as when the people move the virus moves.
Nadi based Al-Hamd Smart Living has donated 500 surgical masks to the Nawaka COVID Response Unit and are in the process of preparing 100 food packs for the affected people in the lockdown area.
Director Ashfaaq Khan says the packs are worth $30 each and will include basic items.
Khan says they will not be going out themselves as it is risky but will engage Nadi Police to distribute the packs.
He adds the face masks donated would help combat the virus and will protect the frontliners facing the deadly virus which has plagued the entire world.
Khan says the surgical masks were air-freighted into the country and he does not think it’s a time to make a profit.
He further says they regard themselves as members of the local community, and they firmly believe unity will help us win the battle against the pandemic.
People are encouraged to use satellite and mini markets within their containment zones so it reduces overcrowding in the main markets.
Residents living within the Suva Containment Zone can visit the Suva Market, Flagstaff Mini Market, Raiwaqa Mini Market, Nabua Mini Market, Kaukimoce Mini Market and Laqere Market as it will be operating as normal from today.
For people living in the Nasinu area, you can access the Makoi and Narere mini markets, as well as the Laqere Market.
People living in the Lami Containment Zone, the Lami Market and Delainavesi Mini Market will be open from today.
The Nausori Market will be open from today to cater for people living in the Nausori Containment Zone.
The closing hours for Nausori and Laqere Markets is at 5pm.
As for Lautoka City, the main Lautoka Market and the Tavakubu Satellite Market are open for business while Nadi residents can access both the Nadi and Namaka Markets.
Minister for Local Government, Premila Kumar says they expect all citizens to adhere to the Government’s COVID-safe measures.
Kumar says all vendors are required to wear masks and keep the markets clean at all times and any vendors or person entering the markets should have downloaded the careFIJI app.
She says people should keep their Bluetooth on at all times for tracing of any local transmission of the virus.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed that the Health Ministry has stopped Police passes being used at the containment zone borders.
As all efforts are being made to ensure that the virus is contained, Doctor Fong has also confirmed to fijivillage that the only recognized pass if any to move from one zone to the next will be the one approved by the Permanent Secretary for Health.
He says the Police passes issued for access from one zone to the next from Monday to today will not be recognized. Please take note that any person in a containment zone in Lami, Suva, Nausori, Nadi and Lautoka must not leave the containment zone they are in, with effect from 4am April 26th 2021, unless authorised by the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services.
This is clearly stated in the government gazette signed off by the Permanent Secretary for Health.
Any person outside a containment zone must not enter another containment zone, with effect from 4am April 26th, unless authorised by the Permanent Secretary for Health and any person in a containment zone may only travel within the containment zone for the purposes of employment, accessing a service provided by an essential business, or an emergency.
According to Doctor Fong’s announcement on Sunday, that list includes air and rescue services, air traffic control services, ports services, civil aviation, telecommunications, food, and sanitary manufacturing plants, electricity services, emergency services, fire services, health, and hospital services, lighthouse services, meteorological services, mine pumping, ventilation and winding, sanitary services, supply and distribution of fuel and gas, power, garbage collection, transport services, water and sewage services, FNPF and FRCS, civil service, private security services and roading services.
Fijivillage stresses that you cannot just get a pass to cross the containment zone as it would defeat the purpose to have a containment zone to contain the virus if people are allowed to travel between one zone to the next.
According to the gazette, the Lami Containment Zone is from Wainadoi Police Post to Tamavua-i-Wai Bridge.
The Suva Containment Zone is from Tamavua-i-Wai Bridge to Wainibuku Bridge near Rups Nakasi.
The Nausori Containment Zone is from Wainibuku Bridge nears Rups Nakasi to Logani Village in Tailevu on Kings Highway.
The Lautoka Containment Zone is from Lomolomo Police Post to Nacilau.
The Nadi Containment Zone is from the junction of Queens Road from Momi Bay to Lomolomo.
Doctor James Fong stresses that people should not move from one zone to the next unless the ministry gives the approval after a risk assessment. People should focus on accessing services within their own containment zone.
Vehicles were still seen moving in and out of the containment zone borders at the Tamavua-i-Wai and Wainibuku Bridge near Rups Nakasi this morning, and concerns were raised on what type of assessment is being done to ensure no COVID carrier is going from one zone to the next.
We had noticed Police officers at the borders checking Police passes and allowing vehicles through.
Doctor Fong has directed that this be stopped and the gazette be followed to control the borders.
We are awaiting the containment border guidelines followed by Police based on the government gazette.
Doctor Fong has already stressed that the containment zones have been set up to ensure people do not move around as when the people move the virus moves.
2 new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed for Fiji – 1 is from Ra while another is a case that stayed at the Makoi family’s home.
This brings the total number of known COVID cases in Fiji to 111 since our first case was detected on March 19th 2020. 44 of these cases are currently active and isolated.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says after 685 laboratory tests and 20,201 in-person health screenings on Tuesday, they have the 2 new cases. Doctor Fong says 1 patient, the 110th in Fiji, is of some concern, and it will require additional investigation into his contacts to determine if he is definitively linked to other active cases.
He is a 53-year-old caretaker of the Ra Provincial Office, and he showed symptoms of COVID which included body aches.
The man visited the Nanukuloa Health Centre on 24th April.
Doctor Fong says the man has been moved securely to the isolation ward at Lautoka Hospital.
He thanked this man as he felt symptoms and reported them.
Doctor Fong says he is now getting the care he needs and he no longer poses a threat to anyone.
All of his family members have been quarantined at the Ra Special School with Police officers providing security at the facility.
The Fiji Police Force has also established Naiserelagi Village, Nanukuloa Village and Dokonavatu Settlement as containment zones in Ra.
50 primary and secondary contacts of the man in Ra were identified and screened for fever and symptoms.
All households in Nanukuloa Village, Naiserelagi Village and Dokonavatu Settlement have been informed to stay home until further notice.
Doctor Fong also says there are others out there who may have had contact with this man.
He says they need all Fijians living in the Rakiraki area to visit a screening clinic if they have COVID like symptoms. You can dial 158 for the Ministry of Health to come to your home to check on you. The second case is a 25 year old man who had stayed at the house of the woman from Makoi.
Doctor Fong says they established that he was a close contact through the contact tracing, and they tested him despite the fact that he had no symptoms.
He says this man stayed in Makoi from 12th to 19th of April and he went to Vunimono, Nausori where he was retrieved and swabbed.
The Permanent Secretary says they have 4 teams facilitating contact tracing based on his travel history.
He says the man has been securely transferred to an isolation unit in Colo-i-Suva.
His primary contacts are also quarantined in Colo-i-Suva.
Doctor Fong says effective contact tracing allowed them to catch this man’s infection early and stop further spread of the Makoi cluster.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says we remain in a period of nationwide containment but the two latest clusters of cases indicate to us that this virus has spread to localities in several different areas of Viti Levu.
Doctor Fong says these two weeks will define the next two months for Fiji, and we all need to behave like we have COVID, even if there are no known cases in our community or we are showing no symptoms of the virus.
Doctor Fong says he has to assume that we have exposure of COVID-19 all over Viti Levu and this is one of the reasons why they have decided to set up screening clinics all over Viti Levu.
He says we have to wear masks, stay at home, and turn on our careFIJI app as we will be saving lives.
Doctor Fong says with every new case, this crisis takes on a new, more personal meaning for more Fijians.
He says this is not only for family members, but for neighbours, and for entire communities.
Doctor Fong says you should not mix with anyone who does not share your home with you, no sports of any kind should be played, save for small funeral ceremonies, and no non-work gatherings of any size should take place.
He says businesses that are not on the list of essential services should close.
Doctor Fong says every Fijian should live by a personal mandate to wash their hands, wear their masks, download careFIJI and make sure it is turned on and keep their physical distance from others.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong has stressed that they will only give passes to move in and out of a containment zone for emergency cases such as medical reasons or funerals.
A number of people lined up at the Ministry of Health Headquarters today to get passes to move in and out of a containment zone.
Dr Fong has made it clear that they have given enough time for people to move to their homes.
The Permanent Secretary says everyone has had ample time to return to where they reside and they do not expect public vehicles such as taxis and buses to cross containment area borders.
Dr Fong says a list of dialysis patients is also at the border with the police, however, they strongly encourage these patients to enter and stay within the lockdown for the next 14 days.
He adds the exchange of food and medicine supply can be facilitated at the border provided delivery arrangements are organized by the requesting party.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says he wants people to understand that if they keep moving around and do not stay at home, they keep shifting the goal post for him.
He says if we keep shifting the goal post, the two weeks lockdown will extend to three weeks and can even extend to three months.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this is not a time for finger-pointing or blaming.
He says there’s a great deal of frustration among the public, and on social media, aimed at the quarantine guards that were at the epicenter of this latest COVID-19 outbreak.
Doctor Fong says the fact that quarantine guards, who were on the front lines of containing COVID for a full year, suffered a lapse that allowed the virus to escape into Viti Levu is evidence of how unforgiving this virus is of even the smallest lack of care or act of forgetfulness.
He says if it can happen to them, it can happen to you.
Doctor Fong is asking people to please be vigilant and to be relentless in following the procedures the experts have laid out for staying safe.
He also says he was sent some photos yesterday from Serua Province of community leaders implementing lockdown measures to protect the families in the area.
Doctor Fong says no one mandated them to act.
He says they have done so for the simple reason that they care about protecting their communities.
Doctor Fong says the Prime Minister also wants to be sure this message reaches every Fijian who needs to hear it, so he has asked that Doctor Fong’s entire statement be translated into the vernacular languages.
He encourages leaders looking to inspire urgency within their communities to share the messages, and then do one better by seeing the health measures enacted at the community level.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the fastest way people who cannot earn a living because of the lockdown can start to earn a living again is to contain the virus and ensure that it does not spread anymore.
Dr.Fong says the best and most sustainable way of mitigating the problems that they have is for people to comply with the orders and keep still so that the lockdown period is as short as possible.
He says they have allowed shops in the zones to open and have also allowed supplies to be dropped at the border as long as somebody picks it up from the other side.
The Permanent Secretary says they want freight, fuel and food to move, but not human beings who should stay in their own containment areas.
He says he realises the difficulty that many people will face and this is not something that they are doing easily adding that he has already acknowledged in his mind that unless they sort out food supply, freight supply and essential supplies, there is a danger that he may not be able to sustain the containment.
Fong highlighted this while responding to a question on what the government is doing to provide alternative avenues of livelihood as Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of i-Taukei Affairs also announced that Fijians cannot fish in their own fishing areas and the villages are to set up their lockdown areas.
Police are now monitoring the cross-cuts at the containment zone borders after fijivillage received confirmation that two men were trying to pass the Suva border into the Nausori containment zone earlier today.
We have been informed that the two men were trying to take a route through the back blocks of Nakasi.
Police say the people trying to cross the border were advised to go back to their respective places.
Please do not try to cross the containment zone borders as the risk of the spread of the virus is very high.
A total of 49,362 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted so far with a daily average of 839 tests over the last 7 days, and a weekly average of 3,485 tests over the last 2 weeks.
Head of Health Protection, Dr Aalisha Sahukhan says there was a record 5,169 tests done last week.
She says testing has increased in line with the response to the recent local cases, with 685 tests conducted yesterday.
Dr Sahukhan says testing is expected to increase with today’s delivery of 4 new GeneXpert machines.
She adds their overall test positivity is 0.2% and their 7-day average daily test positivity is 0.6%.
Three men will appear in court today for failing to comply with orders under the Public Health Act.
A 40-year-old boat captain of Cunningham, a 38-year-old Chief Engineer of Nadera, and a 30-year-old Engineer of Nakelo were all arrested yesterday after being found intoxicated and making noise at Walu Bay in Suva.
Police say the three men were approached by a team from Totogo and warned to leave the premises and were also advised of the COVID-19 restrictions in place however they failed to adhere to the instructions given.
Members of the public are advised to adhere to the instructions given as all those who are found to have breached the instructions will be taken to task.
22 people from Nakalawaca village in Tailevu have been charged with failing to comply with the COVID-19 restrictions in place after they were caught while carrying a body and entering into the greater Logani lockdown area by sea on Tuesday.
Police say the 11 men and 11 women from Namara were in three boats.
They have appeared in the Nausori Magistrates Court. All have been charged with one count each of failing to comply with orders under the Public Health Act and will reappear on the 14th of next month.
The Permanent Secretary of Health Doctor James Fong says they have always been conducting surge planning which includes discussions with other countries to get extra resources that need to keep us in readiness however no country has ever been able to say their plans were never breached.
Doctor Fong highlighted this when questioned by fijivillage if arrangements have been made to get more ventilators.
We asked him if we are having discussions with any countries to acquire more ventilators.
He says they have been working on this even when we were COVID-19 contained.
But Dr Fong also makes it clear that no amount of planning will achieve readiness - not with COVID-19.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says he does not know how many people who are COVID-19 positive have got their first jab of the vaccine.
Dr Fong says their main issue is to contain the spread of COVID-19.
He says no one in Fiji has been fully vaccinated yet because they have not been given the second dose.
Dr Fong says there is no point in asking them whether people have been vaccinated or not as no one has been fully vaccinated.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says the soldier that was case 73 did not have the careFIJI app although everyone in the border quarantine facility was told to have the app and keep it on.
Doctor Fong says this soldier was part of the population of Fiji which did not follow that guideline and we have ended up where we are.
He says very few of the primary contacts of this soldier that the Health Ministry contacted have the careFIJI app.
While more people are adhering to the COVID-19 safety protocols, some people are raising serious concerns regarding those who are still ignorant of the protocols that can result in the whole country getting further affected.
fijivillage has been receiving calls today about the unnecessary movement of some people, people from different households or outside their bubble drinking grog and people walking around in settlements without masks.
After hearing the comments of the Housing Minister, Premila Kumar regarding people in some informal settlements not following the COVID measures, some nearby residents of Sakoca are saying they are seriously concerned as they do not see many people in masks and people from many houses drinking grog together.
Housing Minister, Premila Kumar: [image: file]
We have also received reports from Koronivia regarding certain locations including a dairy shop having grog sessions involving people from different households.
Kumar says the ministry is concerned that the residents in some informal settlements are socialising with their neighbours over grog or just a talanoa session.
She says it has been brought to their attention that children are also moving freely from one house to another in groups in the settlements.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says we remain in a period of nationwide containment but the two latest clusters of cases indicate to us that this virus has spread to localities in several different areas of Viti Levu.
Doctor Fong says these two weeks will define the next two months for Fiji, and we all need to behave like we have COVID, even if there are no known cases in our community or we are showing no symptoms of the virus.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong. [image: file]
Doctor Fong says he has to assume that we have exposure of COVID-19 all over Viti Levu and this is one of the reasons why they have decided to set up screening clinics all over Viti Levu.
He says you should not mix with anyone who does not share your home with you, no sports of any kind should be played, save for small funeral ceremonies, and no non-work gatherings of any size should take place.
Police say members of the public are to be responsible and their support is needed. They say the people also need to understand the seriousness of this pandemic.
Police have made it clear that grog and liquor shops are not essential services and cannot open during this containment period.
They confirm only liquor shops in supermarkets can open.
Concerned citizens have contacted us on why a grog shop in Samabula is open even at night. They are also concerned about the opening of black markets and liquor shops during this time.
Police say they will advise the grog shop owner not to open and also stress that all non essential businesses should remain closed for now.
The CEO of the Nausori and Nasinu Town Councils, Anurashika Bari confirms they are working closely with the Commissioner Central's Office in identifying and getting some schools ready that will be used as isolation facilities should there be a need.
These schools are in Nausori and Nasinu.
Bari says it is a joint effort and a team from the Ministry of Health and the RFMF is visiting these schools that have been identified as isolation areas and is also checking on preparedness of the facilities.
Bari says Shop N Save, Subrails Furniture and Nausori Chamber of Commerce have come forward and said they will be providing necessities as and when required.
She says some partners have also donated mattresses.
The Ministry of Health has revealed ten locations where people may have come into contact with COVID-19 cases and a request is being made to you if you were present at one of these locations on the dates and times listed, and have not been contacted, please remain in your home and call 158.
Health response teams have already identified people who may have come into close contact with COVID-19 cases however this message is for those who may have not been contacted.
The venues and dates are Burger King Nakasi on the evening of 13th April 2021, Nadera Catholic Church from 4pm to 6pm on 18th April, Bargain Box opposite Suva Bus Stand after 4.30pm on 19th April, BSP Thompson Street Branch, FNPF Ellery Street and Caines Jannif Renwick Road from 12pm to 2pm on 15th April, Navua Agriculture Office from 12pm to 1pm on 16th April, John Wesley School in Raiwaqa after 6pm on 17th April, FNU Nabua on 12th April, iTaukei Affairs Office Suva Headquarters at 10am on 24th April, Ra Provincial Office and Compound from 20th to 27th April and Manoca Kava Pounding Shop Nausori from 10.30am to 2pm on 24th April.
Please stay home if you were at one of the venues on those days and times. Call 158 immediately.
5 new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Fiji while screening continued overnight after confirmation that a garment factory worker from Kalabu is one of the positive cases.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the first two cases are close household contacts of previously announced cases, and they have tested positive while secure in quarantine facilities.
One is the 25-year-old wife of the case who stayed in Vunimono, Nausori and the other is his 52-year-old aunt.
They are most concerned with the aunt from Vunimono, as she worked in a garment factory in Kalabu.
Doctor Fong says her place of work has been shut down since they announced the restrictions on Monday, and they are screening everyone she worked with while she may have been contagious.
He says they have contacted the management of the factory she worked in, and the factory next door, and these managers have agreed to work together with the ministry to ensure that their workers are urgently screened.
Doctor Fong says their plan last night was to have the teams go house-to-house and swab as many of them as possible, at least 80 percent if they can.
As that investigation progresses, Doctor Fong says the same principles as always apply - health restrictions may expand or become more stringent lockdown measures, and that could start as soon as this evening.
Doctor Fong says the third case is a former border quarantine passenger who arrived from Papua New Guinea into Nadi on Friday April 9th. He had three negative pre-departure tests before leaving PNG, and tested negative twice while in the Tanoa Hotel border quarantine, before being discharged on April 23rd.
The Permanent Secretary says he was reswabbed in Navua as part of the investigations into the quarantine breaches at the Tanoa facility, and has subsequently tested positive.
Doctor Fong says the man is now in quarantine.
He also confirms that he had contact with case number 95, the husband living in Makoi, on the day of his discharge from the Tanoa quarantine facility.
The ministry has identified 98 people who were discharged from the Tanoa border quarantine facility between April 12th and April 25th, 82 of these people have been contacted and told to home quarantine.
Repeat testing of these people is underway, and the remaining 16 are being contacted.
The fourth case is a 68-year-old man in Rakiraki. He tested positive after presenting to the Rakiraki Hospital Outpatients Department with a cough and fever.
They are yet to establish any direct link between this case and existing cases.
Investigations are ongoing while this man has been entered into quarantine.
Doctor Fong says they are quite sure there are others like him out there.
Anyone who is feeling unwell anywhere in Fiji should report immediately to a screening clinic.
The fifth case tested is a border quarantine case.
He is a 23-year-old man who travelled from Guyana to Fiji, arriving on April 22nd on NZ952 from Auckland.
He tested positive while undergoing mandatory 14-day quarantine at a border quarantine facility in Nadi.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they believe we may be in the early part of a very fast-rising upward curve in COVID-19 case numbers.
He says the case number 111, the man from the Makoi cluster that travelled to Vunimono, is of high concern because of his extensive travel history since April 14th, when he was first exposed.
Doctor Fong says that is over two weeks of moving around Viti Levu, so the contact tracing teams are in overdrive working to determine and contact everyone he may have encountered who they determine to be of risk.
He says they hope that the risk of transmission was lessened by the fact that the man, at no point over the past weeks, displayed COVID symptoms.
But he says the hope is not a strategy as the man was engaged in higher-risk activities like drinking grog and sharing cigarettes with friends and family, others very well may have been exposed to the virus. The 110th case, who is the man living in Rakiraki, still does not have a clearly established connection to their existing cases.
However, Doctor Fong says thanks to contact tracing, they have leads, but until they are confident enough to make an official confirmation, all Fijians should continue to behave as if they have been exposed to the virus.
Boundaries in Ra have been set, and the patient’s family are now in quarantine and have been swabbed for testing.
The ministry has also swabbed another 40 primary contacts of this man and screened 406 others in Ra. The results are pending.
Meanwhile, Doctor Fong says most Fijians are already taking this threat seriously.
But he says most of us is not enough.
Every Fijian must act responsibly, wash your hands often and stay at home.
He says we still have too much movement among the public.
Doctor Fong says if there’s one measure that matters more than any, it is that: Stay Home.
If you have an absolutely essential reason to leave the house, wear a mask at all times and turn on your careFIJI app everywhere you go. If you feel unwell, call 158 or visit your nearest screening clinic.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong stresses that gatherings are not allowed for the simple reason that congregations of any size can become superspreader events.
He highlighted this after he saw some photos of a picnic happening in Lami on Wednesday, one of several high-risk areas in the country.
Doctor Fong says it was mostly young people who were having a bit of a “lockdown party”.
He says in one photo, he counted 19 people piled on top of one another, mostly young people.
Doctor Fong says if even one of them was carrying COVID-19, that could easily result in 18 more cases.
He says young people are generally thought to be at lower risk of severe COVID-19 but that does not matter.
The Permanent Secretary says they are not immune, as we have seen from other countries that once a large outbreak takes hold, everyone is affected.
Doctor Fong says young people can also end up being hospitalised and dying, and many of us also share homes with multiple generations.
He says we have children, parents, and grandparents all under one roof.
Doctor Fong says this is a fact: Something as simple as a picnic could get people killed.
He says that is why he is asking every mother and father in Fiji to please keep their children at home.
Meanwhile the Health Ministry has completed the first round of screening in Narere and Cunningham, and have screened over 95 percent of target population in Wainivula, Caubati, Tacirua and Makoi, with 144,747 people screened across Viti Levu and many more thousands to go.
Doctor James Fong says these screenings do work, especially at identifying high-risk contagious cases of COVID-19 but just because you have been screened does not mean you are clear to flaunt any of the restrictions.
Doctor Fong stresses that screening is different from testing, and it is far from as effective as a proper 14 days in quarantine.
He says that is why they will be screening high-risk areas multiple times, as someone screened once may well become a viral carrier days later.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says in a full lockdown no one except essential service workers move and it will be absolutely illegal for someone to stand on the side of the road or in a public space.
He says the only people moving around will be the screening teams and ambulances taking sick people.
Doctor Fong also stresses that in order for them to go into full lockdown they need to sort out things like food supply and the pre-positioning of essential items.
The Health Ministry says they have developed new protocols around funeral arrangements.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says when a death does occur, they will allow the body to be transported to its final resting place through containment area borders. However, they will only allow the vehicle with one driver to cross the border, and that driver must have careFIJI installed and turned on.
The driver will be escorted by Corrections Officers to ensure they remain in the vehicle the entire time they are within the containment area.
Doctor Fong says let’s not forget this outbreak started at a funeral.
He says when these events are held, they all have to be very disciplined about wearing masks, maintaining physical distance, and ensuring no more than 20 people attend.
Health Ministry's Permanent Secretary, Dr James Fong says if someone is moving from their source containment area to another area to deliver food, fuel and freight, they have to be from a low-risk area and these people will not be allowed to come out of their trucks.
When questioned on what measures are in place for those who are involved in bringing these items through trucks from one containment zone to another, Dr. Fong says truck drivers are not allowed to move out from their trucks and they also have to follow strict guidelines.
When further questioned whether the truck drivers will be told to isolate after returning from another containment area, Dr Fong says these people can continue working normally as they will not be allowed outside their trucks when they enter another containment area and these drivers also have to follow strict guidelines.
He says they have drafted standard operating procedures for the cartage of essential goods.
Within containment zones, the movement of food and essential items does not require approval.
He says drivers should, however, wear masks and regularly sanitise their hands.
They may carry one passenger to assist with deliveries.
This passenger should also wear a mask and maintain physical distance as much as possible while unloading goods.
Every single driver and passenger must have careFIJI downloaded, and it must be switched on for the entire time they are within a containment zone.
Dr. Fong further says between containment zones, it requires approval to transport food and essential items and requests for passes can be e-mailed to covidpassmoh@gmail.com.
Once approved, drivers must wear masks, regularly sanitise and keep a physical distance of two metres from others and careFIJI must be installed and on for their entire day of work.
While within the containment zone, the driver must not disembark the vehicle.
They should not even lower the windows. Loading and off-loading must be carried out by individuals at the delivery destination.
Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama made visits on the ground to Police Officers manning the containment zone borders in Suva yesterday.
Bainimarama says our Police are hard at work maintaining multiple containment zones throughout the country to slow the spread of COVID-19.
He says the Police, alongside our health officials, deserve more than our gratitude.
Bainimarama says we must help them keep us safe by adhering closely to their instructions.
The Prime Minister says every Fijian should be listening intently to the daily announcements by Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong, and follow the advice.
Bainimarama calls on everyone to act responsibly, wash your hands often, and stay at home.
He says if you have an essential reason to leave, wear a mask at all times.
And if you feel unwell, call 158 or visit your nearest screening clinic.
The Prime Minister stresses that our trust in the science has served us well before.
He says this time we face a new variant of the virus.
Bainimarama says it is more transmissible.
To succeed again, the Prime Minister says we must all be more vigilant about our health and the health of those around us.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says in a full lockdown no one except essential service workers move and it will be absolutely illegal for someone to stand on the side of the road or in a public space.
He says the only people moving around will be the screening teams and ambulances taking sick people.
Doctor Fong also stresses that in order for them to go into full lockdown they need to sort out things like food supply and the pre-positioning of essential items.
Villagers and others within a containment area are permitted to go out fishing for their livelihood.
This has been clarified by the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport, in consultation with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Fisheries.
They say subsistence fishing is permitted, which limits fishing for the purposes of securing food only.
All subsistence fishers must provide certain information like Captain’s name, Boat Master License Number and Vessel Details like Valid Survey Certification and Registration to the Maritime Surveillance Centre on the toll-free number 1539.
They will also need to adhere to the five maximum persons capacity and their fishing areas must be within the containment areas and a 3km distance from their landing sites.
The Ministry has also emphasised the need to adhere to all health and hygiene protocols, including installing the careFIJI mobile application and keeping the device Bluetooth on at all times, maintain 2-metre social distancing and regular hand washing and sanitisation.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr. James Fong says they are conducting house to house screenings and swab testing for all the residents in areas where houses are very close to each other.
He says everybody living in this kind of areas are swabbed after contact tracing.
Dr. Fong has revealed this after asked about the measures in place for informal settlements where there is a higher risk of COVID-19 being spread amongst residents.
Army Commander Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto says he understands that there is a lot of criticism coming their way and they will review the way they operate to ensure things are done better.
In a message to all RFMF personnel, Naupoto has reminded them that they are doing this job to save lives and they are putting lives at risk if they break COVID-19 protocols.
He says their job requires integrity and they should be doing things right even when no one is watching.
Rear Admiral Naupoto says it has been a long journey since last year and has thanked all those who are involved in the containment efforts.
He has reminded members of the RFMF that they should not let the criticism detract them from doing what is required at this time.
The RFMF Commander has also thanked the family members of the soldiers who are currently manning quarantine facilities, for their sacrifices.
While majority of the people are taking the COVID-19 measures seriously, some people around Suva and Nasinu are still moving around and not doing their part by staying home.
It is concerning that many of those we saw walking around this morning were boys who moved together as a group.
In Suva, we saw three boys walking around and one of them was not wearing a mask.
We saw a group of boys walking around along Fletcher Road.
None of them were wearing a mask.
Three men were also walking along Laqere Bridge.
They are not wearing masks and were not practicing social distancing.
We also saw some people still wearing masks the wrong way as they are not covering their nose.
Outside MHCC, people practiced social distancing.
We witnessed people attending a funeral in Vatuwaqa practicing social distancing and wearing masks.
FNPF has so far paid out $48,180 to 219 members as part of the lockdown relief and $35,765 was members own funds while $12,414 was topped up by Government.
Acting CEO, Viliame Vodonaivalu says their teams continue to process applications for working members who have applied for the lockdown relief and so far they have received a total of 8,163 members’ names from 366 employers.
Vodonaivalu says 518 members have submitted their applications however applications continue to trickle in.
He says they continue to face challenges with this relief – particularly, the timely submission of members’ names by employers.
Vodonaivalu further says this is a key part of the application process because they need employers to confirm that if their staff have had their wages impacted - either reduced or not paid at all during this lockdown period.
He stresses that they will not open up the preserved account, especially for those who have exhausted their general account balance.
The FNPF CEO says they will continue to explore ways, to assist our members but within the ambit of the FNPF Act.
Members can contact FNPF on 3307811, email information@fnpf.com.fj or reach out to the Fund on social media.
The Fiji National Provident Fund has announced today an additional relief for its members as it reopens the Phase 4 withdrawal scheme which will include drivers for taxis, mini buses, hire vehicles and Small and Medium Enterprises members operating small businesses.
FNPF says from next Wednesday these members will be able to apply for a one-off payment of $220 from their General Account - no government top up will be applicable.
Acting Chief Executive Officer Viliame Vodonaivalu assured members that the Fund continues to take a member-centric focus in efforts to accommodate all segments of membership.
He says the additional relief will hopefully alleviate some burdens for their members in this lockdown period.
Under the criteria for Phase 4 Round 2 relief members must have at least one contribution paid between January 2010 and September 2019, have a minimum of $85 in their General Account, the amount that can be accessed is $50-$220 depending on the member’s general account balance.
FNPF adds there are no requirements for Phase 4 Round 2 therefore no forms are available and members wishing to access this relief must apply on the myFNPF App.
Members will also not qualify if they are already accessing Phase 2 Round 5, Phase 3 Round 4, the Voluntary relief or the lockdown relief for working members.
Minister for Defence and National Security, Inia Seruiratu says the four Divisional Commissioners have commenced work to identify and set up community isolation facilities in all divisions.
They are currently looking at setting up 10 community isolation facilities in the Central Division which will mainly be boarding schools in Serua, Tailevu and Naitasiri.
Seruiratu says all Divisional Commissioners are now working with the 14 provincial councils, Roko and advisory councillors in creating awareness about COVID-19 protocols and the setting up of community isolation facilities.
He says the four Divisional Commissioners are well ahead in their planning stage and will be ready with the isolation facilities should there be a need.
He says they are also grateful to the businesses that are coming forward with assistance.
Seruiratu says Vinod Patel and Company Limited has today donated washing machines that will be used in community isolation facilities in Lautoka.
The authorities are also ensuring that community isolation facilities have power and water supply and they are fenced.
SODELPA Leader Viliame Gavoka today visited police officers and frontline workers at the three checkpoints at Delainavesi, Sawani and Nakasi.
He says they are simply visiting these checkpoints to thank officers and other frontline workers for the tremendous work they are doing for the nation.
Gavoka says they provided them with some light refreshments.
He is urging Fijians to continue following strict COVID-19 safety guidelines and cooperate with authorities.
Suva and Nausori containment zones from Tamavua-i-Wai Bridge in Delainavesi to Logani Village is under curfew until 4am Monday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they cannot waste another minute locating the rest of the contacts of those who have already tested positive for COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says to allow his teams to find these Fijians quickly, the Health Ministry will lock down the Suva and Nausori Containment zones until 4am Monday.
He says rather than operate two separate containment zones, the Suva and Nausori containment areas will be consolidated into the Suva-Nausori Lockdown Zone.
The borders of the lockdown zone mirror that of the two containment areas as the police will operate checkpoints at Logani Village, Sawani and Tamavua-i-wai Bridge and the checkpoint at the 8 miles bridge near Rups Mega Nakasi will be uplifted.
To those living in Suva and Nausori, Doctor Fong says they have all been through this before and they know what it means.
Doctor Fong says no one should leave their homes.
He stresses that no one, not parents, not breadwinners, not children, no one should leave their homes.
The Permanent Secretary says the Police will be enforcing that movement restriction.
Without the Health Ministry’s approval you can only move out from your home for medical emergencies, this exemption will include kidney dialysis patients.
For the duration of this lockdown, no businesses, including supermarkets, banks and pharmacies are allowed to be open.
Some essential services like water, power, ports, and private hospitals, will be allowed to operate with authorisation granted by the Health Ministry, and they will work directly with essential service providers on those arrangements.
Deliveries across the lockdown zone borders will also go on hold as there will not be any markets or supermarkets open, so these delivery services do not need to operate through the weekend.
Doctor Fong says they have determined that at this stage, a snap lockdown has become a medical necessity for the Suva-Nausori corridor.
But they recognise that the nature of these restrictions is going to make accessing basic services extremely difficult over the next 48 hours if not impossible.
Doctor Fong says they have ordered food packs that will be delivered throughout the lockdown area for Fijians who run out of food.
If you live in the lockdown area and need to access this emergency food supply, you can call the toll-free number 161 from 9am today.
The food packs will be free.
He says please be patient, your calls will be answered. To keep things efficient, please make sure you have details, like your name, location and number of family members, readily available.
Doctor Fong says deliveries will be scheduled throughout the course of the weekend.
He says on Sunday, they are going to look carefully at what the contact tracing and testing tells them, and make a medical determination on whether the lockdown should end or extend.
For the rest of Fiji, essential businesses, such as supermarkets are open, essential movement is allowed, and the normal curfew hours from 11pm to 4am apply.
But the Health Ministry is urging everyone to please stay home.
Doctor Fong says every time you leave, you risk bringing this killer virus home with you but if you absolutely do have to leave, wear a mask and make sure you have the careFIJI installed and turned on at all times.
He says if more Fijians had downloaded the careFIJI app from the start, we wouldn’t be in this position today.
Doctor Fong also stresses that if they see gatherings or large numbers of people moving about elsewhere in Fiji, they won’t hesitate to extend these lockdown measures to other parts of the country.
Fiji has 1 new COVID-19 case following the screening of another 16,613 Fijians and another 1018 tests yesterday.
The new case is the wife of case number 110, the first man in Ra who tested positive for the virus earlier this week.
Permanent Secretary for health, Doctor James Fong says they have another case in Ra, case number 116, which they announced yesterday.
Doctor Fong says this makes for a total of three cases in Ra, forming two clusters.
He says they still do not know where either of these clusters originated.
They are continuing to investigate any possible links with existing cases.
Doctor Fong says they have also sent samples of the positive test results of Fiji’s most recent cases to the reference lab in Melbourne to see if there is a genetic link between these latest cases.
He also says they are also investigating the possibility that these cases originated from the earlier-announced quarantine facility breach.
The Permanent Secretary says the incubation period for the virus is 14 days.
That means, from the moment a person comes into contact with someone with the virus and gets infected, it can take up to 14 days for the virus to cause symptoms or register a positive COVID-19 test result.
Only after the ministry effectively quarantines an individual for 14 days, and then they register a negative COVID-19 test result, do they know that they do not have COVID-19.
But that assurance comes from the fact that the ministry is certain that the individual had zero exposure to the virus for every single day of that two-week quarantine period.
Doctor Fong says if they came into contact with someone with the virus during that 14 day period, the incubation period resets to another 14 days.
He says at the Tanoa Hotel, due to the breaches at that border quarantine facility, there could have been infectious staff who transmitted the virus to individuals during their 14-day quarantine period. That means, when they tested them at the end of their quarantine, they could have missed a soon-to-be-positive patient.
In the case of those discharged from Tanoa from the 12th of April onwards, that’s exactly what they are concerned may have happened.
One of those individuals, case number 114 has already proved that concern is valid.
Doctor Fong says they have contacted 93 out of the 96 individuals discharged from the Tanoa Hotel Quarantine Facility from 12th April 2021 and onwards. These individuals are being tested and will restart their 14 day quarantine.
He says one of these cases may be the source of the outbreak in Ra.
Doctor Fong says they simply won’t know for sure until these restarted periods of quarantine are complete.
In the meantime, they have no choice but to treat the first two cases in Ra as instances of community transmission, which are cases that have no known link to other cases or international travel.
Everyone who attended funeral in Tavakubu, Lautoka and the church service in Nadera have been found.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says during the next 14 days, they will be screening the Tavakubu area at least four times.
Doctor Fong says this is because majority of the people who attended the funeral were from that area.
He says based on the numbers the ministry is getting, they are confident about the cleanliness of the area.
The Health Ministry’s Head of Health Protection Doctor Aalisha Sahukhan says 51,014 COVID-19 tests have been conducted to date with a daily average of 774 tests per day over the last 7 days.
She says there has been a weekly average of 3,485 COVID-19 tests per week over the last two weeks.
Doctor Sahukhan revealed that a record of 5,169 tests were done last week.
She says testing has increased in response to the recent cases.
The Health Ministry’s Head of Health Protection Doctor Aalisha Sahukhan says two cases of COVID-19 are still under investigation to determine their source of transmission.
She says for now they are being considered as community transmission cases.
These are the first two cases in Ra which includes the 53-year-old caretaker of the Ra Provincial Office who started feeling symptoms and reported them.
The second case in Ra was the 68-year-old man who tested positive after presenting to the Rakiraki Hospital Outpatients Department with a cough and fever.
There are 50 active cases in isolation.
Doctor Sahukhan says five of the cases are older border quarantine cases that were announced before Sunday while 14 are recently announced border quarantine cases.
She says there are 29 locally transmitted cases.
Fiji has had 117 cases of COVID-19 since March 19th 2020.
There have been 65 recoveries and two deaths recorded in Fiji from COVID-19.
The Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says he had said on Thursday that there was a good chance a lockdown could be announced.
When questioned why people were informed so late about the lockdown in the Suva Nausori containment zones, Dr. Fong says they collected data on Thursday night to decide whether a lockdown was necessary.
He says there was a lot of missing information regarding contact details of people and the teams ran around Thursday night looking for information.
He says they had a lack of data yesterday morning.
He says they did want to take an action without having necessary data.
More than 500 employees of the garment factory will need to be reached by the Ministry of Health officials during the curfew period from 8 tonight to 4am Monday.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they know the details of the people that will need to be screened and swabbed and they have enough people to find these individuals.
He says a team of three people from the Ministry will be conducting this and they will be starting from the end of the lockdown area.
He adds they knew the lockdown will be useful as they know the specific places they need to go and find these individuals.
The Permanent Secretary says 877 employees in total are employed where the woman from Vunimono worked and 321 employees have been identified, screened, and swabbed.
The Health Ministry has confirmed that the toll-free numbers 161 and 158 are back up and in operation.
They had faced a technical glitch with these numbers earlier today, as a result of the high number of phone calls received.
People are advised that if your calls are not going through it's because a lot of people are calling at the same time.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong had announced last night that people who are living within the Suva-Nausori corridor can call 161 if they run out of food during the curfew period which will be free.
Doctor Fong has stressed that people need to be patient, as their calls will be answered.
LegendFM News received calls from people who have been trying these numbers from 9am today.
Some people have told us that when they were calling, there was no answer or their calls did not go through.
The Ministry of Health says they regret any inconvenience caused however they appreciate people’s understanding and patience.
Vodafone Fiji has told us that if people cannot get through while dialing these numbers, that means that there is an influx of calls at the same time.
They say it has nothing to do with their network as it is working perfectly.
We are still trying to contact Digicel and Telecom regarding this issue.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu says there will be zero tolerance on any breach of restrictions announced by the Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong.
Tudravu says his officers have been briefed to enforce movement restrictions to ensure health officials are given as much support to conduct their work.
Tudravu adds this period is crucial for us as a nation to determine how far the virus has spread.
He further says the message is simple, stay home. The Suva and Nausori containment zones from Tamavua-i-Wai Bridge in Delainavesi to Logani Village is under curfew until 4am Monday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they cannot waste another minute locating the rest of the contacts of those who have already tested positive for COVID-19.
Businesses like hardware shops and bottle shops are open in Ba Town.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong had highlighted last night that apart from the Suva and Nausori containment zones, for the rest of Fiji, essential businesses, such as supermarkets are open, essential movement is allowed, and the normal curfew hours from 11pm to 4am apply.
But the Health Ministry is urging everyone to please stay home.
Doctor Fong says every time you leave, you risk bringing this killer virus home with you but if you absolutely do have to leave, wear a mask and make sure you have the careFIJI installed and turned on at all times.
He says if more Fijians had downloaded the careFIJI app from the start, we wouldn’t be in this position today.
Doctor Fong also stresses that if they see gatherings or large numbers of people moving about elsewhere in Fiji, they won’t hesitate to extend these lockdown measures to other parts of the country.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu is concerned and says members of the public and the business community should follow the clear COVID-19 safety protocols and guidelines.
Tudravu says people do not have to rely on the Police to come and enforce the restrictions.
He says the Police believe that people's IQ level is far above being chased around all the time.
Tudravu is currently moving around checkpoints in Suva and Nausori areas visiting the Police Officers and thanking them for their commitment.
44 people have been arrested in the last 24-hours for failing to comply with curfew orders as well as breaching the COVID-19 restrictions in place.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu says 18 were arrested for failing to comply with curfew orders while 26 were arrested for breaching the COVID-19 restrictions in place.
Tudravu says the Southern Division recorded 23 cases whereby 22 people were not complying with the COVID-19 restrictions while a 26-year-old man of Samabula was found drunk in the Namadi Heights area within curfew hours.
He says 8 people were arrested in the Eastern Division for failing to comply with curfew orders while the Northern Division recorded 5 cases whereby all were found drunk in Labasa and Taveuni.
The Western Division recorded 4 cases whereby 4 farmers were found drunk in Sigatoka Town and breached the COVID 19 restrictions.
He says for the Central Division, four men including a naval officer were found loitering at the Suva Handicraft Centre during curfew hours.
Tudravu says he is pleading with people to respect the Health restrictions in place and be reminded not to make any unnecessary movement as those found to have breached the COVID-19 restrictions and curfew orders will be taken to task.
The Ministry of Health has revealed seven locations in Navua and Pacific Harbour where people may have come into contact with COVID-19 cases.
A request is being made to you if you were present at one of these locations on the dates and times listed, and have not been contacted, please remain in your home and call 158.
The venues and dates are Max Value, Vinod Patel Hardware Store and Jacks in Navua on Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th April between 11am to 12pm, Hot Bread Kitchen in Navua on 27th April between 11am to 12pm, at Grace Road Service Station in Nakaulevu on 27th April between 12pm to 2pm, at Kundan Singh Pacific Harbour on 27th April between 12pm to 2pm and at Rajeev Service Station on 27th April between 12pm to 2pm.
Please stay home if you were at one of the venues on those days and times. Call 158 immediately.
The Ministry of Health has revealed ten locations where people may have come into contact with COVID-19 cases and a request is being made to you if you were present at one of these locations on the dates and times listed, and have not been contacted, please remain in your home and call 158.
Health response teams have already identified people who may have come into close contact with COVID-19 cases however this message is for those who may have not been contacted.
The venues and dates are Burger King Nakasi on the evening of 13th April 2021, Nadera Catholic Church from 4pm to 6pm on 18th April, Bargain Box opposite Suva Bus Stand after 4.30pm on 19th April, BSP Thompson Street Branch, FNPF Ellery Street and Caines Jannif Renwick Road from 12pm to 2pm on 15th April, Navua Agriculture Office from 12pm to 1pm on 16th April, John Wesley School in Raiwaqa after 6pm on 17th April, FNU Nabua on 12th April, iTaukei Affairs Office Suva Headquarters at 10am on 24th April, Ra Provincial Office and Compound from 20th to 27th April and Manoca Kava Pounding Shop Nausori from 10.30am to 2pm on 24th April.
Please stay home if you were at one of the venues on those days and times. Call 158 immediately.
Non-essential businesses are still open in Navua despite clear directives from the Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong that only essential businesses like supermarkets should be open across the country apart from the Suva-Nausori containment zones.
We have received numerous concerns from some of the residents who just wanted to shop for food in the supermarket that almost all the shops were open with people crowding up in town.
They have said that people have come out with family members to do their shopping which was very risky, despite several warnings that Navua is also an area of interest of contact tracing.
Some of the non-essential businesses that were open were hardware shops, clothes and footwear shops.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu is concerned and says members of the public and the business community should follow the clear COVID-19 safety protocols and guidelines.
Tudravu says people do not have to rely on the Police to come and enforce the restrictions.
He says the Police believe that people's IQ level is far above being chased around all the time.
Tudravu is currently moving around checkpoints in Suva and Nausori areas visiting the Police Officers and thanking them for their commitment.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum today visited the Fiji Procurement Office yard where food rations are currently being loaded.
The food rations are for the Suva-Nausori lockdown zone.
If you live in the lockdown area and need to access this emergency food supply, you can call the toll-free number 161.
They also visited the Fiji Centre for Disease Control today.
Police have been strictly monitoring the movement of people in the Suva – Nausori corridor which is under lockdown and curfew until 4am Monday.
Police arrested 44 people last night for breaching COVID-19 restrictions and curfew hours around the country.
Fijivillage has observed officers manning the check-points at the Suva-Nausori corridor borders strictly checking passes.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu is currently moving around checkpoints in Suva and Nausori areas visiting the Police Officers and thanking them for their commitment.
Tudravu says there will be zero tolerance on any breach of restrictions announced by the Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong.
He is also concerned and says members of the public and the business community should follow the clear COVID-19 safety protocols and guidelines.
Tudravu says people do not have to rely on the Police to come and enforce the restrictions.
He says the Police believe that people's IQ level is far above being chased around all the time.
During the duration of the Suva-Nausori lockdown, no businesses, including supermarkets, banks and pharmacies are allowed to be open.
For the rest of Fiji, essential businesses, such as supermarkets are open, essential movement is allowed, and the normal curfew hours from 11pm to 4am apply.
Dr.Fong has already highlighted that if they see gatherings or large numbers of people moving about elsewhere in Fiji, they won’t hesitate to extend these lockdown measures to other parts of the country.
An email account has been set up for people who require food ration packs within the Suva- Nausori corridor.
The email address is covid19rations@gmail.com
The government says they are dealing with a large call volume and if calls do not get answered, Fijians are alternatively requested to email their details and the request must include the following details: your name, address, Suva-Nausori Lockdown Zone, mobile number and number of household members.
Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has urged only those genuinely requiring rations to call in.
Sayed-Khaiyum says there has been a huge number of calls with a lot of people waiting in the queue and has asked them to be patient as their calls will be answered and their details will be taken down.
He says sometimes they find that there are people who are from the same family-four or five people calling from the same family living under the same roof, make four or five different phone calls.
Sayed-Khaiyum adds obviously, that’s not correct, that’s not right.
He says they are depriving and taking up the time on the line of people that genuinely need to get through
Sayed-Khaiyum assures any genuine person who makes a request will be catered for.
Two COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in isolation while an additional 25,064 Fijians were screened through the Health Ministry’s mobile screening teams and at screening clinics since Friday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says after another 1026 tests, they have confirmed the two new cases.
They are the 5-year-old and the 15-year-old daughters of the mother from Cunningham.
Doctor Fong says both cases were confirmed in isolation, and their first tests were negative, which means they do not pose a risk to the public and bear no implication on the existing programme of contact tracing.
He says the entire family of the person in Cunningham who contracted COVID-19 has also contracted the virus - 7 household members in total.
The Permanent Secretary says let that be a lesson in how transmissible this variant is and how vital it is that measures are followed by everyone.
He says they generally prefer more targeted measures, and the ministry will be able to implement them once they have a handle on chains of transmission.
The Permanent Secretary says right now, a lockdown is a prescription that Suva and Nausori need.
He says there are 877 contacts of case 113, the garment factory worker, which are split between two factories -Lyndhurst and Mark One Apparel.
Doctor Fong says of the 877 total contacts, 833 have been screened and swabbed.
477 have tested negative with the remaining samples due to be tested.
He confirms that all primary contacts will be retested during their mandatory 14 days of quarantine, which begins from their last contact with the case.
More samples have been received from yesterday’s contact tracing.
Today, they will know whether or not the testing reveals that the lockdown will arrive at its scheduled conclusion at 4am Monday.
He also says their lockdown got off to a wet start last night, which did hinder the contact tracing and swabbing throughout Suva and Nausori, but they are rapidly making up that ground.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the current commitments for the COVID-19 vaccine doses for the country can cover 484,000 Fijians.
He says we need to cover 650,000 people.
Doctor Fong says they expect 64,800 of the 100,800 doses pledged by COVAX to arrive by June.
New Zealand has pledged half a million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Fiji.
We have received 100,000 doses from India and expect to receive the first shipment of 10,000 doses from Australia as early as next week, with other shipments arriving monthly.
The Permanent Secretary says they are grateful for the commitments they have received for vaccines so far, but they are not enough, nor are they coming soon enough, and the government is working with our international partners on new commitments
He says with an outbreak already upon us, the urgency of achieving widespread immunity grows daily.
Doctor Fong also stresses that no one in Fiji is fully vaccinated.
You need two doses of these vaccines to be fully vaccinated, and then need to wait an additional two weeks for its full response within your immune system to take effect.
He says only once every Fijian, who is eligible, achieves that level of immunity, will Fiji truly be safe from this deadly virus.
The Permanent Secretary says it is not easy to give up the normal activities of daily life and remain at home, but if we all make this effort, we can stop this virus once again and return to those normal activities--to go to work, see family and friends, do our shopping, play sports.
He stresses that no government can defeat this virus alone as it takes the effort of an entire nation to stop it in its tracks, and that means that every Fijian depends on every other Fijian to do their part in the lockdown zone, in the containment areas, and all across Fiji.
Doctor Fong says this is like a war, defeat is unthinkable, and compromise is impossible.
He says we have to win, and we will win but we will need everyone’s best effort.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they received 100,000 calls as of noon today on their COVID-19 Food Ration Hotline and he is disappointed to learn that they had several members of the same households inundating the number with calls.
He says they were clear yesterday that food is distributed on a household-by-household basis.
Doctor Fong says attempts to game the system only succeed at delaying the delivery of food to Fijians with a genuine need.
He says that selfishness has serious consequences for those who need this assistance.
The Permanent Secretary also highlights that to ease the economic hardship of the lockdown, trucks carrying 5,000 food ration packs were loaded and shipped throughout the Suva-Nausori Lockdown Zone before sunrise today.
They are currently making delivery runs to families with a genuine need for food supply.
Doctor Fong says they have an e-mail address available to help divert some of the call volume.
He says if you can use e-mail, please do as it is the fastest way the teams can get into contact with you.
You can send your name, address, the number of people in your household, and your mobile number to covid19rations@gmail.com
The Health Ministry’s investigations into the two unconnected clusters in the Ra Province may require more stringent measures in the near future.
Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong says for now, Fijians within that containment should be on high alert.
He says anyone outside of their home should be treated as a potential COVID-positive patient.
Doctor Fong says you are safest at home, and that is where you should stay.
If you need to leave, wear a mask, keep your distance from others, and keep careFIJI switched on at all times.
He also wants to make an appeal to the rural communities.
Doctor Fong says sometimes they think remoteness can protect them, but remoteness provides no protection when people are circulating through the country.
He says a number of communities have taken the step of adopting lockdown measures of their own.
The Permanent Secretary says this is a prudent and responsible action under the current circumstances.
The Ra Containment Area was established yesterday, which limits movement in the province, but does allow for essential businesses to remain open.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong is urging everyone, if you, or someone you know, is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Helpline number 1560, or the child helpline at 1325.
He says help will come to you.
Doctor Fong says when it comes to COVID, staying at home is the safest course for all of us but in Fiji and around the world, we know there is an ugly side to lockdown measures.
He says without proper resources and support, they can make the already vulnerable more vulnerable than ever.
Doctor Fong also says Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama has called domestic violence an ugly scourge on our society.
He says the Prime Minister is absolutely right and during a crisis, we know these horrific crimes can occur more often.
Doctor Fong says someone, right now, is stuck at home with an abuser - that is a tragic reality that we cannot turn away from.
You can call at any time, any day of the week, to report a crime.
Even if you just need someone to talk to, call either of those numbers – 1560 or 1325.
That applies to children, for women, and for men as well.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says one of the groups of people that they owe a lot to is the military who do a lot of the heavy lifting for them.
He says members of the military have worked tirelessly.
Doctor Fong adds the military does the heavy lifting so that others can just carry a pen and paper and write things down during contact tracing.
He adds at the moment there are only a few military people that are not part of their operation.
Doctor Fong says the Army Commander has already said that he can deploy more military personnel.
The Permanent Secretary adds its a huge operation when you consider each military personnel accompanying at least two health personnel.
Health officials managed to screen and swab 95 percent of the group of people that they wanted to get despite the heavy rain experienced in the Suva-Nausori containment area
This is confirmed by the Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong when questioned if there are any plans if it continues to rain throughout the 56 hours lockdown period.
Doctor Fong says he thinks they have done fairly well they need to get the last 44 people to be screened and swabbed.
He says he is concerned if the heavy rain causes flooding.
Doctor Fong says this means that they will have to escalate all the COVID-19 safety measures that relate to the evacuation centres that is not an easy task but it has been done before.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr. James Fong says they have most of the travel history of the man who had tested positive for COVID-19 and had traveled within the community in Nadi and Lautoka.
The man and his wife had gone to the Tavakubu funeral and were announced as positive cases on the 25th of last month.
Dr.Fong says they have his immediate contacts but they are trying to investigate the potential casual contacts.
Dr.Fong says they have enough information to say that the garment factory worker poses a bigger concern than the man.
FRIEND Fiji founder and CEO, Sashi Kiran says there may be a need to organize a massive food ration drive for those people that are in all containment areas and particularly for those in the informal sector.
Kiran says they also call on the Social Welfare Department to look into the social protection of the vulnerable people urgently.
She says they have been working with the Commissioner Western's Office to provide food to people in self-quarantine or isolation.
Kiran adds while COVID-19 is a major worry right now with the super spreader event, they have another major crisis evolving relating to food.
She has once again called on people to show compassion to those who have contracted the virus and stop vilifying them.
Kiran also says this will enable people to be more confident in coming forward with information.
FRIEND Fiji has been assisting thousands of families affected by COVID-19 and the recent cyclones with food and other basic items in the Western Division and other parts of Fiji.
If you want to assist FRIEND Fiji, you can contact them on 8983183 or friend@connect.com.fj.
You can also check out our Hands Across Fiji section on our website fijivillage where we connect people who need help to those who are providing help.
39 people were arrested for breaching curfew orders and failing to comply with the Health restrictions in the last 24 hours.
The Western Division recorded 20 cases where 17 people were arrested for failing to comply with the health restrictions while three cases were recorded for breaching curfew.
Police say 15 people were arrested for breaching curfew orders in the Southern Division.
The Eastern Division recorded three cases including 2 people who were arrested for not complying with health restrictions.
One person was arrested for breaching curfew in the Northern Division.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu says there will be zero tolerance on any breach of restrictions announced by the Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong.
He is also concerned and says members of the public and the business community should follow the clear COVID-19 safety protocols and guidelines.
Tudravu says people do not have to rely on the Police to come and enforce the restrictions.
He says the Police believe that people's IQ level is far above being chased around all the time.
The Fiji Police Force has delivered 30 food ration packs to the residents of Cunningham today.
The RFMF has also been delivering food ration packs to Fijians living in the Suva - Nausori lockdown zones.
If you are living within Suva-Nausori corridor and are in need of ration, then you can send your name, address, the number of people in your household, and your mobile number to covid19rations@gmail.com
You can also call or text those details to 161 or use this form http://bit.ly/fjrationform to send your details.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the ministry’s progress in contact tracing, screening and testing puts them on track for the Suva and Nausori lockdown measures to expire at 4am tomorrow however he says they will let the public know by midnight if the lockdown will be extended.
He says things will change if they are unable to find all or most of the missing five percent of contacts of the garment factory worker, or the testing reveals new and high-risk cases.
Doctor Fong says they will be loud and clear with the public if that happens but they are confident, at this stage, that they can identify the remaining contacts in Suva and Nausori and lift the lockdown on schedule.
He says they will let people know by midnight tonight if something changes.
Stay with Legend FM and fijivillage if there are any announcements tonight.
Doctor Fong says assuming they stay the course, the Suva-Nausori Lockdown Zone will revert into two separate containment areas, the Suva Containment Area and the Nausori Containment Area, from 4am tomorrow.
The borders of the areas are unchanged which means the border checkpoint at Wainibuku Bridge near Rups Nakasi will be back.
The Permanent Secretary says the lifting of that lockdown measure will mean that, within these containment areas, movement, for essential purposes only, may resume.
The system of cross-border deliveries of food and essential items into the containment areas will also resume, and supermarkets, banks, pharmacies and other essential businesses, as identified by the ministry, may operate from tomorrow.
However Doctor Fong says this is not cause for celebration.
He says it is certainly not an excuse to disregard any of the measures that will remain in place.
Doctor Fong says at its close, the curfew will have lasted 56 hours, meanwhile, the incubation period for the virus is 336 hours or two full weeks.
That means there is still a very serious risk that new cases may develop, so we must act accordingly.
Do not go outside of your home to meet with friends and family. Do not have parties.
He stresses that reckless celebrations of the end of the lockdown will give them no choice but to recommend another one so please make smart choices, and spare the nation from that drastic course of action.
Curfew hours will be from 11pm until 4 am, everyone should stay home unless they have an essential reason to leave, you should not mix with anyone who doesn’t share your home with you, no sports of any kind should be played, places of worship will remain closed, save for small funeral ceremonies, no non-work gatherings of any size should take place, anywhere you go outside of your home, you should have on a mask or face covering, wash your hands well and often, use sanitiser when you see it, businesses that are not on the list of essential services should not open, you should not share takis, bilos or cigarettes, any person-to-person interaction - even a maskless conversation -- can put you at-risk, and please download careFIJI, and keep your bluetooth switched on when you are in public spaces.
Doctor Fong also stresses that if they see serious threats to public wellbeing, such mass crowding, or people outside, in large numbers, without masks being properly worn, they will recommend that a hard lockdown come back into effect.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 95 percent of the 877 contacts of the garment factory worker have been contacted, screened, and swabbed, including all of her closest contacts who shared her bus and worked in close proximity to her at the factory in Kalabu.
He says they will all remain under home quarantine for at least 14 days from their last contact with the case.
611 have tested negative for COVID-19 so far with more samples being tested.
Doctor Fong says with everyone safely at home during the Suva Nausori lockdown, the Health Ministry contact tracing teams worked through the torrential rain this weekend to identify the contacts of case 113, the garment factory worker.
He also says after another 1,212 tests and 7560 community screenings, they have no new cases of COVID-19 to report in Fiji.
Doctor Fong says he knows many may have cheered, or felt excited, when he said but no confirmed cases, at this stage, is no reason for celebration.
He says it does not mean there are no cases out there; it means none have been detected over the past 24 hours.
The Permanent Secretary says they are certain there are more cases that will develop or worryingly that an unconfirmed case of the virus has already developed into a highly-contagious disease.
He says their biggest fear right now is that someone, with symptoms, has not reported to a screening clinic or called 158.
Doctor Fong also says this virus arrives in waves.
He says a lull can often signal a surge so let’s not let one day of no new cases fool anyone into thinking this storm is over.
The two COVID-19 clusters in Ra are still unlinked to other existing cases while a call has also been made to those that played in the Malomalo 7s in Sigatoka on April 16th and 17th to call 158 as one of the Makoi cases had played in that tournament.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says Suva and Nausori are not the only source points of their contact tracing efforts.
He says for Ra, they are pursuing two main leads - one is that the cases are related directly to the quarantine facility breach in Nadi or two, that these cases may be rippling out from an individual in Ra who attended the funeral in Tavakubu.
If you are this person, or you know this person, please contact the Health Ministry on 158.
Doctor Fong says they are also awaiting the results from Melbourne to confirm a genetic link to other local cases in Fiji.
He hopes that guides their investigation to a link with another chain of transmission.
But he says we need widespread adoption of the COVID-safe health habits, not only for a weekend, a week, or even a month - these measures must be kept by everyone, everywhere for the foreseeable future.
Doctor Fong also says one of the source points stems from case number 91, the patient who resides in Makoi.
Her brother-in-law, who was case number 98, played rugby in a team that competed in the Malomalo 7s at Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka on April 16th and 17th.
Working with the coaches at the tournament, the ministry has contacted most of those he may have had contact with however, there are still some missing pieces.
Doctor Fong says they are asking any of the rugby players who played in the Malomalo 7s, who are yet to be contacted by the ministry, to please call 158.
He also cautions everyone not to be too quick to ask why we have more stringent measures in Fiji than in other countries.
The Permanent Secretary says the simple reason is that all countries are at different stages in fighting this pandemic, and each country has to adopt measures based on its own situation.
He says in the United States, for example, more than 100 million adults have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. That is 40% of the adult population.
Doctor Fong says we are not at that point in our immunizations here in Fiji, and we won’t be for some time.
He says with any variant of the virus, that is a recipe for deadly disaster, and it can happen here if we become complacent, or worse, cynical, about these very important prevention measures.
The Health Ministry's Permanent Secretary, Dr James Fong says conditions of isolation facilities may not be ideal in the early phase of containment as the disease is not predictable.
He has made this comment after confirming that they have received some complaints from people at isolation facilities.
Dr Fong says there were two incidents and one involved a baby who rolled off the bed at the isolation facility in Navua.
He says this happened when officials were trying to get a baby cot.
He says the baby was not adversely impacted because of what had happened.
Dr Fong also confirms the baby was brought to Suva but it was because of the symptoms of COVID-19 and not because of the fall.
Dr Fong says there was a complaint regarding the conditions at the isolation facility in Rakiraki.
He says this is being managed.
Dr Fong says they need to get more containment facilities upgraded quickly for use to ensure it is in a more ideal setup prior to a person going in.
He says this is a lesson they have learnt from Rakiraki.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they will continue to create more capacity to get more isolation facilities in the community.
He says they still have room capacity at the Lautoka Hospital and they have created reserve capacity in the Ba Hospital for the purpose of taking extra isolation cases.
Doctor Fong adds they have space at the Navua Hospital but do not want to add more patients so they have opened the isolation facility in Colo-i-Suva.
The Permanent Secretary says he also knows that they have opened up Adi Cakobau School to be an isolation facility.
He stresses that all their isolation facilities are manned by the appropriate staff.
Doctor Fong says they discussed this morning and will discuss again tomorrow morning further plans about creating their surge capacity.
He adds they plan to stay 50 beds ahead of the last patient.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says they will have to look into the non-essential businesses that were open and finalise an action plan looking forward.
Doctor Fong highlighted this when questioned by fijivillage on what is being done to deal with this issue as clear directives were given that only essential businesses like supermarkets should be open across the country apart from the Suva-Nausori containment zones.
We have also received reports that some of the non-essential businesses that were open were in Navua and Ba were hardware shops, clothes and footwear shops.
Dr Fong says he was just notified this morning of this issue and they will be looking into this together with the police and military.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says he knows they will be distribute food rations all of tonight to people that have called 161 but whether they can meet everybody's need is another problem.
He says they still have people from the same household calling the number and that is wasting a lot of time for them.
Doctor Fong adds they are making three deliveries to one household because of this and later have to make other plans when they find out the family has already been assisted.
He is stressing that in order for us to be able to prepare for future lockdowns, we need people to be honest about their requests.
More CCTV cameras will now be installed at the border quarantine facilities to keep a watch on the contact taking place between the passengers and those manning the facilities.
While confirming this, Health Ministry's Permanent Secretary Dr. James Fong says they will now have more surveillance at the border quarantine area to ensure they can reduce the number of blindspots.
When asked whether any determination was made if the new variant came through the couple from India or their luggage, Dr. Fong says they have gone back and looked at the handling of luggage when freight comes off the plane.
Dr Fong says the virus can be transmitted through luggage and from direct contact through persons.
He adds Fiji Airports Limited has a stringent program of managing and disinfecting luggage and they are confident of that program.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr. James Fong says the reason they did the food ration distribution in the Suva-Nausori lockdown area was because supermarkets were closed and basic food items would have been inaccessible.
Dr.Fong says it was not a poverty alleviation program but a lockdown program.
He also says there is a potential to explore providing food ration packs in other containment zones.
Dr.Fong says the solution for that will extend outside the Health Ministry as it will involve other ministries who will be in a better position to answer the question.
Dr.Fong adds providing food rations in other containment zones requires a broader set of strategies that are not within the ambit of the Health Ministry.
People are not practicing social distancing outside two supermarkets in Valelevu and one in Suva while social distancing is being strictly enforced outside Max Value in Flagstaff, Extra Supermarket, and Max Value opposite the Suva Market.
There is also social distancing outside MHCC.
We visited these supermarkets this morning.
Fijivillage saw both the young and old not practicing social distancing.
Police officers are present outside these supermarkets and asking people to maintain a 2 metres distance.
The situation in the Valelevu supermarket was the most concerning.
Many of those lining up were elderly people who received their monthly social welfare benefits today.
The line of people stretched for about 100 metres.
Police had to show up and make announcements for people to social distance.
The National Federation Party says it is cruel for the Government to be parading its food distribution efforts on facebook when people in real need, all over the country, have no food in the house however the Permanent Secretary for Health Dr. James Fong made it clear last night that the reason they did the food ration distribution in the Suva-Nausori lockdown area was that supermarkets were closed and basic food items would have been inaccessible.
Dr.Fong says it was not a poverty alleviation program but a lockdown program.
NFP Leader Professor Biman Prasad says some people in the West have been without the means to buy food for months and they are completely dependent on their neighbors and the community.
Prasad claims yet the government will give excess food rations to people in Suva, even to those he claims who do not need them.
Meanwhile, Dr. Fong said in the press conference last night that there is a potential to explore providing food ration packs in other containment zones.
Dr.Fong says the solution for that will extend outside the Health Ministry as it will involve other ministries who will be in a better position to answer the question.
The Land Transport Authority of Fiji has urged drivers, as well as others, to remain in their specified containment zones as per advice from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services in order to prevent the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus.
The containment zones namely, Lami, Suva, Nausori, Nadi and Lautoka have been in effect since 4am, Monday, 26th April 2021 and will remain in effect unless advised otherwise by the Ministry of Health.
LTA CEO, Samuel Simpson says the idea behind these containment zones is to act as a precautionary measure to prevent the COVID-19 virus from spreading to other parts of Fiji.
He says to his knowledge, each containment zone has suppliers of essential items such as food, medication and money.
Simpson has also reminded Fijians to ensure that they are practising proper COVID-19 safety measures such as wearing a mask, washing or sanitising their hands as often as possible, and maintaining a proper social distance while travelling on public transport.
Meanwhile buses and minibuses are to only operate at 50 percent capacity, and taxis are to have a maximum of 3 passengers in their vehicles, at any given time in order to abide by proper social distancing rules.
Officers from the Totogo Police Station were called in to assist the staff and security officers of New World IGA in Suva in enforcing social distancing outside the supermarket.
New World IGA Operations Manager Maria Kumar says they were informing people to maintain social distancing outside as they were very strict about this inside the supermarket.
Kumar says there is a police officer who is based there to enforce this.
She says they had faced the same problem in their supermarket in Valelevu, but it has been maintained now with the help of their security personnel.
Kumar says they had maintained social distancing inside the supermarket and were only allowing 40 to 45 people at a time.
Carpenters Fiji Limited Director and General Manager, Kunaseelan Sabaratnam says apart from recordings and sanitation exercise being carried out, customers would need to do their part of social distancing.
He says the issue has been the lockdown from the 1st of this month and that is the busy time for the Food Voucher Programme recipients.
Sabaratnam says these recipients have all come out at one time.
Today, people were not practicing social distancing outside two supermarkets in Valelevu and one in Suva while social distancing is being strictly enforced outside Max Value and Extra Supermaket in Flagstaff and Max Value opposite the Suva Market.
We visited these supermarkets this morning.
Legend FM News saw both the young and old not practicing social distancing.
Police officers are present outside these supermarkets and asking people to maintain a 2 metre distance.
The situation in the Valelevu supermarket was the most concerning.
Many of those lining up were elderly people who received their monthly social welfare benefit today.
The line of people stretched for about 100 metres.
Two doctors who work at the Lautoka hospital are the latest cases of COVID-19 in Fiji which means we have 51 active cases.
Another 1,736 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says a 25-year-old female doctor, presented at a screening clinic with COVID-like symptoms.
She then tested positive for the virus.
The second, a 30-year-old male doctor, was tested as part of contact tracing for the first doctor.
Doctor Fong says both doctors have been entered into isolation and their close household contacts have been quarantined.
He says they are early into their investigation, but at this stage the two cases do not appear to have any links to existing cases or events of interest, such as the Tavakubu funeral.
Doctor Fong says while they did work at the Lautoka Hospital, they did not work in the isolation ward where they would have had interaction with COVID-positive patients.
He says we must treat these cases as instances of community transmission until it is proven otherwise.
The Permanent Secretary says all contacts within Lautoka Hospital will be screened, tested, and isolated as appropriate.
He says this is a massive and complex undertaking for the hospital team, and they are providing the support they need.
This includes sending in medical teams from other medical facilities to replace staff who have been identified as close contacts of these cases and stood down to be isolated.
Doctor Fong says they have one advantage as both doctors installed the careFIJI app and had it running.
He says while the contact tracing teams are conducting their work on the ground, a digital net is being cast far and wide for Fijians who may have had contact with these two doctors.
The Permanent Secretary says careFIJI has identified one contact already, and Lautoka is safer for it.
He says while these two doctors responsibly had the app running, they know the effectiveness of the app’s contact tracing function depends on how many other people also had it running on their phones.
Doctor Fong says if you do not yet have the app installed, do it right now, and make sure it is running everytime you leave the house. It will not use data, it will not chew battery but it will save lives.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says in consultation with the Ministry of Education, they are considering re-opening the schools on 24th May 2021 but that judgement depends entirely on Fiji’s COVID situation at that time.
Doctor Fong says he wants parents and students to know that getting our children back in classrooms is an urgent priority for the Ministry.
He says until such time, parents must keep their children at home.
The Permanent Secretary stresses to parents not to bring their children for shopping and not to send them out with friends. He stresses that the children should stay at home.
Doctor Fong also says as they shift into the next phase of containment, they are prioritising non-school isolation facilities so that, once it’s safe, they are ready to resume classes.
He says there is a proven benefit to in-person learning, and every day we delay our student’s return to classes risks long-term harm to our human capital.
Doctor Fong says we contained last year’s outbreak of COVID-19 in 30 days.
It has been 15 days since the confirmation of the case that sparked the outbreak we face today, and he is worried that too many of us think this containment effort will play out on a relatively similar timeline.
He says he very much doubts that it will.
The Permanent Secretary says it could end soon and he hopes it does but the data is telling us a different story.
Doctor Fong says we are not up against an identical enemy this time around, the chains of transmission are more widespread and the variant is more transmissible.
He says the risks are greater, and our response must be more decisive.
He further reveals that his teams are ready for a containment strategy that lasts months, at a minimum.
Every Fijian must be ready as well and good habits such as mask-wearing, covering coughs and sneezes, staying home when sick, proper handwashing, physical distancing, keeping careFIJI on, and limiting movement are not temporary or emergency measures.
He says they will be with us for the foreseeable future as the war against the virus is far from won.
Doctor Fong says they have to test many, many more Fijians in order to get a grip on the spread and stop it.
He says the case numbers may seem low next to the hundreds of thousands being recorded around the world every day but they won’t stay low if we do not act responsibly.
791 of the 877 contacts of the garment factory worker in Kalabu have tested negative in their first test however that could change at any point throughout the 14-day incubation window for the virus.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they have narrowed down the number of work contacts of case 113 from 877 to 771.
They have tested all of these contacts plus some secondary contacts with all 791 testing negative.
Doctor Fong says they continue to investigate whether there are other contacts that need to be screened and tested. These contacts are all under a home quarantine order that will last two weeks from their last contact with case 113.
He says because they have acted quickly to contain these staff, if any do develop the virus, it will be securely detected while they are in quarantine.
Doctor Fong also says there is one reason, above all, as to how they successfully located all of these Fijians. It was because the more than 300,000 people living in Suva and Nausori did their jobs last weekend by staying home.
He also says he had spoken to the Police, and they made only a handful of arrests. Otherwise the streets were clear.
There are currently six large containment areas throughout the country - Suva, Nausori, Lami, Rakiraki, Nadi and Lautoka, and the Health Ministry is not considering rolling back the measures for any of these zones until they have a clearer idea of the risk posed to the public.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the borders of each containment area are highly restricted and movement within the areas should be limited.
He says the virus may be laying in wait within any of these containment areas, time is the only strategy that will expose those cases.
Doctor Fong also reveals that their contact tracing is progressing well elsewhere, with one exception.
They have one team from the Malomalo 7s held on April 16th to 17th at Lawaqa Park Sigatoka that they have not fully accounted for.
He is calling on members of the Lion Heart 7s team that shared a hostel and played with case number 98 to please call 158 right now. It is vital they locate all of their players and any other persons who closely interacted or travelled with the team.
Doctor Fong says after a full 14-days of quarantine since their exposure, the three from Moturiki have all returned four consecutive negative test results for COVID-19.
The lockdown of the island has been lifted however, as is the case with all the rural and maritime communities, they encourage families on Moturiki to stay where they are, stay at home, and limit their movement as much as possible. Doctor Fong also says now that the markets are open, we need shop owners and customers to avoid turning them into dangerous hotspots for further transmission.
Please ensure that physical distancing is practised, everyone is wearing a mask, and that everyone has the careFIJI app installed and turned on.
Fiji has 51 active cases of COVID-19 in isolation.
16 of the cases are border quarantine cases and 31 are locally transmitted cases.
The Health Ministry’s Head of Health Protection Doctor Aalisha Sahukhan says four cases are under investigation to determine the source of transmission.
She says in total Fiji has had 121 cases of COVID-19, 68 recoveries and two deaths since the first case was recorded on March 19th 2020.
Doctor Sahukhan adds that 54,988 COVID-19 tests have been conducted since they started testing early last year.
She says the daily average is at 978 tests per day over the last 7 days and the weekly average is now at 5,995 tests per week over the last two weeks.
Doctor Sahukhan revealed that a record 1,736 tests were conducted yesterday alone.
She says testing numbers from the labs at CWM and Lautoka Hospitals have not been received so the number will actually be higher.
The couple who returned to Fiji from India on 10th April and had tested positive for COVID-19 are still in isolation.
This has been confirmed by Health Ministry's Head of Health Protection Doctor Aalisha Sahukhan who says that so far the only people that have been released are the three recovered cases but the couple is still not discharged.
The soldier who was case 73 had contracted the virus from this couple.
Doctor Sahukhan says they will not be revealing any other information about the recovered patients as the last thing they want is for the communities to wait for them and victimise them even further.
She stressed that we are fighting the virus and not the people.
The Health Ministry’s Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu says their mass targetted screening is continuing in the restricted zones and the cumulative total that have been covered in this clinic is 218,400 people.
He says the coverage range of the communities is from 70 to 100%.
Doctor Tudravu says they acknowledge the support of the communities who have come forth and helped their teams.
He adds they have people coming with food, water, raincoats and umbrellas.
Doctor Tudravu adds there are 55 active stationary screening clinics throughout the country.
He says in the last 24 hours, they screened 410 individuals and swabbed 100 individuals.
Doctor Tudravu revealed 27,800 have gone through their stationary clinic.
He says the last few cases were diagnosed in these clinics.
Doctor Tudravu also says that mobile widespread community screening continues.
He says in the last 24 hours, they covered 2,240 individuals and swabbed 334 individuals.
The screening program continues.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says the food assistance provided in the Suva-Nausori lockdown zone over the weekend was run by the Ministry of Economy and was government-funded.
Dr Fong says they only assisted in the program.
He says the exact details of the deliveries that were made as well as plans for any future distribution will be provided by the Ministry of Economy tomorrow.
Dr Fong also says the ministry did not have enough time to prepare for a lockdown and they will need to have a discussion with other ministries to be better prepared if the need for another lockdown arises.
The Permanent Secretary says if they had enough time, they would have recruited a broader group of people including the NGOs to work with them.
He adds they have learnt some lessons after this.
Dr Fong has one again stressed that they ran this program for those in the lockdown area because people could not access supermarkets or shops and adds the assistance is no longer in place.
No amount of negative comments on social media will stop Claudette Wilson and Loraini Tabu from doing their duty and providing critical information from the COVID-19 press conferences to the members of the deaf community.
Wilson and Tabu have become familiar faces next to the Permanent Secretary for Health Dr. James Fong when he makes daily critical announcements in relation to the current COVID situation in Fiji.
Unfortunately, these two women who are heroes for what they are doing, have been attacked and ridiculed by some on social media for their expressions which are critical for members of the deaf community.
In an interview with fijivillage, Wilson says they have received so many negative comments however they are also grateful to those people that are providing them with positive comments and encouraging them.
She also says if Dr.Fong has a stern face it has to show on her face as well because the deaf community have to get the same message.
Tabu says the only thing that matters for her is the feedback that comes from the deaf community because she is providing them the message.
The two women have been working with the deaf community for more than 15 years.
Please send them uplifting and positive comments for their great service, and denounce those uncalled-for negative comments.
The Reserve Bank of Fiji says while progress has been made on the vaccination front considering that over 50,000 Fijians have received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the recent locally transmitted cases and subsequent containment measures will further prolong the already subdued economic activity.
The RBF says sectoral performances remained mixed up to March.
Visitor arrivals are down by 97%, electricity declined annually by 13.4% and mahogany production by 27% annually, the latter of which was due to a halt in production earlier in the year.
However, the pine industry noted a boost in production for pine logs by 151.8%, woodchip by 92.7% and sawn timber by 21.6% on the back of increased demand.
Gold production also picked up over the year by 17.5% owing to better-quality ore grade mined.
The RBF says over the month, improvements were noted in all sectors.
The Reserve Bank of Fiji says investment and consumption activity remained weak in the first three months of the year, indicating subdued confidence amidst continued economic uncertainty.
However strong growth was noted in second-hand vehicle registrations by 122.2%, driven in part by the budgetary changes around vehicle imports.
Consumption indicators in the country declined over the year as reflected by the drop in net VAT collections by 27.8%, new consumer credit by 24.1%, new vehicle sales by 17.8% and registration by 17.2%.
Partial investment indicators such as domestic cement sales dropped by 8.4% and new investment lending by 25.8% also declined annually.
Job advertisements declined over the year by 75.8% in March, driven by reduced recruitment intentions across most major sectors.
This was corroborated by the annual fall in net compulsory Fiji National Provident Fund membership by 64% over the same period.
Meanwhile, assistance from the Government and the FNPF via the COVID-19 withdrawal scheme continues.
In April, the FNPF support was extended to provide relief for mortgage payments and members affected by the recent lockdown measures.
Excess liquidity in the banking system surged past the $1 billion mark in March and is currently more than adequate at $1.451 billion.
The Reserve Bank of Fiji says investment and consumption activity remained weak in the first three months of the year, indicating subdued confidence amidst continued economic uncertainty.
However strong growth was noted in second-hand vehicle registrations by 122.2%, driven in part by the budgetary changes around vehicle imports.
Consumption indicators in the country declined over the year as reflected by the drop in net VAT collections by 27.8%, new consumer credit by 24.1%, new vehicle sales by 17.8% and registration by 17.2%.
Partial investment indicators such as domestic cement sales dropped by 8.4% and new investment lending by 25.8% also declined annually.
Job advertisements declined over the year by 75.8% in March, driven by reduced recruitment intentions across most major sectors.
This was corroborated by the annual fall in net compulsory Fiji National Provident Fund membership by 64% over the same period.
Meanwhile, assistance from the Government and the FNPF via the COVID-19 withdrawal scheme continues.
In April, the FNPF support was extended to provide relief for mortgage payments and members affected by the recent lockdown measures.
Excess liquidity in the banking system surged past the $1 billion mark in March and is currently more than adequate at $1.451 billion.
Three people were arrested while drinking alcohol at Suva Point while a 25-year-old taxi driver and a 32-year-old man are arrested after swimming across a creek from Omkar in Narere to Nakasi.
Three men in their 20’s from different households were found drinking kava in Ra.
Acting Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu says alcohol and drinking kava continues to be linked to breach of health restrictions and curfew orders as six of the eight cases recorded over the last 24 hours were found drunk.
Tudravu says members of the public are advised to refrain from social gatherings and unnecessary movement as Police will arrest those that breach the condition.
Many people could still be spotted walking around Suva without masks this morning.
We saw both the young and old walking with masks in their hands at the Suva Bus Stand.
They only put on their masks when they were about to enter the bus.
A number of people were wearing their masks like mouthguards in the CBD area in Suva.
While there are people not following the guidelines, majority of the people we saw this morning are wearing masks the right way and practicing social distancing in Suva.
200 families who are in home quarantine in Lautoka have received food assistance from FRIEND Fiji.
The Commissioner Western's Office received these food rations from the Founder and CEO of FRIEND, Sashi Kiran and has distributed it to 44 communities in Lautoka.
Kiran says those families who have no food at all and have no other means of income can contact 8983183 if they live in Lautoka and 8983181 if they live in Nadi to get this assistance.
She says they also have google forms available on their facebook page.
Kiran says as people are filling this form, their people are organizing, calling and assessing the families for the food to be dropped off.
Kiran says some families in quarantine in Lautoka and Nadi have been isolated for more than two weeks now without any food assistance.
She adds this includes about 21 families who live in a squatter settlement in an urban area and they have nothing.
If you want to assist FRIEND Fiji, you can contact them on 8983183 or friend@connect.com.fj.
Non-essential businesses outside of the current containment areas in Suva, Nausori, Nadi and Lautoka areas can now operate.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong confirms they made this decision late yesterday because their contact tracing response seems so refined.
Doctor Fong says he had received a lot of requests from these businesses but could only make the decision after they had another look at their screening and containment program.
The Land Transport Authority has confirmed that the Defensive Driving Course is suspended for now due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The course is a mandatory requirement before drivers with provisional licenses are given their full license.
This comes as a driver in Nadi raised concerns that he was turned away from the Nadi office when he had gone to his exam.
LTA says the course is a very important part of their safe driving curriculum and due to its nature of requiring candidates to be physically present in a class, classes have been suspended to adhere to COVID-19 safety measures.
They say candidates will be notified on when they will be able to reschedule the course and those who need to sit for it will be given first priority once the course resumes.
Social distancing is now being strictly enforced at the same Valelevu supermarkets which failed to strictly enforce the COVID-safe guidelines yesterday.
We have also noticed that the number of people in supermarkets this morning is significantly smaller compared to yesterday.
Fijivillage visited four supermarkets in Nasinu and four in Suva today.
Please wear a mask, social distance and install the careFIJI app on your phone and turn it on if you are making an essential run to the supermarket.
The Association of Banks in Fiji has donated $20,000 to the Ministry of Health in contact tracing efforts and containment of the coronavirus.
President Rakesh Ram says they commend Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr James Fong for his continuing effort, good work and dedication to lead the team in protecting all Fijians from the deadly virus.
He further says they appreciate the efforts of all front-line staff putting themselves at risk and fully supports the Ministry of Health in its attempt to bring life back to normalcy for the people of Fiji.
Ram adds they encourage all Fijians to stay safe and get back to basics: stay home, practice social distancing, always wash your hands and wear a mask.
98 contacts of the two Lautoka Hospital doctors who had tested positive for COVID-19, have been identified, and many of these contacts are their colleagues who work at the same hospital, including doctors and nurses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the two doctors worked closely together, so the Health Ministry is quite sure one passed the virus to the other.
But he says individually, they both came into contact with many others.
He says as per protocol, these Fijians must be entered into two weeks of quarantine.
Doctor Fong says this has seriously affected their staffing capacity, particularly for medical and surgical services.
He says they have re-deployed staff from other facilities to cover these gaps, but it will be a very demanding two weeks of shifts for the staff at the Lautoka Hospital.
The Permanent Secretary says they are confident they can manage.
Some of the other contacts of the two doctors are patients.
Doctor Fong says given that they were seeking treatment for other ailments, they have identified these individuals as particularly high-risk.
All have been identified, swabbed, and entered into quarantine.
He says neither doctor has been directly linked to other existing cases of COVID-19 but their investigation is still in its early phase, and they are not ruling anything out.
Doctor Fong says they are also testing all the staff of the COVID-19 isolation ward.
He says so far, they have identified 20 close contacts through the careFIJI app that the two doctors had running on their mobile phones.
The app provided that information in a matter of minutes after the doctors uploaded their careFIJI information. Doctor Fong has again encouraged people to download the app and ensure that the phone’s Bluetooth is turned on to make the ministry’s contact tracing as effective and efficient as possible
He also credited the digitalFIJI team for this app’s development as the widespread adoption of careFIJI simply takes the contact tracing team’s work to another level of their effectiveness and efficiency.
Meanwhile the screening and testing continues.
Doctor Fong says 7 COVID-19 patients have recovered while 44 patients remains active.
No new COVID-19 cases were announced but Doctor Fong says everyone should continue to follow the COVID safety measures and more cases are likely to be in the country.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says Lautoka may remain a containment area for some time longer after the confirmation of the two Lautoka Hospital doctors getting COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says Lautoka has existed as a containment area now for 16 days and today is day 9 after the recent reset.
He says he knows life in Lautoka is nowhere near normal.
The Permanent Secretary says so far, the contact tracing stemming from these cases is progressing well, and they will make an epidemiological assessment of the cases to determine whether the containment area protocols should continue, and if so for how long.
He says they cannot make that determination at this stage.
If we do happen to contract COVID, we don’t play by a different set of rules.
Those are the words of Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong who says the health officials go into the same isolation wards as everyone else, the same wards that their colleagues are responsible for managing.
He says when it comes to these facilities, please trust they care deeply about seeing them run well.
Doctor Fong says they know it could be them, someone they love, or any of the fellow citizens, all of whom they are sworn to care for, who are in those facilities.
He also says that given that they are in the business of saving lives, please trust that these facilities are equipped to offer the best possible care to those who may develop a severe case of the virus.
Doctor Fong says if you do have COVID, he wants to emphasize again, there is no safer place for you to be than in their isolation facilities.
All 4,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses allocated for Suva have been administered while the Health Ministry is expected to roll out the remaining 20,000 doses through the West by the end of this week.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the vaccine deployment went off without a hitch as high-risk individuals, including the elderly, more frontline healthcare workers, bankers, and taxi, minibus and bus drivers came forward to be protected.
Doctor Fong reminds everyone that getting one dose does not mean you are vaccinated, it takes two on a 10 to 12-week timeline.
He says no one in Fiji is fully vaccinated and all of us must practice strict adherence to our health protection measures until such time that we achieve the full immunity of our eligible population.
Doctor Fong says the day they are able to roll these vaccines out everywhere in Fiji into the arms of every eligible Fijian is the day that lockdowns, like the ones we just endured here in Suva, become all but unnecessary.
He says more doses are on the way, please register online, come forward when you have the chance, and help the ministry take Fiji into the post-pandemic future that is already being embraced around the world.
Meanwhile Doctor Fong says they will be adding four new GeneXpert testing machines to their capacity. That will boost their testing capacity by about 480 tests per day.
He says they have been shattering their daily testing records nearly every day. With these machines at their disposal, they expect that streak to continue.
All members of the Lion Heart 7s team who had participated in the Malomalo 7s have been screened by the Ministry of Health.
The team was an area of concern in contact tracing.
The Health Ministry’s Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu says they are thankful for the team for cooperating with them.
He says currently there are 13 community isolation facilities in the country with about 523 bed capacity and 12 percent occupancy.
Dr. Tudravu further says their screening exercise continues throughout the country and in the last 24 hours their mobile community screening teams screened 10,632 Fijians and 370 were swabbed.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they have asked Police to be on the watch out for people who are not following COVID safety guidelines such as gathering from different households to drink kava and not following social distancing and Police have been able to deal with some people who are not adhering to these guidelines.
Questions have been raised about people living in informal settlements and Public Rental flats like Mead Road Housing where some residents are gathering to drink kava, not wearing face masks and not adhering to social distancing and allowing their children to move around with other children in the neighbourhood.
Doctor Fong says if a significant proportion of the Fijian population is not protecting itself, that puts everyone else in danger.
He says they suspect they may not be able to get to every gathering and he presumes there must be ways that people gather without the authorities noticing.
Doctor Fong says they are hoping to vaccinate the vulnerable people who live close by.
Businesses that do not follow COVID-19 social distancing and 50 percent capacity guidelines will have to close down according to the Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong.
He highlighted this while responding to a question on some supermarkets that are not following COVID-19 guidelines and that it was clearly stated that those businesses that do not follow the guidelines can be shut down as it can be the next super spreader.
He says they will now probably have to get people to patrol it regularly and sort out distancing issues.
Dr Fong says they have tried the soft approach to keep reminding people to follow guidelines, however if it does not happen then they will have to close it down.
People who are living in the Nadi, Lautoka, Suva, Lami and Nausori containment zones and cannot go to work due to the COVID-19 zones in place can now apply for two lots of $45 as a grocery payment as part of a new assistance provided by the government.
They will need to text their name, address, the number of people in their household, and their FNPF account number if there is any.
Those who are already receiving the unemployment benefits are not entitled to this payment.
People who are outside of the containment zone but cannot work as per directive from the Health Ministry can also apply.
Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says they will be finalizing all the technical aspects of it today and will be giving out specific numbers where people can text or call.
Sayed-Khaiyum says they hope to start with the program from Thursday.
He says the government has spoken to the telecommunication companies and they will be using the Vodafone M-Paisa platform and the MyCash platform through Digicel.
The Attorney General says people will receive funds on these platforms and they can either purchase their groceries or take out cash.
He is urging people to use this assistance responsibly.
A total of 4,430 ration packs was distributed to families who ran out of food in the Suva-Nausori lockdown zone over the weekend.
Each food pack had eight items which includes one 10kg rice, 4kg flour, 1kg split peas, 500ml cooking oil, 4 tin fish, 100 gram tea leaves, 2 packets of breakfast crackers and 300 gram packet of milk powder.
The cost of one pack was around $43.50.
Acting Permanent Secretary for Economy Shiri Gounder has thanked all the agencies that provided personnel and vehicles for the distribution such as Vodafone, RFMF, the Fiji Police Force and the Ministry of Health.
Gounder says the distribution was done with proper recording of every household that received the food pack.
He says major distribution was carried out in the Waidamudamu Settlement, Sakoca, Nanuku in Vatuwaqa, Sasawira Settlement, 8 Miles, Nabua, Caubati, Tacirua, Kinoya, Qarase Road, Nakasi, Davuilevu, Vuci Road, Lakena Irrigation Road and Kasavu.
Gounder says they also distributed baby meals and diapers to those who are in need.
He adds they will give the remaining food packs to the Ministry of Health which will be distributed to people who are in home isolation or cordoned off areas.
Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has raised concerns that some people tried to bypass the system.
Sayed-Khaiyum gave a number of examples of the interesting requests that were made.
The Ministry of Health is still investigating the source of COVID-19 for the two doctors from Lautoka Hospital that tested positive for the virus.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they will be testing every staff that is working inside the isolation facility and see whether there is a link.
He says they are also open to the possibility that the source could be the quarantine facility or the Tavakubu funeral.
Meanwhile, 98 contacts of the two Lautoka Hospital doctors who had tested positive for COVID-19 have been identified and many of these contacts are their colleagues who work at the same hospital, including doctors and nurses.
Fiji National Provident Fund members who applied for Phase 2 Round 5 of the COVID-19 relief assistance will receive their payment today.
Chief Operating Officer, Pravinesh Singh confirms there have been issues with their system being slow and this has caused a delay in the payment for these members.
Singh says the issues have been resolved and they have put in place measures that will ensure that it is not repeated with future payments.
He has apologised to members for the delay in the release of their Cycle 3 payment but assures members they should be able to access their funds today.
The payment scheduled for yesterday affects members whose Phase 2 Round 5 applications have been approved up to 29th April 2021.
30 cases were recorded over the last 24 hours for breach of curfew and health restrictions which includes 11 people arrested for gathering in a church at Nadevo village in Navosa.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu says the Western Division recorded 24 cases whereby nine people were found to have breached the health restrictions by crossing the Vakabuli lockdown point from Ba to Lautoka while four people who do not live together were arrested in Rakiraki for drinking grog.
Tudravu says in the Southern Division, five reports were recorded including two juveniles who were allegedly crossing the containment zone from Nakasi to Narere.
He says three others were found loitering during curfew hours in the Raiwaqa and Narere area.
Tudravu says the lone case recorded in the North involved a 53-year-old man who was found driving without a valid reason in Labasa Town during curfew hours.
There were no cases of breach of curfew and health restrictions recorded in the Central and Eastern Divisions.
Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the funding they receive from other countries helps cushion the blow with respect to our revenue collection.
Fijivillage had asked Sayed-Khaiyum whether some of the discussions with donor countries is underway after the effect on businesses and revenue collections following the necessary COVID-19 containment zones.
He says when there is a containment zone and some businesses do not open, it impacts government’s revenue collection because the staff do not get paid or there is a reduction in their salary.
Sayed-Khaiyum adds these things are looked at in the budget.
The Attorney General says they can adjust the deficit by the funding they may receive because the good development partners understand what is happening.
He says another way is to tighten the expenditure to make sure that everything which is budgeted for is met.
Serious concerns have been raised by some people residing at Public Rental Board Housing that some tenants are still disregarding the COVID-19 guidelines. Fijivillage received calls that people from different flats are socialising with their neighbours over grog or just a talanoa session and children are being neglected by some parents as they are seen playing.
They also say Police should conduct their rounds in the area to stop this from happening. Minister for Housing and Community Development, Premila Kumar says her Ministry has written to the management of both the Public Rental Board and HART homes emphasizing the importance of adhering to social distancing practices and other safety measures.
She says the PRB management has confirmed that they have advised all tenants to strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s advice and stay indoors.
Kumar says PRB has also confirmed that estate and block committees have been encouraged to ensure that tenants adhere to the guidelines.
She adds the people also have an important role to play in this and without their understanding and support, it is hard to overcome the spread of the virus.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they suspect they may not be able to get to every gathering and he presumes there must be ways that people gather without the authorities noticing.
He says they have asked Police to be on the watch out for people who are not following COVID safety guidelines and Police have been able to deal with some people who are not adhering to these guidelines.
Doctor Fong says they are hoping to vaccinate the vulnerable people who live close by.
Serious concerns have been raised that people are using other routes to cross from one containment area to another, however Police had earlier stated that they are now monitoring the cross-cuts at the containment zone borders.
We received calls from people residing in the Nausori Containment Area that villagers from Naitasiri and those living beyond the Logani Village border are using Baulevu Road and Kasavu to cross over.
Also, people living in Narere have told us that some people are crossing over from the Suva Containment Area to the Nausori Containment Area by using the cross-cut at Navosai.
Meanwhile, Police say they are monitoring cross-cuts but they cannot be everywhere to monitor each person's movement and they will need the assistance of the people in this case.
Police are urging people to call their Command Centres or their nearest Police Station if they see anyone breaching the COVID-19 guidelines in their area. People can call their Command Centres on 9905-457 for the Western Division, 9905-529 for the Southern Division, 9905-722 for the Northern Division and 9905-563 for the Eastern Division.
Please do not try to cross the containment zone borders as the risk of the spread of the virus is very high.
Lyndhurst Group of Companies says their factory at the Kalabu Tax Free Zone did not defy the Ministry of Health business shut down order from Monday, 26th April as was suggested by a journalist during the press conference on Monday 3rd May.
In a statement the CEO of the company Rokoseru Nabalarua says work on their factory floor ceased as directed by the Fijian Government on Sunday 25th April and by Monday 26th April, all their employees including their factory workers and patient number 113 were directed not to come to work.
Nabalarua further says after applying and obtaining official permits from the Fiji Police Force on Monday 26th April and the Ministry of Health on Wednesday 28th April, less than 3% of their employees who are classified as critical workers which included internal security officers were at work that week to complete urgent administrative and operational matters before the Ministry of Health ordered a complete shutdown on Thursday, 29th April, and they have been adhering to the mandatory 14-day isolation period at their respective homes ever since.
He adds they also want to correct the inaccuracies reported in one of the newspapers on Tuesday, 4th May that a staff member from one factory was fraternizing with a staff of a neighbouring factory.
Nabalarua says the fact of the matter is that their staff member and a staff member of a neighbouring factory share the same home and work bus.
Nabalarua says they would like to express its utmost thanks and gratitude to all the frontline workers who have been working hard over the recent weeks in the all-important and life-saving fight to contain and free the country of COVID-19.
The Ministry of Defence, National Security and Policing, Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management, and the Ministry of Health has received 35,000 dollars worth of grocery vouchers for their front-line workers from Shop N Save Supermarkets.
While making the announcement, Director of Shop N Save Supermarkets, Nisheel Deo says they thank the front-liners for their hard work and hope the vouchers will be of great assistance.
Minister for Defence, National Security and Policing, Inia Seruiratu says we are in a very challenging time and we are all in this together.
Seruiratu says they are thankful for the assistance and assures that the vouchers will be used for the front-liners.
Health Minister, Dr. Ifereimi Waqainabete says donations such as these are helpful in terms of being able to support the front-line staff.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama continues to be part of the daily COVID Task Force meeting at the Health Ministry Headquarters and Health Minister, Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete says this is a whole of government effort based on science #TogetherWeWill.
He has tweeted that it is always a pleasure to have the Prime Minister join them daily for his brief.
Doctor Waqainabete says their Health Ministry Leadership joins via zoom across Fiji and are encouraged daily during these briefing sessions.
He says in addition, other Cabinet Ministers and Permanent Secretaries zoom in as well.
Army Commander, Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto and Acting Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu have also been attending the briefings.
Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says it is quite disconcerting that you have certain people in public life who think that it is fine to attack people personally and he says they do not realize what would happen if their families would be involved too.
While responding to a question in a press conference on an email being circulated by Lynda Tabuya that Sayed-Khaiyum brought the Indian variant of COVID to Fiji, a concerned Sayed-Khaiyum says this matter is being personalised and he also says a bit of decency, decorum, finesse and class is required.
When questioned by Fijivillage on the email and Sayed-Khaiyum’s comments, Tabuya says the Attorney General can call her a nincompoop and belittle her for having no health experience, qualifications or acumen, but she says frankly neither does he.
Tabuya says the email in question was private, and not for public consumption and while she says she knows who the SODELPA snitch is that leaked it to a newspaper outlet, the subject matter of the email is of great importance as are the questions which go straight to the question of trust.
She asks why have certain locals been permitted to travel to and from India since the deadly Indian variant was discovered and was the Attorney General on the same flight from Singapore as the couple who had this deadly Indian variant.
Tabuya says Fijians deserve answers to these questions rather than being thrown scraps of selective information.
Four new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed after another 2065 tests.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says one case is extremely serious.
He says the patient, case 125, is a 53-year-old man who was admitted to the Lautoka Hospital on the 19th of April 2021 for a surgical procedure.
The procedure was performed successfully however on the 28th of April, he developed some respiratory symptoms.
Doctor Fong says on the 29th of April, he was seen by case 120, the 25-year-old doctor at Lautoka Hospital.
The Permanent Secretary says the man was asked to be swabbed for COVID-19 however he refused on two occasions.
The doctor developed symptoms on May 1st, and tested positive yesterday.
Doctor Fong says on the 2nd of May, the same patient was assessed by case 121, the 30-year-old doctor from Lautoka Hospital.
He says they know that this doctor, case 121, had tested negative for the virus on April 26th, he tested positive yesterday as part of contact tracing for case 120, and his results indicate he very recently caught the virus.
Early today, the patient’s condition began deteriorating.
He was moved into an intensive care unit and swabbed for the virus. Barely four hours ago he tested positive for COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says his condition will be discussed more with his family before any public announcement.
The Permanent Secretary says the man’s described timeline and the recent deterioration in his condition indicate he is likely a late-stage carrier of the virus.
Doctor Fong says they suspect that this patient, who is case number 125, transmitted the virus to the doctors, not the other way around.
He says they do not know when or where this patient contracted the virus as it could have been from outside or within the hospital.
The other local case is a 27-year-old woman who resides in Narere.
She entered quarantine on 28th April 2021 as a contact of one of the cases from Makoi.
Further investigations revealed that, during a family gathering on April 17th, she also had close contact with another case from Makoi.
Doctor Fong says she was confirmed as positive for COVID-19 this morning.
He says that gathering is now potentially the source point of three cases.
Doctor Fong says it was only a small family gathering with members from a few different households, but that was more than enough to have national ramifications.
He says it is why one of the first and most important health measures they introduced was to limit gatherings, of all sizes, everywhere in Fiji. The members of the Narere woman’s household have also been in quarantine from 29th April.
He says all have tested negative for COVID-19 at this time.
Doctor Fong says unfortunately, she did not have the careFIJI app installed, so they are relying entirely on the traditional contact tracing methods.
He says if she had the careFIJI app and had kept it on, this could all happen much faster.
The Permanent Secretary says with more than 250,000 downloads, careFIJI is rapidly being widely adopted across Fiji but on behalf of the contact tracers, Doctor Fong says he won’t stay quiet about the need for more downloads of the app until that number surpasses 600,000, which is the number of smartphones in Fiji.
There were two border quarantine cases.
These are both soldiers returning from their tours of duty as peacekeepers in Sinai.
Lautoka Hospital is now a tightly contained COVID care facility, with more than 400 patients, doctors, nurses, and other staff effectively quarantined within the hospital until the Health Ministry can determine who else may or may not have had contact with the 53-year patient who had tested for COVID.
Doctor Fong says from a statistical standpoint, Intensive Care Unit cases, like the one we now have at Lautoka Hospital, maybe a red flag for widespread transmission.
He also says that it tells us that there are likely many more cases of the virus out there.
Doctor Fong says they have dreaded a worst-case scenario such as this since the day of our first case in March of last year. He says those months of planning have informed an immediate whole-of-government course of action.
He says to prevent the hospital from becoming ground-zero for a wider outbreak, the members of the disciplined forces have locked down Lautoka Hospital in a matter of hours.
Some staff who have left the hospital have been called back in.
RFMF personnel and members of the Police have ring-fenced the entire hospital and will strictly manage who is allowed onto the premises.
The Lautoka Hospital will be closed to the public, all medical services will be re-routed to a network of back-up hospitals in Nadi, Ba, and Sigatoka, as well as the Punjas and Kamikami health centres in Lautoka.
He says the borders of the containment areas are open to those travelling for medical emergencies, so this can already be facilitated.
Doctor Fong says given they expect more cases, and more severe cases, sections within the Lautoka Hospital are being converted into intensive care units which will house additional beds and ventilators.
The staff of Lautoka Hospital will be accommodated and work within the hospital while contact tracing continues.
The staffing capacity in Lautoka Hospital was already stretched due to the quarantine of the close contacts of the two doctors.
He says those who are working will operate on high-alert, fully-equipped in the proper personal protective equipment.
They will be screened regularly and tested often.
Doctor Fong says they are going to provide the staff with any and all support that they need.
He says they will provide food, supplies, bedding, and whatever they require. The Permanent Secretary also says there is going to be a lot more swabbing around Lautoka.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they can confirm that the first COVID-19 case of unknown origin in Ra had the virus which is genetically identical to other local cases, and it is the same B1.617 variant that was first detected in India.
Doctor Fong says they have received the genomic sequencing result from the Microbiological Diagnostic Unit at the Peter Doherty Institute in Melbourne with regards to the Ra case.
He says while they have not established a direct person-to-person link to other local cases, they know that this case is linked to the others, and is within the same cluster that links back to the border quarantine facility.
The two soldiers who are the latest border quarantine cases are a 33-year-old and a 46-year-old who returned from peacekeeping duties from Sinai on the 27th of last month.
The Head of Health Protection Dr Aalisha Sahukhan says they tested positive during routine testing while undergoing mandatory quarantine in a quarantine facility.
Sahukhan says 9 more patients have recovered.
Fiji currently has 39 active cases, 8 are border quarantine cases, 28 are locally transmitted cases while 3 cases are under investigation.
Sahukhan further says 58,321 lab tests have been conducted while the daily testing average is 1,281.
The man admitted to the Lautoka Hospital Intensive Care Unit yesterday for a severe illness due to COVID-19 has sadly passed away.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this is Fiji’s third reported death due to the coronavirus, and this is our first death for a person who had contracted the virus locally.
Doctor Fong says the 53-year-old man was admitted at Lautoka Hospital since April 19th, when he was admitted for a surgical procedure.
The patient was transferred to the ICU yesterday afternoon after his condition began deteriorating, and it was at this time that he was swabbed and tested positive for the virus.
He says unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the ICU team, he passed away just a few hours later with time of death at 6.35pm.
Doctor Fong says they had learned of this man’s passing before the press conference last night, but they chose to delay making the official announcement to the public until his family members could be properly informed.
He says nobody should learn about the death of a loved one on the news or on social media if that can be avoided.
They stand by the decision to allow them a window of privacy before the passing of their loved one was announced to the nation. Doctor Fong says as this case has shown, the virus can attack anyone, and with devastating consequences.
He urges the public to show concern and sympathy for all people who become infected.
The Permanent Secretary also urges the public once again to get tested if there is even a small chance you may have been exposed to the virus, to cooperate fully with the contact tracing teams, and to observe the practices that will keep us all safe.
Fijivillage also respected the privacy of the family members and ensured that the next of kin of the man was properly notified.
We are making the announcement after the official confirmation by the Permanent Secretary for Health.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says there are about 100 or so patients at the Lautoka Hospital and they have enough staff to look after those patients.
The Lautoka Hospital is now a tightly contained COVID care facility, with more than 400 patients, doctors, nurses, and other staff effectively quarantined within the hospital until the Health Ministry can determine who else may or may not have had contact with the 53-year old patient who had tested for COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says the COVID-19 Ward at the Lautoka Hospital still remains active and the staff working in that ward will stay there.
He adds the rest of the staff will do shift work to care for the rest of the patients.
He says they also want to expand to an area that they have opened up to take in anymore people in the Lautoka Hospital that get COVID-19.
There are 13 community isolation facilities that remain open and are currently occupied by COVID-19 positive patients.
This has been confirmed by the Health Ministry's Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu who says these facilities are being looked after by health officials and RFMF soldiers.
Doctor Tudravu says today they anticipate to discharge more than 300 people who came in repatriation flights.
He says 58 stationary screening clinics have been operating through the country and within the last 24 hours 4,598 Fijians have been screened and 626 have been swabbed.
Police are on the ground enforcing social distancing at the Tilak High School COVID-19 vaccination centre in Lautoka after hundreds of people turned up to get vaccinated from this morning.
Social distancing was not being followed earlier in the day.
Some people had contacted Legend FM News, saying Lautoka is already an area of concern, and this can just make matters worse.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says he has spoken to Police and they will ensure the COVID guidelines are strictly followed.
Please avoid crowds as they can become super spreaders.
Maintain your social distancing, keep your mask on, ensure your careFIJI app is running and wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser.
A 16-year-old student from Rokara Settlement in Khalsa Road has been arrested after he was trying to cross the border in Wainibuku near the Rups Nakasi.
53 people have been arrested in the last 24 hours for breaching health restrictions and curfew orders.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu says 44 cases were linked to either alcohol or kava.
He says the Southern Division recorded 34 cases including 9 people who were found drunk at the Laucala Beach area as well as two others who were arrested at Viwawa in Navua for being intoxicated.
Tudravu further says 2 men were found drunk in Tacirua during curfew hours while a 28-year-old man was arrested in Nabua after he was found loitering.
6 men from Tuirara in Makoi and 8 people from Narere were arrested as they were found drunk and breaching health restrictions in place.
A 35-year-old man was found driving without a pass during curfew hours in Nabua.
Tudravu says the Eastern Division recorded 9 cases including 4 people who were found drinking inside a vehicle along the Bau Road area, 3 were arrested for drinking kava in the Baulevu area while two farmers of Vunidawa were found drunk along Serea Road in Naitasiri during curfew hours.
The Acting Police Commissioner adds 7 people were found intoxicated in Naduri Village in Macuata while 3 other cases were recorded in Lautoka for breach of curfew.
Tudravu says they remind people that Police will continue to arrest those that do not adhere to the instructions and advisories issued.
Police say they support the Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong’s statement that it is not necessary for a driver to wear a mask while travelling alone however it is vital for drivers of public service vehicles to wear masks.
This follows concerns raised by some private vehicle drivers who were being stopped by officers at the Vatuwaqa checkpoint and asked to wear their mask although the driver was alone in the vehicle with the windows up.
Police spokesperson, Savaira Tabua says the officers in Vatuwaqa have been advised about the statement by the Permanent Secretary for Health.
Police also encourage people to wear masks irrespective of which places they are in.
A mother of two who is a ward assistant at the Lautoka Hospital and is now confined at the hospital for an indefinite period of time says they all have to just go through this phase to keep their loved ones safe at home.
The 45-year-old woman who wants to remain anonymous says she started her shift at 11am yesterday.
The woman who resides in a settlement outside Lautoka City has two children and a husband at home.
She says they were told yesterday afternoon that Lautoka Hospital is on lockdown and they will have to remain there.
She says she initially could not believe what she heard from the officials and it was hard for her to relay this message to her family members, however, she knows the step taken was for the betterment of all as the danger is real and they cannot put the lives of their loved ones and others at risk.
The woman says she later spoke to her loved ones at home and also asked them to pack a bag of clothes that was picked by health officials.
She says she barely slept last night as there is a lot of fear in the hospital, however being a frontline worker, they have to be ready for this kind of situation.
The Lautoka Hospital is now a tightly contained COVID care facility, with more than 400 patients, doctors, nurses, and other staff quarantined within the hospital until the Health Ministry can determine who else may or may not have had contact with the 53-year old patient who had tested for COVID-19.
Fiji Airways and Fiji Link have extended flight cancellations in light of the continued movement restrictions in Fiji.
All domestic Fiji Link passenger flights have been cancelled until 16th May 2021 while all international Fiji Airways passenger repatriation flights into and out of Fiji have been cancelled until 18th May 2021.
The airline company says dedicated freighter services will continue to ensure vital export and import supply chains for Fiji remain intact.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu says anyone not following the two metres distancing inside or outside the supermarket in any containment area will be arrested.
Tudravu says officers will closely be monitoring businesses and all employees and customers to wear face coverings to enter their premises.
He says it is also vital for every driver of a Public Service Vehicle and the travelling passengers who are 5 years of age or older to wear masks and minibus drivers are to ensure that all passengers in the minibus are physically distanced from each other.
Parents and guardians are to monitor their children and advise them of restrictions in place and also remind every family member that to stay in their containment zone and not enter another containment zone.
Those living within a containment zone may only travel for employment, accessing services provided by an essential business, or an emergency.
Tudravu says members of the force will ensure that all these restrictions are enforced and followed in all containment zones including Suva, Lami, Nausori, Nadi, and Lautoka.
The Acting Commissioner says they are strengthening enforcement of the public health measures as published in the gazette.
He says these urgent actions are targeted at ensuring Fijians adhere to the instructions as stipulated under the Public Health Act. Tudravu says it was noticed that some people still do not adhere to the instructions and this has forced the institution to enforce restrictions on the ground from tonight and take those to task who still do not comply.
According to the government gazette signed by Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong, any person in a queue in Viti Levu must be at least 2 metres away from any other person in the queue, with effect from 22nd April 2021.
Except for a gathering in the course of employment or a funeral gathering not exceeding 20 persons, any gathering is banned for the whole of Fiji, with effect from 22 April 2021; and any contact sports engagement is banned for the whole of Fiji.
Gathering means any assembly of individuals in a single location and includes meetings, religious gatherings such as church, mosque and temple services, and sports events, weddings, parties and concerts.
Any owner of a public service vehicle in a containment zone must ensure that the public service vehicle only operates within the containment zone, with effect from 4am on 3rd May 2021.
This is according to a government gazette signed by Health Minister, Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete.
The gazette also says that any business in a containment zone that is not an essential business must close, with effect from 4am on 3rd May 2021.
A gazette signed off by the Health Minister also says any driver of a public service vehicle, or passenger in a public service vehicle who is 5 years of age or older, must wear a face covering in the proper manner while driving or travelling in the public service vehicle, with effect from 24th April 2021. Any driver of a bus or minibus must ensure that all the passengers are physically distanced from each other.
Any driver of a public service vehicle must limit the passenger capacity of the public service vehicle to 50 percent, with effect from 4am on 26th April 2021.
The gazette also clearly states that any business in Fiji must require its employees, and customers who are 5 years of age or older, to wear face coverings in the proper manner in order to enter the premises of the business, with effect from 24th April 2021.
A 16-year-old student from Rokara Settlement in Khalsa Road has been arrested after he was trying to cross the border in Wainibuku near Rups Nakasi.
53 people have been arrested in the last 24 hours for breaching health restrictions and curfew orders.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu says 44 cases were linked to either alcohol or kava.
He says the Southern Division recorded 34 cases including 9 people who were found drunk at the Laucala Beach area as well as two others who were arrested at Viwawa in Navua for being intoxicated.
Tudravu further says 2 men were found drunk in Tacirua during curfew hours while a 28-year-old man was arrested in Nabua after he was found loitering.
6 men from Tuirara in Makoi and 8 people from Narere were arrested as they were found drunk and breaching health restrictions in place.
A 35-year-old man was found driving without a pass during curfew hours in Nabua.
Tudravu says the Eastern Division recorded 9 cases including 4 people who were found drinking inside a vehicle along the Bau Road area, 3 were arrested for drinking kava in the Baulevu area while two farmers of Vunidawa were found drunk along Serea Road in Naitasiri during curfew hours.
The Acting Police Commissioner adds 7 people were found intoxicated in Naduri Village in Macuata while 3 other cases were recorded in Lautoka for breach of curfew.
Tudravu says they remind people that Police will continue to arrest those that do not adhere to the instructions and advisories issued.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says moving forward they may explore other legislative frameworks to help them in making sure that people who need to be tested for COVID-19 are swabbed.
This is after he revealed that the 53-year-old man who had tested positive for COVID-19 had refused to be swabbed on two occasions.
Dr.Fong says when they are dealing with an invasive procedure and the patient is conscious and can make their own decision, the doctors need to get the consent.
He says if the patient is conscious and refuses to do what they want them to do, they will require a court order.
Dr.Fong further says if the patient is unconscious or cannot make that decision then many times they may assume the responsibility of the patient.
The government multipurpose vessel that is designed to provide both primary and secondary medical services to the maritime islands, MLC Veivueti and its crew will start to deliver medical services in Lautoka from today.
The team is led by Captain Eroni Mateisuva and Chief Engineer, Luke Cama.
This comes after the lockdown of Lautoka Hospital from last night as the Health Ministry tries to determine who else may or may not have had contact with the 53-year patient who had tested for COVID from the hospital.
The Minister for Health Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete also tweeted that a team from Labasa Hospital had crossed over to Viti Levu to help their colleagues in Suva and the West.
Our skeletal MOH team and @Rfmf_Media Medical corps depart on MV Veivueti. Glad to come say thank you and Gods Blessings with our Director FEMAT and MS CWM Dr Luke Nasedra who will be taking the main team by buses. Their equipment has been loaded on MV Veivueti and FPBS Logs. pic.twitter.com/QlwWPzisO9
— Dr I Waqainabete (@Nadokoulu) May 6, 2021
Doctor Waqainabete says they are grateful for these young medical and nursing professionals who have put up their hands to assist.
The Minister also thanked the Medical Superintendent in Labasa Hospital Jaoji Vulibeci for allowing their release and providing continued support.
Four new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed – three are locally transmitted cases while there is one border quarantine case.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the first case is another border quarantine case that had travelled with a border quarantine case announced earlier. One is a 47-year-old nurse at the Raiwaqa Health Centre.
She was swabbed after she reported a slight cough.
After her positive result registered today, the Health Ministry immediately closed the Raiwaqa Health Centre to the public.
Doctor Fong says a contact tracing investigation has been launched, all relevant personnel and patients are being quarantined. The nurse’s household contacts have also been swabbed.
Her 51-year-old husband has also tested positive for COVID-19. He is also a focus of a contact tracing investigation.
The Permanent Secretary says they only identified these two cases late this afternoon, and they do not yet have a clear link of transmission for either case.
The other local case is a 25-year-old nurse working within Lautoka Hospital.
Doctor Fong says this nurse is already in the Lautoka Hospital since last night along with the rest of the hospital’s personnel and patients.
He says after her positive test results, she has been entered into isolation. Investigations are ongoing into how she might have caught the virus. Doctor Fong also says the testing has ruled out a breach of the Lautoka Hospital Isolation Ward after all staff returned negative COVID-19 test results.
He says this is a reassuring affirmation of the operational protocols for their COVID Isolation Ward which must be maintained as the most secure facilities in the country.
However, this news also indicates that the community is the most likely source of the Lautoka Hospital outbreak.
He says in the early phase of their containment strategy, they hoped to break the early chains of transmission quickly by tracing and testing primary and secondary contacts of existing cases.
Doctor Fong says they have always screened carefully for symptomatic cases among the community as well, however, this surge in cases of unknown origin demands that they develop much stronger mechanisms of community surveillance.
He says as their testing capacity steadily increases, they are going to become even more judicious in their testing of all Fijians with COVID-like symptoms, regardless of their connection to existing patients.
But Doctor Fong says the thing about community surveillance is that it requires the community.
He says it requires that all of us are fully invested in the containment of the virus.
The Permanent Secretary says screening clinics can be opened, but it takes the initiative of an ill patient to come forward for the ministry to find them.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says following the worrying spate of cases among our healthcare workers, they are taking urgent steps to prevent more of our health facilities from becoming source points of new COVID outbreaks.
Doctor Fong says their longstanding protocol has been to screen all incoming patients for COVID-19 symptoms and test if necessary at admission. He says this will be strengthened.
They will also be heavily restricting visiting hours at all hospitals and health centres in Fiji to limit mixing between patients, medical personnel, and the general public.
He says this was not an easy decision for the Health Ministry.
Doctor Fong says they have only considered it given the serious threat this virus poses to the people and the ability to offer other forms of life-saving care.
He says with Lautoka Hospital now serving as a full-time COVID care facility, they need every hospital and health centre in the country open and accessible for other critical medical treatments.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says to cater for non-COVID patients, they are setting up a 150-bed Non-COVID Field Hospital in Lautoka.
Doctor Fong says they plan to have this open in 48 hours to handle patients with illnesses that can be treated on a 21-day timeline.
As announced by the Prime Minister, the Fiji Emergency Medical Assistance Team (FEMAT) has been dispatched on the government medical carrier vessel, the MV Veivueti, to support the healthcare management strategy within the Lautoka Containment Area.
The Permanent Secretary says extending from that field hospital will be clear patient care flow pathways that allow for patients to be securely moved to other hospitals and healthcare facilities if necessary.
The Field Hospital will enforce strict COVID screening and security to ensure it is a COVID-free facility, while the Lautoka Hospital remains exclusively a COVID care facility.
To ensure there are no lapses in healthcare services for those looking to visit public hospitals, Doctor Fong says they have been talking to a number of private general practitioners in the Nadi-Lautoka-Ba area to open the doors of their clinics to those Fijians who normally cannot afford to visit a private practitioner.
Government will directly pay the private practitioners for the treatment and consultations provided for such people.
He says under these soon-to-be finalised arrangements, patients who normally go to public hospitals and health centres can access non-COVID treatment or consultations at private clinics in Nadi, Lautoka, and Ba.
Tomorrow, they will be announcing the names of the private doctors who have stepped up in solidarity with the Health Ministry to ensure the people can access the non-COVID care they require.
He has urged other private doctors to call him.
Doctor Fong says contingency plans have also been developed for a range of scenarios, including the need to expand capacity in the event of additional community cases in and outside of Lautoka, a severe weather event, or a COVID-leak in the Field Hospital.
He says this is the first major operation for FEMAT in response to a national disaster and their teams are ready to show the nation what they can do.
The Health Ministry says non-essential businesses outside the containment areas should close.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the opening of these businesses are simply no longer worth the risk.
He says Lautoka and Suva are not the only areas of the country that require vigilance.
Doctor Fong says we now have too many cases of possible community transmission to say, with confidence, that the virus is limited to the containment areas.
He says nationwide, supermarkets, shops, banks, pharmacies, and other essential industries are the only businesses that should open.
Doctor Fong stresses that early society-wide prevention measures can decrease widespread transmission.
Wash your hands often, wear a mask in public, install careFIJI and keep it running every time you leave the home, and maintain physical distance at all times.
He says police have announced today they will be enforcing physical distance in public places and businesses.
If you see a crowd, don’t add to the problem. Stay away.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says if the ICUs become stressed with high numbers of COVID-positive patients, they will be hard-pressed, like other countries with high rates of infection, to fully treat people who need critical care, and it will be too late to prevent a great deal of human suffering.
Doctor Fong says we still have the chance to stop that from happening.
He has asked that households, communities, organisations, and businesses all think seriously about the steps they can take as well.
Doctor Fong says the health guidance they publish is the baseline for the actions and behaviour they expect from businesses and the public.
He says you could save a life, and together, as that commitment carries across the country, all of us can spare Fiji from the further heartbreak of losing more patients to this virus.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr. James Fong says a lockdown is not something you just throw in and then think about what to do, you think about what you will do in a lockdown then you institute a lockdown.
While answering a question whether they will consider doing a lockdown like last weekend, Dr. Fong says they are rounding up all the contacts of the nurse from the Raiwaqa Health Centre and her husband.
He says the curfew starts at 11pm and they do have some opportunity to ensure they get some containment plans, and swab the contacts and get more information till 4am.
The Permanent Secretary adds once they reach that point in time, they will start to work out what else they need to do.
Dr Fong further says personally he would like to see the data and see whether a lockdown will work adding that a lockdown has to serve a purpose.
He says they are aware of the side effects of the lockdown - the social problems associated with it and they do not take it lightly.
Fiji currently has 42 active cases of COVID-19 in isolation.
The Head of Health Protection Dr. Aalisha Sahukhan says 9 are border quarantine cases, 29 are locally transmitted cases and 4 cases are under investigation.
She adds the source of transmission for the recently deceased patient is also still under investigation.
Dr Sahukhan says Fiji has done 60,054 lab tests since last year and the daily average is 1,437 tests.
Meanwhile, Fiji’s new border quarantine case is a 22-year-old Tongan national who was repatriating to Tonga from Guyana. She says the patient arrived in Nadi on the 22nd of last month from Auckland.
Dr.Sahukhan says this was the last inbound commercial passenger flight before inbound international passenger travel was halted.
She further says he is a travelling partner of a previously announced border quarantine case.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says they have protocols in place to separate the positive and negative COVID-19 cases at the Lautoka Hospital.
Fijivillage had questioned Dr Fong if all measures are in place to ensure there is no breakout of cases within the Lautoka Hospital containment area.
The Permanent Secretary says they will also be testing everyone back and forth and people should be tested atleast five times while they are there.
Dr Fong says as they get more positive cases, they will be putting them in isolation.
He says they will continue with this until they get a true segregation between the positives and the negatives.
The Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr James Fong says a whole of government effort is currently in place in response to cases of COVID-19 in the country.
Dr Fong says they had a response and preparedness plan even before February this year that had all necessary details of what would happen as things escalate.
He made these comments when questioned as to what plans are in place if Fiji's public health system is unable to handle an escalation.
Dr. Fong says a number of functional pillars will be gradually activated as things escalate and all these pillars will not only help government but also help their partners to help them.
He says they have even practiced excercises and solidified a lot of protocols during TC Ana and Yasa and reorganised the whole of the health system to have greater outreach capacity, and this was in preparation for the possibility of this particular scenario.
He says the idea to form a Fiji Emergency Medical Response Team was brought up by Health Minister, Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete three years ago and was purposed for this kind of outbreak.
He says this response plan also involves a lot of partners and they will unveil this plan as things escalate.
It has also been revealed that this response plan will get funding support from the European Union, the UK and other donors who will be supporting the response and preparedness effort in the Pacific and Fiji.
Health Ministry teams contact tracing, screening and testing in many parts of the country
Contact tracing, screening and testing are underway in many parts of Viti Levu today as the Health Ministry tries to establish the source points of different COVID-19 cases in the community.
Police are also on the ground ensuring that people are following the gazetted COVID guidelines.
Please stay home and avoid unnecessary movement.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong stresses that when you move, the virus moves.
Police have stressed for people to wear their mask at all times and be reminded to maintain the 2 metres distancing as issued by the Ministry of Health.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu says anyone not following the two metres distancing inside or outside the supermarket in any containment area will be arrested.
Tudravu says officers will closely be monitoring businesses and all employees and customers to wear face coverings to enter their premises.
He says it is also vital for every driver of a Public Service Vehicle and the travelling passengers who are 5 years of age or older to wear masks and bus and minibus drivers are to ensure that all passengers in the bus and minibus are physically distanced from each other.
While answering a question whether they will consider doing a lockdown like last weekend, Dr. Fong says they are rounding up all the contacts of the nurse from the Raiwaqa Health Centre and her husband.
He says the curfew starts at 11pm and they do have some opportunity to ensure they get some containment plans, and swab the contacts and get more information till 4am.
The Permanent Secretary adds once they reach that point in time, they will start to work out what else they need to do.
Dr Fong further says personally he would like to see the data and see whether a lockdown will work adding that a lockdown has to serve a purpose.
He says they are aware of the side effects of the lockdown - the social problems associated with it and they do not take it lightly.
Social distancing floor markings have now been drawn up outside many of the major supermarkets, banks and post offices in the wider Suva area today.
Many of the supermarkets now have people stationed outside to ensure that people are standing on the floor markings.
There are long lines of people outside all the supermarkets in Suva.
This was observed by fijivillage between 10.30am to 11.30am this morning. We have made observations at 11 supermarkets so far and are continuing to check other areas.
Majority of the people walking around Suva can be seen wearing masks.
It was concerning to see the lack of social distancing outside the Suva Market and Fish Markets in the wider Suva area.
While there are SCC officials controlling the number of people that can go inside the market, people are still crowding up in front of vendors outside.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong has assured the public that they are taking all the necessary measures to protect the CWM Hospital and everything they are doing at the moment is based on keeping the hospital safe.
We had questioned him about what is being done to ensure that the situation at the Lautoka Hospital and the Raiwaqa Health Centre is not repeated at the CWM Hospital.
Dr Fong says whatever work the FEMAT team is doing in Lautoka at the moment is to protect CWM and the ministry is also scoping Fulton College to see if they can turn it into a health facility.
He says they are trying to create more capability in the community to keep CWM safe because they have a lot of urgent services at the hospital.
There will be no lockdown for Suva this weekend.
This has been confirmed to fijivillage by Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong.
Doctor Fong says they will strictly enforce the COVID safety guidelines and people will be arrested if they do not follow the measures.
Only essential businesses can open in the country.
The containment areas in Suva, Lami, Nausori, Ra, Nadi and Lautoka remain.
Curfew hours nationwide remain from 11pm to 4am daily.
Contact tracing, screening and testing is underway in many parts of Viti Levu today as the Health Ministry tries to establish the source points of different COVID-19 cases in the community.
Police are also on the ground ensuring that people are following the gazetted COVID guidelines.
Please stay home and avoid unnecessary movement.
Doctor Fong stresses that when you move, the virus moves.
Police have stressed for people to wear their mask at all times and be reminded to maintain the 2 metres distancing as issued by the Ministry of Health.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu says anyone not following the two metres distancing inside or outside the supermarket in any containment area will be arrested.
Tudravu says officers will closely be monitoring businesses and all employees and customers to wear face coverings to enter their premises.
He says it is also vital for every driver of a Public Service Vehicle and the travelling passengers who are 5 years of age or older to wear masks and bus and minibus drivers are to ensure that all passengers in the bus and minibus are physically distanced from each other.
Minister for Defence and National Security Inia Seruiratu says Divisional Commissioners are now identifying non-school facilities that can be used as community isolation centres.
Currently, some schools have been prepared as community isolation facilities however Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong had highlighted earlier in the week that as they shift into the next phase of containment, they are prioritising non-school isolation facilities so that, once it’s safe, they are ready to resume classes.
Seruiratu says there are a lot of other facilities available like community halls and small hotels that can be used as community isolation facilities.
When questioned by when schools are expected to be cleared, Seruiratu says the sooner the better however it will take time to make arrangements and get other facilities ready.
There are 13 community isolation facilities that remain open and are currently occupied by COVID-19 positive patients.
Meanwhile, Fong says in consultation with the Ministry of Education, they are considering re-opening the schools on 24th May this year but that judgement depends entirely on Fiji’s COVID situation at that time.
A 15-year-old boy from Nabitu in Sigatoka was arrested after he crossed the Nadi containment area using a short-cut on horseback while a 58-year-old taxi driver was found carrying four passengers and breached the 50 percent capacity in the process.
63 people have been arrested in the last 24 hours for breaching health restrictions and curfew orders.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu says 57 cases were recorded in the Southern Division where 6 people were arrested for drinking grog in Wailea Settlement in Vatuwaqa, 7 were found drinking alcohol in Veisida, Nasinu while a 41-year-old fisherman was found loitering along Sukanaivalu Road in Nabua during curfew hours.
Tudravu says three people were found gambling at the Laqere Market while a 39-year-old man was found walking along Reba Circle in Nadera during curfew hours.
He says 5 men were found intoxicated in Veiraisi Settlement in Nadera, 6 people were found drinking grog in Kinoya while 5 others were found sitting together along Velau Drive.
Two people were arrested for drinking alcohol in Delainavesi, 3 men were found drunk at Lami High School while a 35-year-old taxi driver was found driving without a valid pass in Naidiri Settlement.
Acting Representative of WHO in the South Pacific, Doctor Akeem Ali says the death of the first locally transmitted COVID-19 patient reminds us all of the real, grave impact this virus can have on individuals, families, communities and the country at large.
He says what this means for us is that there is a challenge to continue to provide essential health and other services in the country and they must really address this very serious public health emergency.
Dr. Ali says Fiji is going in the right direction to try and stamp this virus out and stop the spread any further.
He says there are some tough choices Fiji needs to make right now and they stand behind the Ministry of Health, the government and all partners working tirelessly to contain the virus.
Dr. Ali adds that the quickest way out of this is what we do as individuals, as a community, as families and we all need to play our part where the very simple message remains - stay at home, you have to stop the virus from moving with you or anyone else.
The Health Ministry’s Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu says they anticipate the Fiji Emergency Medical Assistance Team Field Hospitals at the old Government Supplies building in Natokowaqa and Nadovu Park in Lautoka to be operational today.
These hospitals will link with other health facilities in Lautoka, Nadi and Ba hospitals.
A team from the office of the Commissioner Western worked late into the night yesterday to set-up the FEMAT tent in Lautoka.
He further says the Kamikamica Health Centre in Lautoka is temporarily closed for decontamination adding that the Punjas Health Centre is now operational for 24 hours while the Viseisei Health Centre is also operational.
Doctor Tudravu highlighted that the FEMAT Teams are on standby to help the Punjas Health Centre.
He says the Viseisei Health Centre continues to care for pregnant mothers and from Thursday to yesterday they delivered 10 babies.
He has reminded people who go to the health centres that they will be swabbed.
Doctor Tudravu says the Raiwaqa Health Centre will be decontaminated and they expect to re-open it by tomorrow.
[Images: Dr. Waqainabete/Twitter]
The Mokani village COVID-19 screening team have been conducting a food drive to assist villagers who have been severely affected by the recent COVID-19 restrictions.
They have been able to assist four families who have been told by the Health Ministry to self-isolate at home.
The team has also assisted five widows who are living by themselves and are unable to access food and other essentials due to the restrictions.
The donations are from the Mokani community members locally and overseas.
Mokani village in Tailevu is one of the many villages that have set up a screening station at the village entry point.
We have also seen some communities in Suva implementing this to assist in the government's fight against COVID-19.
Community members in Nepani settlement in Nasinu have come together to set-up a screening entry point.
The Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu is stressing that they will only facilitate the movement of those stuck in one containment area and are intending to return to their homes.
The Health Ministry has announced that those on Viti Levu who are currently outside of the containment area they live in will be allowed to return to their homes from 4am today to 11pm tomorrow.
This includes those who are stuck in one containment area but who need to move to another containment area in which they reside and those in a non-containment area who need to move into a containment area.
The Acting Police Commissioner says a lot of rumours are swirling around that anyone can cross the border however all Fijians are to be reminded that only those displaced from their homes when the containment areas were set up across the country and are intending to go back to their places will be facilitated.
He says no unnecessary movement will be allowed.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this is a window for one-way travel only.
Those who enter a new containment area will not be allowed to leave until such time that the containment area borders relax.
Doctor Fong says as you travel, police will be taking contact tracing information at each border point to assist should you be considered a person of interest.
He says he knows there are some people within a containment area who are looking to move to a non-containment area.
For those, the Permanent Secretary says they will work out separate dates for you.
Please note that these movements, once approved, will be limited to Viti Levu.
There are currently six containment areas across Viti Levu: Nadi, Lautoka, Rakiraki, Nausori, Suva and Lami.
People will face the full brunt of the law if they are caught not following the COVID-19 guidelines when moving from one containment area to another containment area or moving from a non-containment area to a containment area.
This was highlighted by the Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong while responding to a question on what measures are in place to look at the risk involved with people crossing containment areas.
Dr Fong says contact tracing details for every person moving will be taken at the border, and if they find that any person made a stopover, they will be taken to task.
The Permanent Secretary had highlighted during his press conference that from 4am today until 11pm tomorrow, those on Viti Levu who are currently outside of the containment area they live in will be allowed to return to their homes.
This includes those who are stuck in one containment area but who need to move to another containment area in which they reside and those in a non-containment area who need to move into a containment area.
He says it will be a one-way travel only and those who enter a new containment area will not be allowed to leave until such time that the containment area borders relax.
Police will be taking contact tracing information at each border point to assist should you be considered a person of interest.
There are 6 Containment Area in Viti Levu which is Lautoka, Nadi, Lami, Suva, Nausori and Ra.
The Health Ministry decides on the length of each containment area on a day to day basis.
This was stressed by the Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong while responding to a question whether they will be extending or ending the containment areas for Suva, Nausori, Nadi and Lautoka since the 14-days comes to an end at 4am Monday.
Dr Fong says he still has the weekend to decide and how many more cases will be identified.
He says they can see their fever clinics are working and they are beginning to get a better picture of what kind of workload they have.
He adds depending on the shape of the fight they have, the duration of containment can lengthen or it can be shortened.
The Health Ministry has confirmed that highly-controlled movement into Viti Levu’s six containment areas will be permitted in private vehicles, taxis and pre-selected buses that operate at half capacity.
It says minibuses will not be allowed to travel across containment area borders.
It is being stressed by the Ministry that all drivers and travellers must wear masks and have the careFIJI contact tracing application installed with Bluetooth turned on.
The Health Ministry says drivers who enter a containment area must drive directly to the place of residence for the traveller, and return to the containment area border once the trip is complete.
It adds that this is one-way travel exclusively available to those who are currently stuck outside of the containment area in which they reside.
The Ministry says this is not a mechanism to allow travel for funerals or other events.
Those who move into a containment area must stay there.
One-way movement will be allowed for individuals in non-containment areas travelling into containment areas as well as individuals residing in one containment area who need to move to another.
The Ministry stresses that movement from containment areas into non-containment areas, however, is not allowed at this time.
Two men in the Central Division were arrested for not wearing masks while four non-essential business operators were also arrested for breaching health restrictions in Lautoka in the last 24 hours.
Acting Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu says fifty people were arrested over the last 24-hours for breaching the health restrictions and curfew orders.
The Western Division recorded fourteen cases including five people who were arrested for drinking grog at Tonuve Village in Keiyasi, two 17-year-old teenagers were found drinking at the Saru area in Lautoka while three men breached the curfew in the Navakai, Dratabu and Lautoka areas.
Of the nineteen cases recorded in the Southern Division, six people were found drunk at Raiwai, three others at Naidiridiri Settlement in Nasinu while six people of Cunningham were arrested for a social gathering.
A 26-year-old carpenter was found drunk along the Nanuku area in Vatuwaqa.
Two market vendors were found loitering during curfew hours at the Rewa Dairy roundabout in Nabua while a 30-year-old security officer was found walking along the Laqere Bridge in Nasinu.
The Northern Division recorded three cases including a 34-year-old salesman of Naodamu who was found drunk during curfew hours while two farmers in their 20’s were found loitering along the Delailabasa area.
12 people were arrested in the Eastern Division and this includes five people of Navuloa in Nakasi who were arrested for a social gathering.
This also includes a juvenile.
Seven people, including a teacher were also found drunk in Korovou Town.
- Doctor Fong says they have no new cases of COVID-19 in Fiji to confirm today.
- This has been confirmed after another 2,206 tests.
- There are currently 37 active COVID-19 cases in the country.
- None of them have severe illness.
- Dr Fong says their contact tracers have spent the last 24 hrs working on the travel history of the 7 cases announced yesterday.
- 15 contacts of the nurse from the Raiwaqa Health Centre have been identified through the careFIJI app.
- Dr Fong says this is yet another reminder that the careFIJI app works.
- As a result of the contact tracing investigation for case 128, the Ministry is asking anyone who attended the Maternal and Child Health Clinic at Raiwaqa Health Centre from April 21st to April 23rd, April 29th to April 30th and May 3rd to May 5th to remain at home and contact 158.
- Dr Fong says they know that rest of the staff at the Raiwaqa Health Centre have tested negative so far and the nurse was wearing a mask at work but those that attended that clinic should still call 158.
- There maybe a need to cordon off certain neighbourhoods and communities as screening zones but so far their testing has not pushed any specific areas past the risk threshold to trigger a lockdown.
- Dr Fong is disappointed that they have already seen people moving from containment zones into non-containment zones.
- This was explicitly forbidden and they are already tracking these people as best as they can.
- It is vital that all these people self-isolate immediately - Dr Fong.
- Of the 37 COVID-19 cases in isolation facilities, 8 are border quarantine cases and 23 are locally transmitted cases.
- 12 patients have recovered.
- 6 cases of COVID-19 are still under investigation to determine the source of transmission
If you attended the Maternal and Child Health Clinic at Raiwaqa Health Centre from April 21st to April 23rd, April 29th to April 30th and May 3rd to May 5th remain at home and contact 158.
This has been stressed by the Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong as contact tracing continues for the nurse from the Raiwaqa Health Centre who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says they know that the rest of the staff in the health centre have tested negative so far, and the nurse was wearing a mask while at work, however, they need anyone who attended the Maternal and Child Health Clinic on those days to call 158.
Ministry of Health's Head of Health Protection, Doctor Aalisha Sahukhan has confirmed that 12 COVID-19 patients have now recovered.
She says this leaves 37 active cases remaining in isolation facilities.
Of these 37 cases, 8 are border quarantine cases, 23 are of local transmission and 6 are still under investigation to determine the source of transmission.
Dr. Sahukhan says Fiji has had 136 cases in total with 96 recoveries now, and three deaths since our first case was detected on March 19th, 2020.
A total of 63,609, COVID-19 tests have been conducted with a daily average of 16,153 tests per day over the last seven days while 2,206 tests conducted yesterday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 15 contacts of the nurse from the Raiwaqa Health Centre have been identified through the careFIJI app.
He says their contact tracers have spent the past 24 hours working through the travel histories of their seven cases announced yesterday.
Dr Fonh says the nurse from Raiwaqa Health Centre had her careFIJI app downloaded and activated.
He says this is another reminder that the app works, and is an important tool in our fight against the virus.
Please download the careFiji app and keep your bluetooth on.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says people who have moved from containment zones into non-containment zones today will need to self-isolate themselves immediately.
He says they are tracking these people as best as they can.
Fong says they had made an accommodation yesterday to allow people on Viti Levu who needed to return to their homes to enter containment areas but they have seen a dangerous abuse of this policy from this morning.
The Permanent Secretary says they have seen one life lost to this outbreak but still, some people are not taking this situation seriously enough.
He has stressed that tightly-controlled movement is allowed so that Fijians can return home if, and only if, they reside in a containment area.
Fong says no other reason for cross-border travel into containment areas is allowed, including for cleaning services, a request they actually received multiple times.
He says he cannot believe some people have the audacity to ask the Ministry about this.
The Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport will be providing transportation for those people who wish to leave a containment area to travel to another containment area today.
This was highlighted by the Health Ministry’s Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu who says there are some requirements and criteria which will be needed to be fulfilled by the people.
He says the buses will operate at 50% capacity to allow for full physical distancing and there will be a limitation of movement inside the bus.
Dr Tudravu says a police officer will be boarding the bus as well and accompanying the bus for the whole journey to ensure that there is no unauthorised stop along the way, and in particular in areas.
He says the buses will be allowed to pick up passengers on their way back from one containment area to another.
He adds the bus driver and passengers are expected to have downloaded the careFIJI app and should be switched on for the whole duration of the trip and this will be checked prior to boarding the bus.
People can access the exact time, and the movement of the buses, company names and where the buses are leaving from the bus station on the Fijian Government website and Facebook page.
The Health Ministry’s Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu says the Fiji Emergency Medical Assistance Team Field Hospitals at the old Government Supplies building in Natokowaqa and Nadovu Park in Lautoka will be operational from today.
Dr Tudravu says their medical teams are providing support and are on standby at the Punjas Health Centre and other facilities that are providing services to the people.
He says Punjas Health Centre will be providing 24-hours general outpatient services supported by their FEMAT Team and Viseisei Health Centre will be providing services for pregnant mothers.
The Health Ministry’s Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu says the Fiji Emergency Medical Assistance Team Field Hospitals at the old Government Supplies building in Natokowaqa and Nadovu Park in Lautoka will be operational from today.
Dr Tudravu says their medical teams are providing support and are on standby at the Punjas Health Centre and other facilities that are providing services to the people.
He says Punjas Health Centre will be providing 24-hours general outpatient services supported by their FEMAT Team and Viseisei Health Centre will be providing services for pregnant mothers.
88% of the Health Ministry’s target population in Raiwaqa have been screened so far.
Health Ministry’s Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu says 39 individuals are in their four community isolation facilities cared for by the Ministry of Health staff as well as the Republic of Fiji Military Forces who are providing security.
He says in the last 24-hours, the 57 operating stationary screening clinics around the country have screened 4,119 individuals and undertaken 528 swabbings which brings the total number of people screened to 48,873 and 7,956 swabbings.
Dr Tudravu says their mobile screening clinics also continue to operate in the Western and Central Divisions where they screened 26,192 individuals and swabbed 614 people.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says his teams are stretched very thin at the moment.
He says even if they all had every hour of the day available, that is still not enough time to send them into every home and community to make doubly sure the COVID-safe measures are being enforced.
He says we wear masks because covering our mouths and noses can impede the virus from spreading.
Doctor Fong stresses masks work best when everyone wears them, and when we still practice good physical distancing.
He says, even so, masks do not make the spread impossible, only less likely.
The Permanent Secretary adds handwashing, as well, is a good habit that kills the virus before it infects you.
He says if you don’t move, the virus cannot move and that is the very reason they enter COVID-positive patients into isolation.
Doctor Fong says they isolate them, they isolate the virus and they stop it from transmitting further.
He stresses that nothing kills this virus faster than when a person simply stays at home
21,657 families in the Nadi and Lautoka containment areas have been assisted with the $90 government assistance.
The government has topped up their MPAiSA and MyCash accounts.
A government statement says this is a total payout of around $2 million.
The Acting Permanent Secretary for Economy, Shiri Gounder confirmed that a total of 27,313 applications have been assessed so far from the Nadi and Lautoka containment areas since applications opened on Thursday.
He says out of this, 5,656 applications did not qualify as these applicants were recipients of the unemployment assistance already being provided by the government in partnership with FNPF.
A total of $286 million has been paid out under this initiative, with $158 million coming directly from the Fijian Government and $128 million withdrawn from FNPF member General Accounts.
Applications for the Nadi and Lautoka containment areas closed at 5pm yesterday.
Affected families in the Lami, Suva, Nasinu and Nausori containment areas can now apply for the $90 government cash assistance.
You can dial *161# to apply for the $90 assistance.
People will need to provide their FNPF number if any; tax identification number, if any; home address; the number of people in the household; and confirm if any other household member has applied for this assistance.
If you prefer the payment to be made in your bank account you also need to provide your account name; bank account number, and name of the bank.
The government says this cash assistance of $90 is provided to affected households and only one individual from each household should apply.
Civil servants are not eligible.
Health Minister Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete says today his thoughts are with all the mothers on the frontline including our healthcare professionals, members of the disciplined forces and other units that are supporting their work.
He says they also know that some are not able to be at home today because they are in quarantine and isolation facilities.
Doctor Waqainabete is encouraging those like him who have lost their mom to spend today to reflect on the good things their mom has done for them.
He says he wants to thank the Ministry of Health staff and those mothers that cannot be with their families today.
The Health Minister says what they are doing is so important.
He adds Fiji is their family and they are protecting us all.
35 arrests for breach of COVID-19 health restrictions was made by Police in the last 24 hours and this includes a 22-year-old man who was arrested in Lautoka for not wearing a mask despite being warned several times.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu says it looks like advisories and instructions continue to fall on deaf ears.
He says police will continue to arrest those not adhering.
Over the last 24-hours, thirty-five cases were recorded.
There were 15 cases in the Western Division, 9 in the Eastern Division, 6 in the Northern Division and 5 in the Southern Division.
An 18-year-old man was found loitering during curfew hours in Lautoka.
Two people were found drinking along Ratu Mara Road in Nabua.
Three fishermen and a 31-year-old man who were all found drunk at Bau landing.
A 42-year-old man and his friend were both arrested in Levuka for breaching the curfew.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says for now, their investigations around new cases in Suva, Nausori, and Lami have indicated those containment areas should be maintained for at least another week.
He says through the ministries of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport and Economy, they are working with industry partners on COVID-safe risk assessments to explore how and when some industries may operate in carefully-managed ways within containment areas.
Doctor Fong stresses that the careFIJI contact tracing app will be paramount to these operations.
He says they will be announcing early next week how their containment protocols will cater for more COVID-safe essential business operations.
The Nadi and Lautoka containment areas also remain.
Fiji has three new cases of COVID-19 today.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says these new cases are all linked to case number 136, the man from Saru, Lautoka who presented with COVID-like symptoms to the Natabua Health Centre and tested positive on Friday.
He says one of the new cases is his wife, another is his daughter, and the third was a primary contact of his wife.
Doctor Fong says all three have been in isolation since yesterday.
He adds contact tracers are locating and quarantining their close contacts.
Doctor Fong says all other known primary contacts relating to the three have tested negative.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong is stressing that people who ignored their restrictions and managed to move from containment areas on Viti Levu into non-containment areas should call 158 and self-isolate now.
He says they are locating these people, but not quickly enough.
Doctor Fong stresses that whoever they are, wherever they are, they must self-isolate, and they must do it now.
If you are one of these people, or you know one of these people, call 158.
Doctor Fong says they are not looking to dole out punishment and they are not going to move you back where you came from.
He says they are going to ask that you self-isolate at home for the next 14 days.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they are listening very closely to the story their screening and testing is telling them.
Doctor Fong says at the moment, no policy response is off the table –– including targeted lockdowns of certain areas and even a lockdown of the whole of Viti Levu.
He adds if this happens, it will be announced with a deliberate, well-informed, and detailed plan.
In just over two weeks, the Health Ministry has screened more than 317,000 Fijians through stationary and mobile screening operations.
Doctor Fong adds the speed and scale of their screening works well.
He adds they go door-to-door, checking for symptoms and confirming that people have not had close contact with COVID-positive patients.
The Raiwaqa Health Centre will be open to the public from today.
This was highlighted by the Health Ministry’s Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu.
He says the centre will resume normal functions with a new set of health staff.
The Health Centre was temporarily closed after a 47-year-old nurse tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
Ministry of Health’s Head of the Health Protection, Doctor Aalisha Sahukhan has confirmed that two more COVID-19 patients have now recovered and there are now 38 active cases currently in isolation facilities.
She says these are 7 border quarantine cases, 26 cases of local transmission and 5 that are currently under investigation to determine the source of transmission.
Dr. Sahukhan says two cases of the recently deceased case and a recently recovered case are currently considered to be cases of community transmission until proven otherwise.
She says Fiji has had 139 cases in total with 98 recoveries and three deaths since the first case was recorded on March 19th, 2020.
A total of 65,225 laboratory tests have been conducted.
She says 1,616 tests were conducted yesterday.
She says the weekly average is now 8,529 tests per week and a record of 10,237 samples were tested last week.
Meanwhile, Dr Sahukhan is urging everyone to spare a thought for all of the mothers at Lautoka Hospital who are away from their children and all the mothers and children that were not able to see each other today.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says everyone should plan to remain where they are for the foreseeable future.
He says as he made clear from the beginning, the limited movement was only permitted on Viti Levu.
Doctor Fong says he does not have a timeline as to when that restriction will lift.
Many villagers are taking drastic steps to protect their families and community from the COVID-19 virus.
Buca Village Headman, Kitione Rawalai says they have told villagers who are working in Labasa and Savusavu not to visit the village for the time being since they are stepping up their COVID-19 protection measures. Rawalai says they are very worried about the recent increase in cases in Fiji and they are not waiting for the virus to reach Vanua Levu to start their preparations.
He says a team has been posted at the village entry in Cakaudrove, conducting scanning and temperature checks for every villager moving in and out.
Rawalai adds this team is on 24-hour rotation and they are also recording the whereabouts of any villager who travels out for essentials.
Rawalai says villagers have been told to adhere to the COVID-19 regulations such as two metres distance, no sharing of bilo or takis during a grog session, and no person from one household should gather at another person's home.
He highlighted that they are taking this drastic step to protect their families and assist the government in their fight against COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Nukubalavu villager Arthur Davies says they have restricted any visitors entering the village and these measures has the support of the vanua, the village headman, the village nurse and the House of Tui Nasavusavu who is the head of the Nukubalavu District.
Davies says they have also put guidelines for the villagers where people who wish to drink grog will have to bring their bowl and sharing of cigarettes and suki is prohibited.
Mokani Village in Tailevu has set up a screening station at the village entry point where everyone that is coming into the village will undergo temperature checks and they have stopped all visitors from entering their village.
The COVID-19 screening team has advised the villagers that they will only be allowed to drink grog in their homes with their own family members and for them to stay home unless they have an essential reason to leave.
Other villagers taking these steps include Nakelo and Nadali villages in Tailevu, and Sawani Village in Naitasiri.
Government officials have started contacting some hotels and motels in Suva to possibly use them as COVID-19 quarantine centres for primary contacts of new cases.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has said that to increase quarantine quality and capacity, they will be using several of Suva’s hotels and motels as quarantine centres.
This engagement of the private sector is being done in conjunction with the Ministry of Economy.
Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association CEO, Fantasha Lockington says the requirements are already being checked for some hotels in Suva.
She says the hotels would also need some time to get enough staff into place.
She says the hotels would also need some time to get enough staff into place.
Lockington says based on the current setup for some hotels as quarantine facilities, certain sections of the hotel are isolated and that is where the people are accommodated.
Meanwhile Doctor Fong says bringing these companies on board does more than lend efficiency, it allows businesses in Fiji to earn money and re-ignite employment and hiring.
A woman from Kalokalo, Makoi is the new COVID-19 case in Fiji after another 1380 tests.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the woman presented to the Makoi Health Centre yesterday with COVID symptoms.
He says at this very early stage in the investigation, no link has been established between this case and others.
They will be treating this as another case of community transmission until proven otherwise.
Doctor Fong says the contact tracing, testing and isolation protocols are currently activated and the centre is closed for now.
He says due to the steadily rising number of cases across Viti Levu, the borders of all six containment areas, Lautoka, Nadi, Rakiraki, Lami, Suva and Nausori, are being maintained.
The Permanent Secretary says the confirmation of cases of unknown origin, in particular, indicates the virus could still be present in all six areas, so the borders must be enforced, as must the other restrictions they have in place.
He says when the data tells them to proceed in a different direction, they will tell you.
Doctor Fong says movement across Viti Levu is currently restricted for essential purposes only.
He says the purpose of limiting movement is to limit mixing between people.
The Permanent Secretary also says they are dealing with a highly transmissible variant and several unknown chains of transmission, so they want people to operate in bubbles and stay in their bubbles as much as possible.
He says if the virus stays within one person, and that person does not mix with other people, the virus eventually dies, because it has no new hosts to infect.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they can have a targeted approach on lockdowns to ensure that if they do lock down an area, or even all of Viti Levu, they do not place undue hardship on people and businesses.
Doctor Fong says in other words, future lockdowns, should they be needed, will be targeted and active.
He says they will be targeted because the lockdown area will be defined as narrowly as possible, and they will be active because they will endeavour to permit the broadest range of movement and economic activity possible, in bubbles that mitigate widespread transmission of the virus.
Doctor Fong says they want essential services to continue, and they want as many people as possible to go to their jobs and open their businesses.
He says we cannot expect our economy to recover if we shut entire industries for weeks on end.
The Permanent Secretary says some of those jobs, particularly in manufacturing, may never come back.
He says all of us are only as strong as our weakest link.
Doctor Fong also says whatever step they take, whether that is legally mandating mask-wearing or the use of careFIJI, or even re-introducing a 24-hour curfew, the success will ultimately come down to the diligence and the vigilance of the public.
He says many people are making adjustments to keep themselves and their loved ones safe but too many people are still pretending as if there is no threat in our midst; as if the world is still the way it was more than one year ago before the coronavirus spread from country to country like wildfire.
Doctor Fong also says with a full year of experience behind us, they have a much greater understanding of the virus and a range of tools to use to fight it –– including stronger testing capacity and the careFIJI app.
The Fiji Emergency Medical Assistance Team Field Hospital in Lautoka is to treat the cases the hospitals would normally expect to treat like acute cases, accidents, childbirths, and other non-elective surgeries.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they are doing this because they don’t want to put non-infected patients in the same hospitals with infected patients.
He says there is too much risk of transmission, and they cannot have the medical staff going from one group of patients to the other.
Doctor Fong says while the field hospital is technically only for emergency care, they will see whoever comes through the gate, aside from any patients showing COVID-like symptoms.
He says maternity care will also be done in the FEMAT Hospital while deliveries will be done on board the MV Veivueti.
Doctor Fong says further care of sick mothers and babies will be in the new Ba Hospital.
He also says with the Lautoka Hospital now fully dedicated as a COVID care facility, they want to thank groups like the Denarau Corporation Limited for helping them provision the personnel who are living and working in the hospital, as well as the private doctors who will soon be offering treatments and consultations to those who would normally go to public hospitals for non-COVID care.
Three more people have recovered from COVID-19.
The Head of Health Protection, Dr. Aalisha Sahukhan says there are 36 active cases in isolation of which 23 are locally transmitted cases, 7 are border quarantine cases while 6 cases are under investigation.
Dr.Sahukhan says the recently deceased case and a recovered case are still under investigation to ascertain the source of transmission.
She further says cases under investigation are still considered community transmission until proven otherwise.
Since last year, Fiji has recorded 140 cases of COVID-19 with 101 recoveries and 3 deaths.
Dr.Sahukhan also says 66,605 lab tests have been conducted since last year while the daily average has been 1,660 tests over the last 7 days.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they cannot continue to look for the source of the COVID-19 cases and if they cannot establish the source, the only course forward is to respond which is what they are currently doing.
Dr. Fong highlighted this when responding to a question by fijivillage on what is being done to establish the source of transmission of 6 cases as Dr. Fong had earlier said that this is worrying for him.
The Permanent Secretary says the reason why they want a source point is to find more contacts from that source.
He says if they cannot find the source point then they just react to what they see.
Dr. Fong adds samples will be sent for genomic sequencing to see if it is similar to other cases which will help them to some extent.
However, he says at some point, they can only endeavour to go as far as they can.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says if they call for a severe lockdown which goes for about 14 or 21 days, the public will expect that the lockdown must work.
He says a severe lockdown has to be a planned process and this is the kind of planning they are currently indulging in so they can have options.
However, Dr Fong says he is not saying that they will be going for a severe lockdown and they are only doing this so they can have some support measures in place.
He says because of the suffering that people will endure, they will feel that there is no chance the lockdown will not work.
Dr Fong says in order for him to make it work, everyone must remain in their homes but the problem may arise when people start to get desperate.
He says for a lockdown that lasts for a much longer period, they will require their teams to actively move around to ensure the needs of the people are still met.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says he has received a number of calls from concerned members of the community who have given them the location of people who moved from one containment zone to a non-containment zone and relevant response teams in the subdivisions have been sent to screen them.
Dr. Fong highlighted this while responding to questions on how many of these people have contacted the Ministry and what is being done to locate such people.
He says he has not told the community to go back and chase these people back to where they came from.
The Permanent Secretary says he wants the community to support them in watching the individuals to see if they are following the home isolation protocols.
He says he knows that a few villages have decided to take it upon themselves and have identified the houses and told them to stay in.
Dr.Fong says the villages are now cooking and supplying them with food.
He says he is very happy that these communities are not playing the blame game and actually support everybody to be safe.
Health Ministry's Permanent Secretary Dr. James Fong says the expiry for the new batch of COVID-19 vaccines are more friendly and the vaccination team is now coming up with another plan that will allow them to manage lines and establish a lot more COVID safe protocols.
While responding to questions regarding large crowds and people not following social distancing at the vaccination venues, Dr. Fong says it is a bit difficult because they are trying to get as many people vaccinated as possible.
He says there were some instances where the lines were not looking good and it also happened in Lautoka today where people were lining up to get their $90.
Everyone over 18 years of age can get registered for vaccination.
Dr. Fong says if people cannot get registered online, there is an option of face-to-face registration.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong is confused why people moved from containment areas like Suva, Lami, Nausori, Ra, Nadi and Lautoka to non-containment areas as this was not allowed over the weekend.
Legend FM News has received reports that people from containment areas moved to places like Ba and Sigatoka. The people in those areas are fearful that some of these people could be moving with the virus.
Doctor Fong says he is concerned and these people should just self isolate and ensure that they call 158.
He says it seems the containment area borders for Wainitarawau Settlement in Cunningham were not lifted at 4am yesterday after his announcement because the Police may have not got the message from their superiors.
Suva Retailers Association President, Jitesh Patel says they are thinking a complete lockdown will flush COVID-19 out of the community.
Patel says as the Permanent Secretary for Health has been saying, if people do not take this virus seriously, we will continue to see a rise in community cases.
He also says the supermarkets and other major outlets that are open can become super spreaders if the necessary measures are not taken.
Patel says the reality of the situation is that we will go through a short term loss by doing a lockdown but it will surely flush out the virus.
He says there is still a lot of movement in Suva City, which is very concerning.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says if they call for a severe lockdown which goes for about 14 or 21 days, the public will expect that the lockdown must work.
He says a severe lockdown has to be a planned process and this is the kind of planning they are currently indulging in so they can have options.
However, Dr Fong says he is not saying that they will be going for a severe lockdown and they are only doing this so they can have some support measures in place.
He says because of the suffering that people will endure, they will feel that there is no chance the lockdown will not work.
Dr Fong says in order for him to make it work, everyone must remain in their homes but the problem may arise when people start to get desperate.
He says for a lockdown that lasts for a much longer period, they will require their teams to actively move around to ensure the needs of the people are still met.
There are 12 new cases of COVID-19 in Fiji.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr. James Fong says all of these cases are from Makoi and are close contacts of case 140, the woman who presented to the Makoi Health Centre on Monday with COVID symptoms.
Dr. Fong says 4 of the positive patients are her household members, seven are from an adjoining home, and one is a secondary contact and all have been entered into isolation.
The Permanent Secretary says case 140 presented to Makoi Health Centre, and was immediately treated as a suspected case by the medical staff, who provided care in full personal protective equipment.
He adds once she tested positive, they quickly were able to identify the people with whom that person had come into close contact, so they were able to take immediate measures to help to stop the spread.
Dr.Fong says this shows that their reporting, screening, testing and contact-tracing procedures are working as they were intended.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says based on the worrying rise of clusters and cases of COVID-19, he has been working with other permanent secretaries as well as the private sector on scenario-planning based on the results of continuous testing that includes the possibility of a full lockdown of Viti Levu.
Doctor Fong also assures the public that if they take the lockdown route, people will be given ample notice, not within hours, but in days to prepare and for government to allocate resources appropriately.
Doctor Fong says for the lockdown to be decisive, it must be well-planned and prolonged enough to last for the entire incubation period.
He says he wants to make it clear he was not responsible for the panic buying that happened yesterday.
He says essential movement will be highly controlled.
The Permanent Secretary says businesses and the private sector must take on a much higher level of responsibility if they expect to operate at all.
Dr. James Fong says they know that since a large number of close contacts of the Makoi woman who had tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, have now tested positive, this means that there has been a significant amount of movement and potential for transmission of the virus to others.
Dr Fong says the woman’s travel history and the work history of one of her contacts, has required they close three grocery stores in Suva for decontamination.
He says they are also testing the employees and adds those stores are not being closed indefinitely and will re-open as soon as decontamination is completed.
Dr.Fong further says the contact between the woman and members of an adjoining household is troubling and it should serve as a learning opportunity for all of us.
Dr. Fong says please do not party your way into an isolation facility, if you are outside, it must be for an essential reason.
He further says let’s remember, this cluster began with another case of unknown origin, so that means there could still be a contagious case or cases among the public they have yet to identify that may still pose a threat to all of us every time we make the decision to leave our homes.
Dr.Fong reiterates that home is where you are safest and if you leave the home, wear a mask and make sure you have careFIJI installed with the Bluetooth switched on.
The Health Ministry’s Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu says 31 patients have been seen at the Fiji Emergency Medical Assistance Team Field Hospital in the last 24 hours.
He says 8 are currently admitted while 3 patients had their surgery.
Dr Tudravu says the antenatal clinic services for pregnant mothers will be provided at the vacant Medical Services Pacific office in Lautoka from tomorrow.
He says they will be mainly focusing on high-risk mothers.
Dr Tudravu adds 3731 people were screened in their 57 screening clinics in the last 24 hours where 382 people were swabbed for COVID-19.
Dr Tudravu says their mobile community screening continues and a total of 343,609 people have been screened in the Western and Central Divisions so far.
He says four community isolation facilities are active at the moment which is currently catering 70 individuals.
Nausori Market has been cordoned off and staff of the Ministry of Health are currently doing screening and swab tests of vendors and staff.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has not made any comments.
However, he has already stated that they seal off areas as part of the response to an investigation.
Doctor Fong says the members of the public have to get used to seeing this type of response.
The Special Administrator of the Nausori Town Council, Uma Kant Patel confirms the market will remain closed until they get a clearance from the Ministry of Health.
Patel says one of the vendors has been identified as a suspected case of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Extra Supermarket in Flagstaff, Hanson’s and Shop N Save Supermarkets in Makoi remain closed today.
They were sealed off by the Health Ministry yesterday.
Doctor Fong says the close contacts of case 140, the Makoi woman who tested positive for COVID-19, have now tested positive.
12 people from Makoi tested positive yesterday.
He says this means that there has been a significant amount of movement and potential for transmission of the virus to others.
Case 140’s travel history, and the work history of one of her contacts, has required they close three grocery stores in Suva for decontamination.
The Health Ministry is also testing the employees.
Doctor Fong says those stores are not being closed indefinitely.
They will reopen as soon as decontamination is completed.
About 631 cases have been recorded from the 19th of April to date for not following the health restrictions in place as well as breaching curfew orders, and Acting Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu is seriously concerned about people still not adhering to the orders stipulated under the Public Health Act.
Tudravu says for breaching the health restrictions, social gathering tops the list with 380 cases, and of that number, 288 cases are liquor related.
Consumption of grog is second on the list with 48 cases, there were 15 cases of swimming while 10 people were arrested for loitering.
Tudravu says 11 cases were filed for church service gatherings, 5 people were arrested for playing billiard while 3 cases of gambling have been recorded.
He says wearing a mask is vital however 11 people were found not adhering to this while travelling in Public Service vehicles, and breach of containment zones recorded 47 cases.
Four business operators were arrested for failing to comply with the orders while a case of non-adherence to the 50 percent Public Service Vehicle capacity was filed.
188 cases have been recorded so far for failing to comply with the curfew orders.
The Acting Police Commissioner says this shows that people are not seriously concerned about their health as well as the health of their loved ones.
He says it is everyone’s commitment to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country, and of equal importance is adherence to the law by all citizens and remember instructions are not issued anyhow, it is issued with a purpose and it is vital for everyone to adhere not only for your betterment but for the nation as a whole.
Tudravu says anyone failing to comply with the restrictions and orders in place will be taken to task so he is urging every Fijian to please comply and avoid putting yourself in a regrettable situation.
Namaka Market Vendors Association President Mariana Divikoca has highlighted that the situation in Nadi is getting worse by the day.
Divikoca says the people of Nadi were starting to slowly get back to their old lives, starting with their old jobs but with the outbreak and lockdown, it has made everything difficult.
She says most of the shops in Nadi are closed and many more people are out of jobs.
She adds the sales at the market are currently low because people who were working before have now lost their jobs.
The Association President says last week there were more than 50 vendors selling at the market but this week the numbers have started to reduce as some could not find anything to sell.
She is urging the government to look at the situation in Nadi as more people now are affected with the current outbreak of the virus.
Divikoca says they are also in discussion with the Nadi Town Council to waive their stall fees.
Meanwhile, 37,000 families in the Nadi and Lautoka containment areas have been assisted with the $90 government assistance.
33,000 families in Lami, Suva, Nasinu and Nausori have also received the assistance.
The Government has paid out a total $6.3 million through the $90 cash assistance programme.
9 new COVID-19 cases have been announced by the Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong, and more COVID guidelines have been announced to ensure that the Health Ministry focuses on tracing, testing and isolating people.
Doctor Fong says one of the cases announced yesterday worked at Extra Supermarket in Flagstaff Suva. Three of today’s cases are his co-workers.
He says Extra Supermarket has been closed for decontamination purposes while they await test results from the remaining Extra staff and management.
Doctor Fong says Extra Supermarket operates with a well-enforced policy of mask-wearing and mandated that all staff and customers have the careFIJI app installed with Bluetooth turned on, or that contact tracing details were registered.
He says that is allowing them to identify hundreds of contacts very quickly.
Doctor Fong says without the use of the careFIJI app, tracing individual casual contacts in a place like a crowded supermarket is extremely difficult, especially with the contact tracing teams already working overtime every day to keep up with the cases they have.
The careFIJI app will allow contact tracers to see which people have come in close proximity to each other at a specific location.
If you have the app on and functioning, the Health Ministry says the contact tracers can let you know if you have come into contact with an infected person, and he thinks everyone would want to know that.
The Permanent Secretary says while contracting the virus from a casual encounter in which both parties are masked seems rare, they are dealing with a COVID variant that WHO has designated as potentially more contagious, and certainly less predictable.
Doctor Fong says in addition to their traditional contact tracing, those who have been identified as close contacts by the careFIJI app and the written contact tracing registry, including shoppers, are being contacted by the Ministry.
He says while they reach these people, they are asking everyone who has been to Extra Supermarket in Flagstaff or Hanson’s Supermarket in Makoi in the last two weeks to self isolate.
Doctor Fong says they will announce in due course once everyone on the list has been contacted.
He says those found to not have had contact with these new cases will be allowed to end their period of self-isolation.
The Permanent Secretary says he wants to remind anyone who runs out to a grocery store for supplies: Make sure your mask is on, your careFIJI app is installed, and your Bluetooth is switched on while you shop.
He notes that some supermarkets have online shopping and home delivery services as well.
He urges the public to use them, and also urges more supermarkets and businesses to make online shopping and delivery available.
Another two individuals presented to the Nausori Health Centre with COVID symptoms.
Doctor Fong says they are family members from Lakena in Nausori. Two of their household contacts have also tested positive for COVID-19.
He says at this early stage of the investigation, these cases are not linked to other clusters.
One of these individuals worked at Nausori market as a vendor. That space is being decontaminated.
Another case is an individual from Vunimono in Nausori who also tested positive after presenting to the health centre. This case is also not linked to other cases.
He says so far, none of these six cases in Nausori are currently linked to existing cases.
While they are still early into the investigation, they will be treating these cases as instances of community transmission until they are proven to be otherwise.
The final confirmed case is a border quarantine staff who tested positive for COVID-19 in the course of routine testing. This person’s last negative test result was from 1st May 2021.
Doctor Fong says their investigations have not pinpointed a source of transmission for this case. Until they know more, they are not allowing any discharges from the quarantine facility in question.
He says this series of new clusters requires large-scale contact tracing to the magnitude of several hundred primary and secondary contacts.
Doctor Fong says the cluster emanating from Extra Supermarket is of particular concern.
However, he says this cluster is unlike past clusters, such as the garment factory case, for one simple reason: careFIJI. He says the app’s use has given them a huge advantage in identifying the closest contacts stemming from the Extra Supermarket cases.
He says they are already locating them and testing them in droves.
Doctor Fong says they expect many more of these individuals to register positive test results.
A 24-hour curfew will come into effect for Suva and Nausori from Friday, 14th May 2021 at 11pm until Tuesday, 18th May 2021 at 4am.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says as is now standard practice, the Suva and Nausori containment areas from Tamavua-i-Wai Bridge to Logani will merge into one, single lockdown zone. Doctor Fong says with everyone safely at home, the Health Ministry teams will use that time to trace, identify, and test as many contacts as possible.
If their investigations reveal large numbers of contacts in other areas, such as Lami, the lockdown order will extend to those areas.
He says you have two full days to manage your shopping and purchase food and other essential items for your home.
If you are going out to do shopping, you must have careFIJI installed with the Bluetooth turned.
Doctor Fong says if you go to the supermarket and see a crowd, do not add to the problem. Call 158 and report the violation of COVID protocols.
He says businesses must take responsibility as well by ensuring mask-wearing, proper physical distancing, and mandating the use of careFIJI by all staff and shoppers.
For those who genuinely need an emergency food supply in the later part of the curfew, Doctor Fong says they are going to set-up another dedicated hotline for you to call so that food rations can be delivered to you. They will have details to announce on that number tomorrow.
New measures will also be coming into effect for the rest of Viti Levu while they conduct assessments on the need for a more sustained lockdown period.
From Saturday 15th May 2021, the curfew hours for the rest of Viti Levu will expand from 6pm until 4am every day.
Outside of Viti Levu, the curfew hours will remain from 11pm until 4am. Doctor Fong says this also means that if the lockdown of Suva and Nausori expires on schedule, the curfew hours from 6pm until 4am will apply in these areas as well.
He says the contact tracing and testing through the weekend will reveal the way forward for their containment strategy.
Doctor Fong says whatever course they take, they will provide you with ample notice ahead of time.
He knows we saw some panic-buying yesterday.
The Permanent Secretary says when he sees images of those crowds, he sees lives being put at-risk.
Doctor Fong says he sees the potential for ICUs being filled with dying patients and he admits, he reacted quite strongly to it.
He says he feared those runs on the supermarkets would lead to widespread transmission of the virus.
Doctor Fong hopes to be wrong about that.
He says these are uncertain times, this is a scary disease, and he understands why some of the people have made rash decisions.
The Permanent Secretary says he understands this situation can make us anxious and he understands the need to have your family well-provided for.
But he says there are real ways we can protect ourselves that align with the best available science and data.
Doctor Fong says we can wear masks, we can keep a proper distance of two metres between ourselves and others, we can wash our hands, we can install careFIJI and keep the Bluetooth turned on.
He also stresses that rumours, gossip, and unverified information will lead us down a much, much darker path.
The Permanent Secretary says we must stay the present course by staying calm and staying home as much as possible.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong wishes a sincere Eid Mubarak to all those marking this joyous occasion safely at home.
He says Eid, the festive occasion that marks the end of the Holy month of Ramadan is tomorrow.
Doctor Fong says for most every year, this is a three-day celebration spent with family and friends; a time for those who celebrate to spend gathered at the same table, and to pray together at the mosque.
He says this year must be different.
Doctor Fong says we cannot gather, not in mosques and not at the homes of our friends and family.
He says we must stay home and only interact with the members of our own households.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says once the upcoming lockdown is finished, he knows there will be lots of discussions happening within all the other agencies for them to look at ways of ensuring that they can balance the economic issues with the need to stop the virus from moving.
Dr.Fong says there are intense discussions on how they can manage workers to be at work without increasing their risk of getting infected.
Dr Fong further says every time you open a business , you increase movement and ideally what they want to do is open businesses and narrowly track how exactly people move.
He says unfortunately tracking the movement of people requires some degree of oversight and that means everybody who is providing the information has to tell the same story.
Dr.Fong adds they are looking at something called quarantine corridors that allows people to move.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says the security forces are working on solidifying the enforcement of COVID-19 measures and it will be evident in the coming days.
While responding to a question on what the Ministry will be doing to the people who continue to disregard the safety measures in place, Dr Fong says it is not so much what the Ministry will do now, it is about what the security forces will be doing from now.
He says he has been in a few meetings where they are now working to solidify the enforcement of the COVID-19 measures and it will become more evident in the forthcoming days.
Meanwhile, 631 cases have been recorded from the 19th of April to date for not following the health restrictions in place as well as breaching curfew orders, and Acting Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu is seriously concerned about people still not adhering to the orders stipulated under the Public Health Act.
The Ministry of Economy will be looking after the rationing of food to people who are in need during the 24-hour curfew period that will come into effect for Suva and Nausori from 11pm this Friday to 4am Tuesday.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says one of the things they learned during the 56 hours of curfew is that they need someone else to handle the rationing program.
He says they have discussed this with the Ministry for Economy and they have their plans on this.
Health Ministry's Permanent Secretary Dr James Fong says as challenges are evolving day by day and with a lot of changes occurring, the priority is to sort their responses for cases of COVID-19 and the process of communicating this to the people is currently coming second.
However, he says they agree that they have to improve on their communication side of things.
When questioned whether he will consider public relations initiative earlier in the day to curb the panic driven events, Dr. Fong says they have to first respond to cases.
He was also asked whether doing press conferences late in the night is practical as people may miss out on critical information.
Dr. Fong says he has to struggle a bit in the day where he has to respond to new cases of COVID-19 and also work on mobilising resources for the responses.
He says they will have to relook at the whole strategy moving forward.
Through the careFiji contact tracing app, the Health Ministry has managed to locate many people who may have been in close proximity with a positive COVID-19 case at Exta Supermarket at Flagstaff.
An Extra Supermarket employee from Makoi tested positive on Tuesday and three of his co-workers tested positive yesterday. Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says careFiji’s use has given them a huge advantage in identifying the closest contacts stemming from the supermarket cases.
He says they are already locating them and testing them in droves.
Doctor Fong says they expect many more of these individuals to register positive test results.
Some of the people have also received messages from the Ministry of Health today that their self isolation period has ended.
He says careFIJI’s data has supplied them with a much clearer starting point for the contact tracing.
Doctor Fong says at the moment, they believe the vast majority of these remaining contacts are located in Suva and Nausori.
The Ministry of Health says the New World Supermarket in Nausori is currently closed for the purpose of screening and disinfection.
The Ministry says people will be advised when services resume and if required, more details will be revealed in due course.
The Special Administrator of Nausori Town Council also confirms that Max Value Supermarket is also closed as a precautionary measure.
The Nausori Market which was closed yesterday is now open.
The Ministry of Health will soon release further details if essential services will be allowed to operate during the 24-hour day and night curfew which will come into effect for Suva and Nausori everyday from 11pm Friday to 4am next Tuesday.
Permanent Secretary Dr James Fong highlighted this after he was asked by Legend FM News if essential services will be allowed to operate during the curfew period.
Dr Fong says at the moment they are planning to shut everything down but more details will be revealed later.
He says they are currently trying to give people time to preposition their supplies if they can do so.
Dr Fong adds they have had discussions with their partners to set up a supply system where people can call and they can be given something to eat.
He has stressed that this is just the beginning.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says their COVID-19 testing is based on the clinical details of a person which goes through a prioritization process to see which test turns around fast.
Doctor Fong highlighted when questioned if the Ministry is testing samples as soon as it arrives or prioritising based on the increase in number of cases of unknown links.
He says they have a huge capacity of testing but it is not limitless.
Doctor Fong says there is a criteria to swab as they do not swab everyone in Fiji.
The Suva-Nausori lockdown will now be from 11pm Friday to 4am next Wednesday.
The Health Ministry says given the rapidly rising number of contacts stemming from new cases of COVID-19 in the Suva-Nausori area, the lockdown has been extended until Wednesday, the 19th of May, at 4am.
The ministry says Fijians living in the Suva and Nausori containment areas are urged to make appropriate preparations for an all-day stay-at-home order which will remain in force from 11pm Friday until 4am Wednesday.
The Health Ministry says as stated yesterday, food rations will be available during the later stages of the lockdown period for Fijians living within the Suva-Nausori Lockdown Zone who have a genuine need for an emergency food supply.
Fiji has recorded it’s fourth COVID-19 death.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says a woman from the recent Makoi cluster who tested positive for COVID-19, was entered into intensive care after her condition began rapidly deteriorating.
He says he is sad to report that, despite the best efforts of her attending physicians, she has passed away.
Doctor Fong says they informed this woman’s family of her passing and offered them their sincere condolences well before making the announcement to the nation, as they wanted them to have time to process this privately.
He offers the nation the Ministry of Health’s total commitment to spare as many families as they can from the tragedy of seeing loved ones lost to this terrible disease.
Doctor Fong says this is our second reported death from COVID-19 due to this outbreak.
He says it serves as yet another painful reminder of the severity of the threat that we face.
The Permanent Secretary says they are dealing with a virus that has claimed more than 3.7 million lives around the world.
He says many more Fijian lives could all-too-easily add to that sobering figure but that does not have to happen.
Doctor Fong calls on people to adhere to COVID safety measures.
The worrying trend of increasing COVID-19 cases with no links to other cases continues as Fiji has recorded four new COVID-19 cases.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the first case is from Makoi and presented to Oceania Hospital with symptoms.
He says at this early stage of the investigation, this case has no known links to other cases.
The Oceania Hospital Outpatients Department was temporarily closed on Wednesday for contact tracing and decontamination. Anyone who potentially had contact with this case at the hospital has been quarantined.
Doctor Fong says the second case is also from Makoi and is an administration staff member of the Fiji Centre for Disease Control.
The Permanent Secretary says according to the Fiji Centre for Disease Control protocol, the staff was tested after returning this week from annual leave.
The next two cases are administrative staff at the Fiji CDC who had tested negative during routine testing earlier this week, but tested positive as part of contact tracing for this new case.
The three staff who have tested positive for the virus have been transferred to isolation facilities.
Doctor Fong says their investigations so far indicate that this cluster originated outside of the Fiji Centre for Disease Control and the virus was then brought in, as would be an expected consequence of community transmission.
He says apart from these three cases, all other Fiji CDC staff have tested negative so far, including all of the laboratory and medical staff in the centre.
The COVID tests are conducted at the centre.
Doctor Fong says they know that there was limited contact between administration staff and the lab personnel due to existing protocols, however, as a result of these cases, Fiji CDC has been separated, with staff onsite, or placed in quarantine facilities.
He says testing has temporarily halted while decontamination is being completed.
Doctor Fong says the onsite staff will continue processing samples after decontamination of the facility and they will be tested and retested frequently during their isolation period, similar to what is happening at Lautoka Hospital.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says they believe this virus is still circulating in Nadi, in Lautoka, in Rakiraki, in Lami and, potentially,throughout the rest of Viti Levu.
Dr Fong says right now, the pandemic in Fiji is only a spark, but if that spark is not quickly and aggressively extinguished, a tiny ember is all it takes to start a massive, uncontrollable wildfire that claims thousands of Fijian lives.
Dr.Fong says that’s why they are taking such aggressive measures and their goal is elimination adding they must dedicate everything they have into putting out this flame before it grows.
He further says given the rapidly rising number of contacts stemming from new cases of COVID-19 in the Suva- Nausori area, the Suva-Nausori lockdown will commence from 11 o’clock tonight until Wednesday, the 19th of May, at 4am.
Dr.Fong is urging Fijians living in the Suva and Nausori containment areas to make appropriate preparations for an all-day stay-at-home order which will remain in force from this evening, the 14th of May, at 11pm until Wednesday morning, the 19th of May,at 4am.
He says the rules of the lockdown will be the same as last time, no one should leave their home, no businesses should be open except those given explicit permission to operate and movement for medical emergencies is the only movement that will be permitted for members of the public.
Dr.Fong says otherwise, it will be only the Police, his contact tracers, food ration delivery teams, and other essential service providers, on the streets and no one else.
He assures people food rations will be available during the later stages of the lockdown period for Fijians living within the Suva-Nausori Lockdown Zone who have a genuine need for an emergency food supply.
Dr.Fong says outside of the lockdown zone, the borders of the other containment areas will remain firmly in place for the foreseeable future adding that as announced on Wednesday, to further restrict movement, the 6pm until 4am curfew will take effect from tomorrow for the rest of Viti Levu.
He is once again urging people to practice COVID safe guidelines such as physical distancing, mask-wearing, having the careFiji app adding that nothing kills the virus more assuredly than staying at home.
Dr Fong says but on the contrary, if rules are broken, Fijians will die not the virus.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says in some countries around the world, the public and even governments have failed to take this virus seriously and the pattern is emerging in Fiji and this complacency is unacceptable.
Doctor Fong says some people have continued on with their normal lives, breaking rules and skirting restrictions.
He says other citizens in some countries waited for a famous celebrity, a sports hero, or more of their loved ones to die from COVID before they recognised the severity of this pandemic and by that point, it was too late.
Doctor Fong says the harder they come down on this virus now, the sooner this will be over.
He says we are fighting for the sake of normalcy and to regain the freedom to live our lives without fear of the virus.
Doctor Fong says we are also fighting to allow our economy to operate freely at its full strength and it is a fight we can win, but only if we fight it together.
Health Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Dr James Fong says thousands of Fijians received text alerts on Wednesday alerting them that they may have had contact with some of the new cases confirmed at Extra Supermarket.
Dr Fong says their contact tracing investigation has since narrowed that number of contacts, and they have let some of those people know they are no longer considered to be at high risk of exposure but he hopes that experience has taught everyone how easily even one case can spark an outbreak, and how high the risks of leaving your bubble can be.
Dr Fong says it has also taught us how vitally important it is for us all to be using the careFIJI app with our Bluetooth switched on, whenever we are in public.
He further says there are currently 52 known active cases of COVID-19 in the country and from that number of cases, there are already thousands of primary and secondary contacts, stretching his contact tracers to their limit.
Dr Fong adds that the careFIJI app eases that growing burden and its technology does not depend on the limits of human labour.
He says the app does not get tired, it does not take breaks, it works 24/7 to save your life, and the lives of your loved ones, by stopping the spread of the virus as quickly as possible.
Dr Fong says the app does not drain your battery, it does not burn through your data and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you.
The Head of Health Protection Dr Aalisha Sahukhan says the news has not been good for some time now as more cases are appearing in the community without any link to the other cases.
Dr Sahukhan says all indications are that things will get much worse before it gets better.
She says the recent cases at the Fiji Centre for Disease Control hits her at a more personal level because the people at the Centre are part of her team.
Dr Sahukhan says in ordinary times she would be with the team at CDC if it was not for the outbreak.
Dr Sahukhan has also revealed that there are now 52 active cases in isolation facilities where six are border quarantine cases, 33 are locally transmitted while 13 are under investigation.
Fiji has now had 162 cases in total since our first case and we have had 109 recoveries with four deaths.
The food distribution program for people affected by the Nausori and Suva lockdown will be activated on Sunday 16th May at 12pm and people can make their request by dialing *161#.
The Ministry of Economy says any requests received before 12pm this Sunday will not be registered.
The Ministry says they have food ration packs ready for distribution and dedicated line for requesting assistance has been tested with Vodafone and Digicel.
They say people must provide their name and other details including their street address because it will allow them to locate people quickly.
The Ministry has also revealed that civil service salaries were paid a day early this week to allow the 35,000 civil servants to begin their preparations which includes assisting families and friends.
Meanwhile more than 118,000 families were assisted through government’s $90 cash payment program earlier this week.
Fiji has confirmed one new case of COVID-19.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says this new case is a household member of the Lakena cases reported earlier, and he was already in isolation at Navua Hospital when he registered a positive result.
He says given his first test upon entering quarantine was negative, they do not view him as a high-risk case for wider transmission.
Dr. Fong further says since yesterday, they have been investigating the potential for further exposure of COVID-19 in the Fiji Centre for Disease Control.
Dr. Fong adds their medical and laboratory staff have not registered positive test results at this time, however, they are in the process of deep cleaning and decontaminating the centre in line with advice received from the reference laboratory in Melbourne.
He says as a result there will be no testing onsite for at least another 24 hours.
Dr Fong adds the Fiji CDC is where they process the vast majority of COVID-19 tests and says with the facility temporarily offline yesterday, the volume of their testing has decreased.
He says testing has continued at Tamavua Twomey Hospital, CWM Hospital, Labasa Hospital and Lautoka Hospital.
Dr Fong says they are focused on bringing it back online as soon and as safely as possible.
He also says regardless of the temporary lull they expect in swab processing, it remains vital that they use the next four days which is the Suva-Nausori lockdown period to identify and swab the contacts of existing cases in Suva and Nausori.
Dr. Fong says until they have a clearer idea of the extent of transmission in the Suva-Nausori area, the lockdown serves the dual purpose of putting a firm halt on further spread.
He says there may be community cases they do not know about.
Dr.Fong says if you are living in Suva or Nausori and you find yourself feeling unwell at any point through the next four days please call 158.
He assures people a team will visit you, or you may be referred to a screening clinic.
The Suva-Nausori lockdown period will start at 11pm tonight and will end at 4am on Wednesday the 19th of May.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says it will require a longer course of lockdown if we are to eliminate COVID-19 from Viti Levu however they are using the initial 4 days lockdown to understand the data on what is happening in Viti Levu.
While responding to a question during the virtual press conference, Doctor Fong says they may lengthen the current four days lockdown to get all the data but they will also focus on a prolonged targeted lockdown based on the data and also weigh up the socio-economic ills.
Doctor Fong says they hope to get the Fiji Centre for Disease Control tests underway again, collate the data, and then move forward with a targeted approach.
Doctor Fong also clarified whenever they do a short lockdown, the main idea is to stop whatever case is out there from moving and to swab them.
He says they then identify the positive cases and isolate them.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they have identified red zones based on behaviour which are termed high-risk areas for COVID-19.
When asked by fijivillage on whether there are options being looked at to contain Makoi as a number of cases have emanated from that area and people still freely moving in and out, using public transport, and a few people even caught drinking alcohol, Doctor Fong says Police are looking at the data and stronger measures will be taken.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong believes they will be able to catch up with all the backlog once the Fiji Centre for Disease Control is back up today.
He highlighted this when questioned if the closure of the CDC will affect our testing capacity and may lead to an explosion of cases.
Dr Fong says it just so happens that their testing capabilities has dropped when we have a lockdown.
Dr Fong adds another benefit of the lockdown is that a person will not move much even if there is a positive case.
Fiji will be receiving more GeneXpert machines next week that are expected to boost our testing capacity and help our fight to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The Head of Health Protection, Dr Aalisha Sahukhan says these machines are expected to be sent to divisional hospitals.
She says they do have a temporary setback at the Fiji Centre for Disease Control but going forward they know that their capacity to do testing will be spread across Fiji.
Dr.Sahukhan says they do have enough consumables to do COVID-19 tests and once the Fiji CDC comes back online, they will be back at full capacity.
She says at the CDC they have 15 lab staff who are dedicated to lab testing.
The Health Ministry’s Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu has confirmed that there are no new cases at the Lautoka Hospital after screening the 317 staff as well as the 207 patients.
He says the 207 patients include 51 mothers and 46 babies.
Dr Tudravu adds the Fiji Emergency Medical Assistance Team Field Hospital is in full operation and they are considering to increase the capacity of the hospital based on the demand.
He has also revealed that 413,678 people have been screened through the mobile screening clinics so far and 12,050 people have been swabbed.
Dr Tudravu says they currently have 78 people in their three community isolation facilities.
He says these facilities have positive cases and therefore out of bounds for the general public.
Five more patients have recovered from COVID-19 in Fiji.
Head of Health Protection Dr Aalisha Sahukhan says there are now 48 active cases where six are border quarantine cases, 29 are locally transmitted cases while 13 are still under investigation.
We have had 166 cases since our first case last year with 114 recoveries and 4 deaths.
Dr Sahukhan says we are now heading into a situation where most of you will be asked to sacrifice and stay home.
She adds thousands of health staff and members of the disciplined forces will not be at home but out there working to combat the virus which is why people need to stay home and only leave if there is a medical emergency.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says the woman from the recent Makoi cluster that passed away and her family were assessed by the screening team two weeks ago but did not meet the swabbing criteria.
Doctor Fong highlighted this when questioned on how come the screening team missed this woman as she was in a stage where she was infectious when she presented herself at Makoi Health Centre.
He says the screening team went to the household, but no symptoms were reported at that time.
Doctor Fong says when this woman was presented at the Health Centre, the staff knew straight away that the symptoms were dangerous and all the staff that came into contact with the patient were in full personal protective equipment and the area was cleared.
He says he feels nervous in trying to give more information about this case as he does not want to throw any negative permutations around the family.
Fiji has confirmed two new cases of COVID-19.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they have confirmed these new cases through their testing at other facilities throughout Fiji.
Doctor Fong says both of these cases are tied to existing clusters.
He says the first case is a close contact from the most recent Makoi cluster and the second is a close contact from the cluster in Nadali, Nausori.
Doctor Fong says the Makoi case has been in an isolation facility since May 10th.
He says the Nadali case has been entered into isolation and contact tracing for both individuals is underway.
The Fiji Centre for Disease Control has been fully decontaminated and has resumed processing COVID-19 tests from last night.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says all remaining staff have continued to test negative for COVID-19.
Three staff at the Fiji Centre for Disease Control had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week.
He says none of the laboratory staff have tested positive to date, which further indicates that the virus was brought in from the community.
He says after being given the choice to either enter a quarantine facility or continue work at the CDC, the vast majority of staff have chosen to remain in the facility and continue running tests.
Dr. Fong says they will continue to be tested regularly during their isolation period so that any positive case can be identified and isolated early.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has thanked everyone within the Suva Nausori lockdown zone for staying home this weekend.
Dr. Fong says your time at home is being used efficiently by his teams to identify and isolate positive COVID-19 patients and they appreciate your support and cooperation.
He says the Ministry’s contact tracing teams are using the lockdown period as a window of opportunity to trace and test primary and secondary contacts of existing cases within Suva and Nausori.
Fong says the nature and the number of cases that they confirm through the lockdown period will inform their next steps.
The lockdown of Suva and Nausori will come to an end on Wednesday, 19th May at 4am.
The Permanent Secretary says travel for medical emergencies is permitted and only essential service providers with explicit authorisation from the government may operate.
For the rest of Viti Levu, the 6pm to 4am curfew has come into effect from last night.
Doctor Fong is urging the public to stay home and stay safe.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says four new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed.
These new cases all stem from the cluster in Nadali, Nausori, which is believed to have started with a close contact case of the first Makoi cluster.
Doctor Fong says the four individuals are all household contacts of case number 167 from Nadali confirmed on Saturday.
He says these patients were all entered into isolation on Saturday and registered positive test results.
The Ministry's contact tracing has expanded to investigate the travel histories and potential contacts of these four individuals.
Doctor Fong also says they are prepared for rising numbers of new cases over the next two days as a high volume of swab results from primary and secondary contacts of existing cases are processed with Fiji Centre for Disease Control coming back online.
There are currently 49 active cases of COVID-19 in the country.
4 are border quarantine cases, 33 are local cases, and 12 are currently classified as cases of community transmission.
There have been 3 recoveries over the past 24 hours.
Fiji has now had 172 cases in total since the first case was detected on March 19th 2020, with 119 recoveries, and 4 deaths.
Doctor Fong says the Fiji Police Force has reported widespread compliance with the lockdown measures in Suva and Nausori.
He says they appreciate the public’s cooperation as they efficiently utilise the lockdown period to trace, test and, if necessary, isolate and treat COVID-positive patients.
It is vital that Fijians living in Suva and Nausori continue to remain at home for the duration of the lockdown period.
If you see gatherings or other violations of our health measures, please call 158 or 917 to report them.
If you are feeling any flu-like symptoms, such as fever, dry cough, fatigue, loss of appetite, loss of smell, and body ache, please call 158.
Two new local transmission cases of COVID-19 have been announced while two patients have been entered into intensive care after their condition deteriorated.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the first is the husband of case number 159 from the Vunimono cluster.
He has been in isolation since 12th May 2021.
The second case is a healthcare worker from the Colo-i-Suva isolation ward who registered a positive COVID-19 test result during a routine swabbing.
Doctor Fong says the healthcare worker has since been entered into isolation.
He says both patients are asymptomatic, which means they are not displaying COVID-like symptoms.
Contact tracing is ongoing for both cases.
There are currently 51 active cases of COVID-19 in the country.
Four are border quarantine cases, 35 are local cases, and 12 are currently classified as cases of community transmission.
Doctor Fong says the two patients whose condition has deteriorated, are receiving the best possible care from their attending physicians.
Fiji has now had 174 cases in total since the first case was detected on March 19th 2020, with 119 recoveries, and four deaths.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says it is clear at this stage that our war against the COVID-19 virus will not be won in four days of lockdown.
He says for the foreseeable future, we still need people to remain at home as much as possible.
Doctor Fong says for the containment to be effective from a socioeconomic and epidemiological standpoint, they are developing new COVID-safe measures to allow access to food, other essential items and services, as well as sustainable livelihoods.
He says the Health Ministry will announce these protocols this afternoon as part of the next phase of COVID containment for Suva, Nausori, and the rest of Viti Levu.
The lockdown for Suva and Nausori is scheduled to expire at 4am tomorrow, the 19th of May.
The Ministry is collecting data through screening, contact tracing, and testing to inform its recommendation on the next steps for the containment strategy for the Suva and Nausori Lockdown Zone, as well as the containment areas in Nadi, Lautoka, Lami and Rakiraki.
Doctor Fong says the strict lockdown currently enforced in the Suva-Nausori corridor is the most stringent containment measure in their toolkit, and the ministry teams are making the best possible use of this window of opportunity to firm their grip on this outbreak.
He says with everyone in Suva and Nausori at home under a 24-hour curfew, their contact tracing, screening, and testing is progressing rapidly.
The primary and secondary contacts they need to find are being found quickly before they can pose a wider risk of transmission.
Doctor Fong says their game plan will continue to evolve alongside the facts they gather from their testing and tracing, taken together with the best available medical and scientific information.
The Suva and Nausori lockdown was lifted at 4 o’clock this morning and the Suva and Nausori separate containment zones are back which means the border checkpoint is back near the bridge at Rups Nakasi.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says with many high-risk known contacts under quarantine, they can allow the 24-hour curfew for Suva and Nausori to lift at its scheduled close at 4 o’clock this morning, allowing for limited movement in a highly controlled fashion.
Doctor Fong says as is the case for the rest of Viti Levu, the 6pm until 4am curfew will apply for the Suva and Nausori zones from today.
He says supermarkets, banks and pharmacies may open.
Restaurants may offer takeaway and delivery services only.
Doctor Fong says movement should be avoided as much as possible, and mixing between different household bubbles should not happen at all.
Please send only one member of your household outside at any given time.
Do not bring children out of the home.
If you are the member of your household who leaves, wear a mask and wear it properly and maintain a physical distance of two metres from others.
Make sure you have careFiji installed, with Bluetooth turned on.
Wash your hands often. And immediately after you finish your trip to the supermarket, bank, or pharmacy, go straight home.
Doctor Fong says for all non-containment areas, businesses that are not classified as high risk may operate so long as they enforce mask-wearing, physical distancing and require customers and employees to have careFIJI installed with bluetooth turned on.
He says high-risk businesses include gyms, movie theatres, video gaming shops, cyber cafes, taverns, bars, billiard shops and amusement arcades, as well as hairdressers, barbershops, spas, beauty therapy, massage therapy venues, saunas and tattoo parlours.
Doctor Fong says the nature of these businesses means they cannot operate with proper COVID-safe protocols, including enforced physical distancing of two metres.
He stresses they should all be closed everywhere in Fiji.
Four new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed from the Nadali cluster in Nausori after 2,500 tests conducted since Monday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says these cases are all close contacts of existing cases from the Nadali cluster.
He says due to a steadily rising number of cases, the Health Ministry is concerned that Nadali has become a source of widespread COVID transmission.
They have cordoned off the entire Nadali Area as a screening zone, meaning no one is allowed to leave Nadali until they screen, swab, and clear everyone in the area.
Doctor Fong says those who need to return to the area may do so provided they do not leave.
He also says for every hour of the past four days, the Ministry teams have combed through Suva and Nausori to trace and test primary and secondary contacts of existing cases of COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says they have placed 7,888 contacts in Suva and Nausori under quarantine. This is the largest number of active contacts they have ever identified.
He says identifying them and isolating them ensures that chains of transmission were broken before they could extend, it means clusters were thwarted before they exploded beyond their control.
Doctor Fong says those quiet victories against this invisible enemy were only possible thanks to the public’s cooperation and support through our four days of strict lockdown.
He has thanked the people of Suva and Nausori for their cooperation which has paid real dividends for the health of the nation.
The Permanent Secretary says as a reminder for everyone, these contacts are people who had interactions with individuals who have tested positive for the virus and may have passed it to them.
He says it was important that they find these people so they could test them and ensure they do not pose a wider risk of transmission to our communities.
Doctor Fong says thanks to the use of careFIJI, they found many of the contacts quickly.
He also reveals that others have required more in-depth investigations to find.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they have more than 11,000 swab results yet to be processed.
He says they are triaging their testing which means they are prioritising the swab results from the highest risk individuals.
Doctor Fong says until they know more, they have 11,000 reasons why we cannot rollback more restrictions.
He says 28 new Genexpert machines are being deployed nationwide.
Assuming they run 24/7, the total testing capacity will rise to at least 3,000 tests per day.
Doctor Fong says while that full capacity gets up and running, they will be sending the backlog of swabs to a private lab in Australia on Thursday, with the results expected by this weekend.
He has thanked the Australian Government for their support in this endeavour.
The Permanent Secretary also says before this outbreak, testing in Fiji had grown to about 250 to 300 per day.
He says before the temporary shutdown of the Fiji Centre for Disease Control over the weekend, they were testing at an average of 1,785 samples per day.
Doctor Fong says relative to our population, that puts our daily testing rate on par with the current rate of testing in Australia and New Zealand which is 1 to 3 per 1000 population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr. James Fong says while the case in Labasa is a false positive, it did turn out there was a movement from a containment area in Viti Levu to the Northern Division.
He says this is being investigated.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says we have to at least begin the process of putting forward COVID-safe business plans that manage the risks of resuming operations responsibly.
Doctor Fong says as the COVID test data informs their next steps, the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport has announced a system of passes to allow businesses with COVID-safe operations plans to re-open.
He says a digital portal for obtaining passes is in development, the Ministry will announce details within the next two days on how business and employers can apply through that process to operate with the appropriate safeguards in place.
Doctor Fong says they expect to see employers and businesses to put careful thought into COVID-safe operations plans.
He says they want you to re-open, they want you to employ people, because they need your full might behind alleviating the socioeconomic burden of this pandemic but that has to be done in extremely well-managed ways.
He urges businesses not to begin this process with a temporary timeline in mind.
Doctor Fong says “normal” has a new definition.
The Permanent Secretary says the world has adapted to cater for the risks of the coronavirus, so must we.
He cannot promise that the results of the testing will make reopening feasible for everyone in the near-term.
Doctor Fong says we are heading into a new phase, a new normal that the rest of the world has embraced but that we are yet to fully adopt.
He says we have to take careful steps, we have to maintain a constant state of vigilance, we must sustain our commitment to the measures we know can keep us safe and we have to take the onus of containment as a society.
Doctor Fong says this is not from top down, but from the grassroots, where everyday decisions by ordinary Fijians, taken together, can set us down a safer, more sustainable path.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says it has been 30 days since this year’s first local case of COVID-19, and he is telling people now, this outbreak is more serious than anything we have faced before.
Doctor Fong says this will not be a 30-day war.
He says the variant is more transmissible, the clusters of cases are larger and more widespread, and he can sadly promise you that it will not be the last day that they announce new local cases.
Doctor Fong says they may have found thousands of contacts, but it will take many more days of testing to know how many people may be positive and how the containment strategy must evolve in response.
He says they are going to steadily enhance their community surveillance plans, both through mobile teams and stationary clinics.
Doctor Fong says they have likely cases of community transmission in Fiji, that means access to screening and testing at the community level is critical.
He says if new cases come about and future restrictions must come into place, this strengthened network of community surveillance will ensure those measures can be more targeted.
In the meantime, please do not leave your homes unless you need to get food, medicine, or other essential items.
Please don’t only act carefully just because the Health Ministry told you to do so, do it because your life and the lives of those you love depend on it.
There is some positive news as six more patients have recovered from COVID-19 in Fiji.
Head of Health Protection Dr Aalisha Sahukhan says there are now 49 active cases where three are border quarantine cases, 34 are locally transmitted cases while 12 are still under investigation.
We have had 178 cases since our first case last year with 125 recoveries and 4 deaths.
Dr Sahukhan says 75,260 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Fiji since they first began testing last year.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong has also confirmed that the two patients who were admitted into Intensive Care on Monday are responding well to the treatment.
Dr Fong says their teams are attending dutifully to these patients and providing them with the best possible care.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong has highlighted that the COVID-19 test result is based on what science has told them.
Responding to a question about the case from Naria in Rakiraki where the man claimed that all his test were negative and if this could also be a false positive result as the one in Labasa, Doctor Fong says that is a technical discussion but from a science perspective the man from Naria is positive but he did not transmit the virus to his family.
He says when they tried to duplicate the virus several times in the machine at Fiji Centre for Disease Control, it did not take them long to isolate the virus and when they tried to duplicate it with others that are weakly positive, it took them a longer period to isolate it.
Doctor Fong adds the only thing he can say in the matter is that the science has spoken, the man's result was positive but it just happens that he did not infect others.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says the Rapid Antigen Test is not accurate enough for the purpose of containing people and cleaning the place from COVID-19.
Doctor Fong highlighted this when questioned if the Rapid Antigen Test which was approved by the WHO and the Food and Drug Administration in the US, has been endorsed by the Ministry of Health and if Fiji will use this as it can further boost testing and results can come out in 15 minutes.
He says it is not as easy to interpret these COVID-19 tests as it is to do.
Doctor Fong clarifies that the interpretation is quite tricky if you are working in a country which has a low prevalence of a disease.
He says the problem is interpreting the test when it turns positive because they can have a high level of false positives.
Doctor Fong says they are also aware that if they use the rapid test, it should be used in a bubble and not test the general public.
He says when you strive for elimination those rapid test do not function properly.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also states that similar to other antigen tests, a small percentage of positive and negative results from this test may be false.
It says therefore for patients without symptoms, positive results should be treated as presumptively positive until confirmed by another test as soon as possible.
The FDA says this is especially true if there are fewer infections in a particular community, as false positive results can be more common when antigen tests are used in populations where there is little COVID-19.
It had issued an emergency use authorization for the first over-the-counter fully at-home diagnostic test for COVID-19.
The Ellume COVID-19 Home Test is a rapid, lateral flow antigen test, a type of test that runs a liquid sample along a surface with reactive molecules.
The test detects fragments of proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from a nasal swab sample from any individual 2 years of age or older.
The FDA had said by authorizing a test for over-the-counter use, the FDA allows it to be sold in places like drug stores, where a patient can buy it, swab their nose, run the test and find out their results in as little as 20 minutes.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed there are 11 new positive cases of COVID-19 in Fiji.
He says after another 2974 tests, they have recorded the 11 cases.
The first six are related to the Vunimono/Nadali cluster in Nausori and were in home isolation.
The next 5 are household contacts of a previous case.
They have been in a quarantine facility in Nausori, and tested negative for their entry swabs while being admitted to the facility, but now have tested positive for their 2nd swabs in quarantine.
Doctor Fong says three previously infected patients have recovered, which means there are currently 57 active cases in home isolation or quarantine facilities.
He says the Ministry appreciates the cooperation of the people of Fiji in staying at home, avoiding unnecessary contacts outside the immediate family, quickly reporting symptoms and potential contacts with infected persons, and using the careFIJI app.
Doctor Fong says all of these actions will help us contain this virus.
He says they also appreciate the cooperation of the business houses and employers in working with the Government to implement strict Covid safe protocols and measures.
The details of how businesses can access approvals to operate under the strict Covid safe protocols and measures are available on the Fijian Government Facebook.
You can also email covidbizpass@mcttt.gov.fj for further information.
Fiji will have approximately 86,000 AstraZeneca doses by the end of the week through the COVAX facility and Australia and New Zealand.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong reveals the vaccination plan includes taking vaccines to Fijians through mobile units.
He says this will ensure that all Fijians will be able to access the vaccine without having to travel far or wait too long in queues.
For further convenience to members of the public, they will also have drive-through vaccination sites.
The locations of the mobile vaccination teams will be announced early next week.
He says their priority will be to provide first-dose to the rest of the frontline workers including those who have a high level of public contact in their employment such as taxi and bus drivers and those working in supermarkets; Fijians living in densely populated areas; and to individuals who are particularly vulnerable because of age, compromised immunity and certain chronic illnesses.
Doctor Fong says they will also complete the vaccination process for those who have already received their first dose.
Fiji will have approximately 86,000 AstraZeneca doses by the end of the week through the COVAX facility and Australia and New Zealand.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong reveals the vaccination plan includes taking vaccines to Fijians through mobile units.
He says this will ensure that all Fijians will be able to access the vaccine without having to travel far or wait too long in queues.
For further convenience to members of the public, they will also have drive-through vaccination sites.
The locations of the mobile vaccination teams will be announced early next week.
He says their priority will be to provide first-dose to the rest of the frontline workers including those who have a high level of public contact in their employment such as taxi and bus drivers and those working in supermarkets; Fijians living in densely populated areas; and to individuals who are particularly vulnerable because of age, compromised immunity and certain chronic illnesses.
Doctor Fong says they will also complete the vaccination process for those who have already received their first dose.
The Ministry of Health says 7,000 backlogged swabs were flown out to Australia today for COVID-19 tests, with another 4,000 expected to depart on Saturday.
This is due to the backlog of approximately 11,000 swab samples due to the temporary shutdown of the Fiji Centre for Disease Control.
There are no new COVID-19 cases to report as at 6am today.
57 active cases are in isolation.
The Ministry says the latest testing data will be reported once a day during the evening update.
Please note that the Health Ministry will be lifting restrictions on specific lockdown areas as results become available.
Decisions about containment areas will also await results from the backlog of tests.
The Ministry of Health says that they will now begin publishing an update early each afternoon giving basic data available as of 6 o’clock that morning.
The more detailed evening statement will also continue as and when required.
The Ministry also says it is essential to locate, test and isolate anyone who may be infected with the virus and not show symptoms.
This is one of the many reasons they have been tracing, testing, and quarantining contacts of cases so thoroughly since the very first case in Fiji.
Police have increased their manpower around the Nadali cordoned off area in Nausori after reports that some people are coming out of the area through some short cuts.
Nadali has increasing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the past few days.
There are reports from the ground that some people are coming out from the back area of Nadali somewhere near Tabaraki, in Vuci Road.
Some people have told us that while they can see Nadali cordoned off from the main road, some of the people are coming out from the back area to go to Nausori Town.
There are a few shortcuts from the back end of Nadali which comes all the way towards Ratu Cakobau Park and Vuci Road.
Acting Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu says they will arrest anyone caught coming out of the containment areas.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 1 new case of COVID-19.
The new case is a household contact of the latest Vunimono/Nadali cases announced on Wednesday.
Doctor Fong says contact tracing investigations are ongoing for this individual.
1 patient has recovered, which means there are now 57 active cases in isolation facilities.
2 are border quarantine cases, 45 were locally transmitted, and 10 are under investigation to determine the source of transmission.
He says cases under investigation are considered as community transmission until proven otherwise.
Fiji has had 190 cases in total, with 129 recoveries and 4 deaths, since our first case was reported on March 19th 2020.
A total of 80,946 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted since they started testing in early 2020.
Five new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed from one household in Muanikoso, Nasinu.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says one of these cases is an employee of Extra Supermarket.
All five of these cases have been under home quarantine following the discovery of that cluster last week.
Contact tracing investigations are ongoing.
Doctor Fong says the contact tracing for Case 190 (who was announced yesterday) from the Vunimono/Nadali cluster has identified him as being a potential high risk case for transmission.
The man is a driver for a security company and was working up until Wednesday, May 19th.
Doctor Fong says the public should expect to see extensive contact tracing activities ongoing in the Suva-Nausori area.
There are now 62 active cases in isolation.
They have recorded 195 cases and four deaths in Fiji since recording our first case on March 19th 2020.
There are 2625 primary contacts of previous cases who were being monitored in Suva.
Out of the 2625, 1619 have been cleared, with 1006 still being followed up.
The Permanent Secretary says they are confident more cases are present in the community.
It says through widespread adherence to the existing COVID-safe health measures, we can break new chains of transmission even as new cases are detected and eventually allow for lessened restrictions on movement and greater economic activity.
If you have an essential reason to leave your home, please wear a mask, maintain a safe physical distance of at least 2 metres between yourself and others at all times, and make sure you have careFIJI installed with bluetooth kept on.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they will not lock down the Muanikoso area in Nasinu as the 5 members of the household took all the precautions and were in home quarantine from May 11th.
Doctor Fong says that a member of the household from Muanikoso is an employee of Extra Supermarket and known primary contact of one of the cases from that cluster.
She was identified as a contact on Tuesday 11th May and has been in home quarantine ever since.
Doctor Fong says it is believed that she contracted the virus from the case at her place of work and then it spread within her household.
The investigation by the response team has highlighted that her entire household also placed themselves in home quarantine from 11th May; they remained at home, and enlisted the support of their extended family to maintain their quarantine; dropping groceries at their gate during the quarantine period.
He says based on the results of the investigations, and due to the diligence of this family in maintaining their home quarantine, they will not be locking down Muanikoso at this time.
Doctor Fong says we must commend the family for their decision to adhere to the home quarantine directive issued by the Ministry.
There are no other new cases as of 6pm today.
One COVID-19 patient has recovered today, which means there are now 61 active cases in isolation facilities.
2 are border quarantine cases, 49 were locally transmitted, and 10 are under investigation to determine the source of transmission.
Education Minister Rosy Akbar says we will only resume face-to-face classes and classroom teaching when Fiji is once again COVID contained.
While speaking about the extended closure of schools, Akbar says after close consultation with Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and the Ministry of Health they found this to be the best course of action if they are to ensure the safety of students and teachers given the severity of the current pandemic situation not only in Fiji but across the world.
She says she understands that there are many concerns regarding the continued education of our children as they wait at home for schools to eventually reopen.
Akbar says while their primary concern remains the safety of all Fijians, rest assured that they are not neglecting the continuing education of the children.
She further adds that just because children are at home it doesn’t mean that their education is doomed to become a COVID-19 casualty as education never stops.
Akbar is urging parents to make every effort possible to ensure their children are doing some form of academic and informal activities while they remain home during this month of extended closure.
The Minister says all their efforts is aimed at making sure Fiji is COVID contained and we once again regain our normalcy.
Akbar has also urged parents to be there for their children who may not understand everything that is happening around them.
She has also thanked every parent who are making sure their children are safe at home.
Akbar says data has shown that some schools around the world have been closed for more than 40 weeks.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr. James Fong has confirmed that parts of Muanikoso in Nasinu are being cordoned off.
5 people from a household tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday.
Doctor Fong had said yesterday they will not lock down the Muanikoso area in Nasinu as the 5 members of the household took all the precautions and were in home quarantine from May 11th.
Doctor Fong said that a member of the household from Muanikoso is an employee of Extra Supermarket and known primary contact of one of the cases from that cluster.
She was identified as a contact on Tuesday 11th May and has been in home quarantine ever since.
Doctor Fong said it is believed that she contracted the virus from the case at her place of work and then it spread within her household.
The investigation by the response team has highlighted that her entire household also placed themselves in home quarantine from 11th May; they remained at home, and enlisted the support of their extended family to maintain their quarantine; dropping groceries at their gate during the quarantine period.
He said based on the results of the investigations, and due to the diligence of this family in maintaining their home quarantine, they will not be locking down Muanikoso at this time.
Doctor Fong added we must commend the family for their decision to adhere to the home quarantine directive issued by the Ministry.
There are now three more cases of COVID-19 from Muanikoso in Nasinu which has also resulted in the area being locked down.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the cases are all tied to the cluster in Muanikoso.
Doctor Fong says one case is from the same household as the other cases previously announced in Muanikoso.
The other two cases are neighbours from an adjoining home.
Doctor Fong says the close proximity of the two households strongly suggests there was contact at some point.
He says this may have been before the members of the first household began their home quarantine on May 11th.
The Permanent Secretary says given that these two new cases in the second household were not under a home quarantine order, they have locked down the Muanikoso area until further investigations can inform the risk assessment for the community.
Doctor Fong stresses that no one residing in the area will be allowed to leave.
Those outside of the area who reside in the community will be allowed to re-enter provided they acknowledge they will not be allowed to leave.
The contact tracing investigations into the Muanikoso cluster indicate that case 191, an Extra Supermarket employee, is the most likely source point for transmission.
Doctor Fong says she had careFIJI installed with the Bluetooth switched on, so their contact tracing teams have digitally logged interactions to inform their investigations.
He says this case again reinforces the importance for all Fijians to stay home at all times.
If you do have an essential reason to leave, wear a mask, maintain two metres of physical distance from others, and install careFIJI and keep Bluetooth turned on.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr.James Fong says the contact tracing stemming from case 190 (the security company driver) has identified 29 contacts.
He says none of these contacts have been confirmed as COVID-positive.
Dr.Fong says as of this morning, 63.7% of the Fijian population have been screened for COVID-like symptoms as well as travel histories that may have exposed them to the virus.
He adds screening will be conducted multiple times to effectively screen for COVID-like symptoms, and they ask that the public continue to cooperate with their screening teams and report to one of their 58 screening clinics across the country if they are experiencing any flu-like symptoms, such as fever, dry cough, fatigue, loss of appetite, loss of smell, or body ache.
There are now 65 active cases in isolation. Fiji has recorded 197 cases and four deaths in Fiji since recording our first case on March 19th 2020.
The borders of the lockdown areas of Makoi in Nasinu, Naria in Rakiraki, and Dokonavatu, Nanukuloa and Naiserelagi in Savoi, Ra has been lifted.
Health Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Dr. James Fong says these areas have each gone for more than 14 days (the incubation period for COVID-19) without new cases.
Dr. Fong says an additional 4,000 swabs have been sent to Australia today while 7,000 backlogged swabs were flown out on Thursday for processing.
He says they expect that the test results will arrive early next week.
Dr. Fong adds once they have this data, they will consider relaxing the borders of containment areas where they have a high degree of confidence that community transmission has been eliminated.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed that there are another 8 new COVID-19 cases as at 6pm yesterday.
One case is from Muanikoso in Nasinu and is a contact of the Vunimono/Nadali cluster.
Doctor Fong says the second case presented to Samabula Health Centre with COVID-19 symptoms.
Six members of her household in Samabula have now also tested positive.
Doctor Fong says at this early stage of investigations there has been no link established between these and other cases.
He says the public should expect extensive investigations and screening to be ongoing related to these cases in Muanikoso and Samabula.
Three patients have recovered, which means there are now 69 active cases.
Fiji has had 206 cases in total, with 133 recoveries and 4 deaths, since the first case was reported on March 19th 2020.
A total of 86,742 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted since they started testing in early 2020.
2802 samples were tested yesterday.
The daily test number for the laboratory at Tamavua Twomey Hospital has not been received so the actual number of tests for yesterday is higher than currently reported.
Shop N Save Supermarket in Nabua and Waila Housing in Nausori have been cordoned off.
Police confirm they sealed off the two places this morning.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr. James Fong says these measures are either part of their investigation or response.
11 cases were announced yesterday.
Three cases were announced from Muanikoso yesterday which has also resulted in a lockdown of the area.
Doctor Fong has also confirmed that there are another 8 new COVID-19 cases as at 6pm yesterday.
One case is from Muanikoso in Nasinu and is a contact of the Vunimono/Nadali cluster.
Doctor Fong says the second case presented to Samabula Health Centre with COVID-19 symptoms.
Six members of her household in Samabula have now also tested positive.
Doctor Fong says at this early stage of investigations there has been no link established between these and other cases.
He says the public should expect extensive investigations and screening to be ongoing related to these cases in Muanikoso and Samabula.
Three patients have recovered, which means there are now 69 active cases.
Fiji has had 206 cases in total, with 133 recoveries and 4 deaths, since the first case was reported on March 19th 2020.
A total of 86,742 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted since they started testing in early 2020.
2802 samples were tested yesterday.
The daily test number for the laboratory at Tamavua Twomey Hospital has not been received so the actual number of tests for yesterday is higher than currently reported.
The Ministry of Health says in light of recent COVID-19 cases they have set-up screening and isolation zones in Waila and Tacirua.
Permanent Secretary, Dr James Fong says with more cases coming out of Muanikoso, screening and isolation has been expanded to the area as well.
Dr.Fong says after the announcement of cases in Samabula, they have advised the family members on the next step and asked that they go into household isolation, particularly for those in Samabula.
He confirms they will also be having a household isolation site in Tacirua.
Dr. Fong says there will be ongoing investigations and responses over the next few days which would be visible to the public.
He has urged the public to remain calm as the Ministry continues with contact tracing and containment measures.
He has advised that “if you are anxious, the most useful thing to do is to stay home and allow their teams to continue their screening and containment program”.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed there are six new positive cases to report as of 6 o’clock last night.
The first 2 cases are from Muanikoso in Nasinu and are primary contacts of other cases.
Doctor Fong says the next 4 cases tested positive while in quarantine and are primary contacts of one of the Extra Supermarket employee cases.
He had announced 18 cases at midday yesterday from Waila, Tacirua, Samabula and Muanikoso.
There are now 92 active cases in isolation.
Fiji has had 230 cases in total, with 134 recoveries and 4 deaths, since our first case was reported on March 19th 2020.
A total of 88,294 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted since testing started in early 2020.
A total of 1,629 samples were tested on Saturday.
There are 18 new COVID-19 cases since the update last night.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 10 cases are from 2 related families in Waila, 4 cases are from a household in Tacirua while 2 cases are from a household in Muanikoso.
Doctor Fong says they are early in the investigations into these new cases and currently no link has been established with other cases.
However he says these latest cases involve a number of people who visited well-known shops, grocery stores and other commercial facilities in the area, which will make contact tracing and data they can gain from the careFIJI app very important.
Please be sure to have the app installed and running on your phone, with Bluetooth turned on.
Doctor Fong says a number of recent cases acknowledged that they did not observe proper physical distancing as they moved about the community, and attended social events such as grog parties.
Another contact of the Samabula cluster is positive while an Extra Supermarket worker tested positive on their final swab in quarantine.
In addition to an expanded Muanikoso screening zone, the Health Ministry has established screening zones in parts of Samabula, Waila and Tacirua, where they are now conducting intensive screening and testing.
Doctor Fong says they repeat the advice to wear masks, wash hands frequently, observe physical distancing always, and avoid crowds.
And please do not attend social events, and do not invite people in from outside your household.
It is also very important to maintain discipline at work by staying within your bubbles if your workplace has them and by keeping your masks firmly in place.
Don’t let your guard down, set an example in your community, and encourage family, neighbors and people you meet to observe these common-sense practices. This is very serious.
He stresses they will now be making it mandatory to wear a mask or face covering if you live in a containment area and are outside your home.
The Health Ministry will conduct a massive vaccination drive beginning today throughout the Central Division for all persons 18 and older who have not yet received their first dose.
The Ministry says they have arranged for vaccination centres at well-known fixed locations and will also deploy mobile vaccination teams in some areas.
They add vaccination sites, times and any special information will be published every day on the Fijian Government Facebook page.
The Health Ministry says transmission is concentrated in the Central Division at this time, in the Suva-Nausori Containment Area, and that is where they are focusing their attention, personnel and resources.
One more person has recovered from COVID-19 while Fiji currently has 86 active cases, with 224 cases recorded in total since our first case in March 2020.
All active cases are stable.
Lautoka Hospital has completed 18 days of isolation so far.
The Health Ministry says it is undertaking the 4th round of testing for staff and patients.
They also plan to complete the 2nd dose of vaccination for all staff isolated in the hospital by next week.
The Health Ministry is urging people to ensure that they have their careFIJI app-enabled.
The Health Ministry says some of the recent cases have the app but their Bluetooth was not turned on.
Please ensure your Bluetooth is turned on as it will help the Ministry in contact tracing.
We also urge all businesses to ensure their security personnel or staff check that the careFIJI app is running, not just ask if people have the app.
Fijivillage has noticed that some staff are just asking customers if they have the app but do not bother to check if it is running.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong announced three new cases of COVID-19 last night.
The first two cases are from Nadawa and 7 miles Nasinu.
They are primary contacts of case 211 from Tacirua.
The third case is from Samabula and is also a primary contact of an earlier case.
Five cases were also announced after midday yesterday.
Doctor Fong also says they can now confirm that there was one positive test result in the first batch of 7,000 samples sent to Australia.
This was initially reported as inconclusive during the afternoon update yesterday, while the rest of the test results were negative.
However, they can also confirm that this positive sample from Natabua Health Centre in Lautoka, is from an already known COVID-19 case that was identified as a contact of another case and had tested positive for later samples already tested in Fiji.
Doctor Fong says she was isolated, treated and then released after recovering.
He says no further action is needed for this case, and the total case number remains the same.
One patient has recovered, which means there are now 99 active cases in isolation.
Fiji has had 238 cases in total, with 135 recoveries and 4 deaths, since the first case was reported on March 19th 2020.
A total of 90,325 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted since they started testing in early 2020.
A total of 1933 samples were tested on Sunday.
Five new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed since the last update yesterday evening.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says four of these cases are in Muanikoso from 2 separate households.
Doctor Fong says they were all located within the Muanikoso Containment Zone, and were picked up as part of the mass screening currently ongoing in that area. The other case is from Samabula and is an employee of a catering group that was providing food after a funeral gathering held at the Samabula cluster household.
This person was a close contact of a case from that cluster. There are now 97 active cases in isolation with the total number of cases recorded in Fiji since the first case in March 2020 now at 235. Doctor Fong says their recent experience tells them that other than within households, this virus has been spreading most commonly within workplaces and during social gatherings.
He says workplaces with large numbers of staff, like supermarkets, are at high risk for spread of the infection. Doctor Fong says they are urging all workplaces, including supermarkets and other commercial establishments to review their procedures and make sure they are complying with the protocols they have established to eliminate the spread. Commercial establishments and operators of public transport vehicles must enforce limits on capacity, enforce masking requirements, be diligent about cleaning and disinfecting surfaces, ensure staff do not work if they are sick, and make sure all employees comply and also enforce these procedures.
Everyone must download the careFiji app.
The Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport will work with commercial business owners, particularly supermarkets and the transport industry to make sure that everyone understands the practices they must follow. Doctor Fong says they have also seen evidence that people have travelled on public transport or done shopping despite experiencing symptoms.
The typical symptoms of COVID-19 include fatigue, fever, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath, body aches, or a sudden loss of taste or smell. If you experience any of these symptoms, even one, and even if it is very mild, you must be screened immediately.
Go to the nearest mobile screening centre, wearing a mask and maintaining two metres physical distance between you and any other person you encounter. If you do not know where the nearest screening centre is located, call 158 and ask. Do not use public transport if you have any symptoms.
Doctor Fong says the responsible act is to assume the worst and act with extreme caution.
The Health Ministry is awaiting results from another 4,000 swab samples undergoing testing in Australia.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr. James Fong says the majority of samples in this second batch are from the containment areas of Suva, Nasinu, Nausori, Nadi and Lautoka.
The results from 7,000 backlogged swab samples sent to Australia for testing have been received with all being negative except for one inconclusive sample from Lautoka that will be retested.
Dr Fong adds the high number of negative results is not unexpected as the majority of samples that were backlogged, and then shipped to Australia in this batch of 7,000, were from outside the containment areas, including a large number of samples from the Northern Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong confirmed last night that there are 11 new positive COVID-19 cases.
Ten of the new cases are from one household in Kinoya linked to the Extra Supermarket cluster.
He says the eleventh case is a work contact of case 206 from the Samabula cluster, who works for FICAC.
Ten cases were also announced after midday yesterday.
Doctor Fong says contact tracing investigations are ongoing and the public should expect to see the Ministry teams on the ground conducting these investigations throughout Suva.
He says though cases have not been detected in Lami, the public should also expect to see increased screening activities there in an effort to ramp up the community surveillance beyond the current known areas where cases have been found.
12 patients have recovered, which means there are now 108 active cases in isolation.
Fiji has had 259 cases in total, with 147 recoveries and 4 deaths, since the first case was reported on March 19th 2020.
Meanwhile results have been received from the remaining 4000 of the 11,000 total backlogged samples that were sent to two private laboratories in Melbourne, Australia, for testing.
There are zero positive results reported from these samples.
Doctor Fong says the reference lab, the Melbourne Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory at the Doherty Institute, is now conducting verification of these results.
A total of 92,821 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted since they started testing in early 2020.
10 new COVID-19 cases have been announced this afternoon - 3 cases are from Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Nabua, 1 from Tacirua, 3 from Muanikoso, 1 from Kinoya and 1 from Navosai in Narere.
QEB in Nabua has been under total lockdown after confirmation of the 3 cases.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the 10th case has not yet been linked to any other cases at this early stage of the investigation.
The 10th case is a member of the Fiji Navy from Tacirua who presented to the Nuffield Health Centre in Tamavua with symptoms, where he was swabbed and tested positive.
Doctor Fong says this tenth case was identified through the community surveillance programme, which includes swabbing of people who present with symptoms to screening clinics or health centres.
He says depending on what their investigations reveal about this case, the Ministry may recommend extensions of health protection measures.
The Permanent Secretary says nine are contacts of earlier announced cases that were identified through ongoing contact tracing and screening investigations.
There are now 109 active cases in isolation, with the total number of cases recorded in Fiji since the first case in March 2020 now at 248.
He says they have had 135 recoveries and 4 deaths.
The Health Ministry has now conducted 585,709 screenings and 27,026 swabs through the community mobile screening program, in addition to screenings at health facilities and fixed screening clinics and the contact-tracing screenings conducted for positive cases.
There 27 new COVID-19 cases with 1 case being a day patient at CWM Hospital.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the patient was not admitted at the hospital but was tested as part of a pre-admission screening program that is being conducted at the hospital.
Investigations are ongoing into the possible source of her infection.
14 of the new positive cases were announced as of 6 o’clock last night.
Doctor Fong says 13 of the new cases are contacts of previously announced cases.
9 of the new cases announced last night are from the Navy cluster, 3 are contacts of the Waila cluster and 1 case is a household contact of case 244 in the Muanikoso cluster.
Doctor Fong says 8 patients have recovered, which means there are now 127 active cases in isolation.
Fiji has had 286 cases in total, with 155 recoveries and 4 deaths, since the first case was reported on March 19th 2020.
96,111 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted since testing started in early 2020.
This does not include the 11,000 samples recently tested in Australia.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed 13 new cases of COVID-19 since last night, and 12 of these cases are Fiji Navy staff.
Doctor Fong says the 12 Fiji Navy staff are primary contacts of the Navy staff case announced yesterday after he went to the Nuffield Health Centre in Tamavua.
He says investigations are ongoing and no links have yet been established with other clusters.
The 13th case is another member of the Kinoya household announced last night.
This means that there are now 11 positive cases in one household in Kinoya.
There are now 121 active cases in isolation.
Fiji has now recorded 272 cases in Fiji since the first case was detected in March last year, with 147 recoveries.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed that due to a shortage of suitable accommodation sites that may serve as quarantine facilities in the Central Division, they are now moving close contacts of cases that are negative on their entry and 4th day tests to the established quarantine facilities in Nadi to complete the remainder of their 14 day quarantine.
Doctor Fong says the prerequisite of the 2 negative tests is in place to mitigate the risk of transmission between those in quarantine during their travel to Nadi.
Pearl Resort at Pacific Harbour and Novotel Lami were earlier confirmed as quarantine facilities for contacts.
Six new positive COVID-19 cases were announced last night.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 4 cases are primary contacts within the Muanikoso cluster and 2 are from the Vunivivi cluster.
22 cases were announced after midday yesterday which includes 12 cases from Vunivivi Nausori, 7 Navy officers, 2 from Queen Elizabeth Barracks and 1 from Kinoya.
Investigations have revealed that the navy, Waila and Vunivivi clusters are connected through a common exposure event which was a funeral.
Doctor Fong says the resident of Kinoya has no links to other cases at this early stage of investigation.
He says the 2 new cases at the George Mate Medical Centre at Queen Elizabeth Barracks are connected to the QEB cluster.
Doctor Fong adds the 7 naval officers and staff are contacts of the first naval officer to test positive and are part of the navy cluster.
He also says 12 are residents of Vunivivi in Nausori.
They were found as part of screening of that area in connection with the navy cluster.
Doctor Fong says it is clear that the concentration of this outbreak is now in the Suva-Nausori area.
He says most of the new cases in recent days were discovered through contact tracing investigations for known cases, which is an indicator that the contact tracing efforts are effective.
The Permanent Secretary says significant escalations in daily case numbers have been largely driven by the fact that recent cases have been linked to large households or workplace groups, funeral gatherings and the associated grog sessions in big groups.
4 patients have recovered, which means there are now 151 active cases in isolation, with all active cases within Suva-Nausori.
There have been 244 cases during this current outbreak, and Fiji has had 314 cases in total, with 159 recoveries and 4 deaths, since the first case was reported on March 19th 2020.
22 new COVID-19 cases have been announced which include 12 cases from Vunivivi Nausori, 7 Navy officers, 2 from Queen Elizabeth Barracks and 1 from Kinoya.
Investigations have revealed that the navy, Waila and Vunivivi clusters are connected through a common exposure event which was a funeral.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the resident of Kinoya has no links to other cases at this early stage of investigation.
Doctor Fong says the 2 new cases at the George Mate Medical Centre at Queen Elizabeth Barracks are connected to the QEB cluster.
He says the 7 naval officers and staff are contacts of the first naval officer to test positive and are part of the navy cluster.
Doctor Fong also says 12 are residents of Vunivivi in Nausori.
They were found as part of screening of that area in connection with the navy cluster.
Doctor Fong says it is clear that the concentration of this outbreak is now in the Suva-Nausori area.
He says most of the new cases in recent days were discovered through contact tracing investigations for known cases, which is an indicator that the contact tracing efforts are effective.
The Permanent Secretary says significant escalations in daily case numbers have been largely driven by the fact that recent cases have been linked to large households or workplace groups, funeral gatherings and the associated grog sessions in big groups.
308 cases have been recorded since March last year with 155 recoveries and 4 deaths.
There have been 238 cases during this current outbreak, and there are now 149 active cases.
Please follow the COVID-19 safety guidelines and avoid unnecessary movements.
16,148 people have received their first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine since the restart of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign within the Suva and Nausori Containment Zones on Monday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says a total of 13,398 first doses were administered to the people living between Suva to Nausori while 2,750 second doses were given to the frontliners across Fiji.
As of 26th May 2021, 111,801 people in Fiji have received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
This is 17% of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services’ target population of 650,000 individuals.
Please note a daily list of vaccination sites will be released each evening.
Doctor Fong also acknowledges the support of the different government ministries, agencies including RFMF, Fiji Police, civil society groups and ordinary Fijians who have come forward in the successful roll-out of the vaccination program.
The Health Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Dr James Fong says they are reviewing their restrictions in the West and North and will be making more definitive announcements in the next few days.
Dr. Fong says they have received more detailed data regarding the effectiveness of the containment measures in the Northern and Western Divisions.
He says the Lautoka Hospital has ended their 21-day isolation with almost all patients discharged yesterday.
He confirms the hospital has also discharged its last 2 COVID-19 patients as they have recovered.
Dr Fong says with the recovery of these 2 patients there will be 0 active cases in the West, and it has also been 15 days since the last case was reported from that division.
The Parliament sittings scheduled for today, Friday 28 May 2021, and Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2021 have been cancelled.
In a statement, Speaker of Parliament Ratu Epeli Nailatikau confirms a secretariat staff has been identified as a primary contact of a COVID-19 positive case.
Ratu Epeli adds as a precautionary measure and upon the directive of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, the Parliamentary precincts and offices will be closed with immediate effect until further notice.
He says all Parliamentary business will resume upon advice and clearance from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services.
The Fiji Cancer Society is assisting 50 cancer patients in the Western Division with groceries, medication, diapers and other necessities as they are struggling to make ends meet.
Society CEO, Belinda Chan says they understand the sacrifices the families make not only to ensure that the sick are taken care of but the children are fed well.
She says about 150 cancer patients in the West have registered with them and their teams have identified patients that absolutely need the assistance.
They have provided grocery vouchers to buy supplies for the patients, diapers for palliative cases and medication top up if there is a need.
Chan says they are also working closely with the team at Lautoka Hospital to help cancer patients there.
The CEO says they have also continued to provide their normal services such as home visitations and providing whatever support is needed for the patients.
Chan has also highlighted they are looking at forming a new partnership with a Lautoka based NGO – BIRTH Fiji to provide counselling services to patients.
If you or your loved one is a cancer patient and you need assistance you can reach out to the Fiji Cancer Society on 9990670.
Fiji has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases as Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed 46 new cases that are all from the Central Division.
Doctor Fong says 43 of these cases are linked to existing clusters that were under investigation and detected through contact tracing and targeted screening.
28 cases are from Nadali in Nausori, 3 are from Navosai in Narere and are linked to the Narere funeral cluster, 2 are from Muanikoso, 9 from the navy cluster - (8 from Kinoya and 1 from Nadonumai in Lami), and 1 case is from the Samabula funeral cluster.
This means there is now a confirmed case in the Lami Containment Zone as Nadonumai is past the Tamavua-i-Wai Bridge.
Doctor Fong says 3 new cases are currently not linked to other cases and are under investigation.
He says the Nadali community is now on day 29 of lockdown while Muanikoso is on day 6.
It has also been confirmed that 2 of the active cases are now in the Intensive Care Unit at CWM Hospital in Suva.
The Permanent Secretary also says there has been a very significant increase in daily cases reported from the Suva-Nausori area.
He says it is important to note that the majority of these cases have been found as a result of their extensive contact tracing effort and are linked to known clusters.
Doctor Fong says this increase was not unexpected, but it should serve to show how easily this virus is transmitted and why restrictions are in place.
They also expect the number of cases to rise because they are testing aggressively in areas where they know the virus is spreading.
Meanwhile, 2 patients have recovered, which means there are now 195 active cases.
Fiji has had 360 cases in total since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 161 recoveries and 4 deaths.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong urges families to limit graveside services to 10 persons and to limit gatherings before or after the burial to 10 persons or less.
Doctor Fong says activities surrounding funerals appear to be the most troublesome spreader events, and this is an alarming situation.
He says their investigations indicate that in some instances, funeral gatherings of 100 were split up into 5 so-called bubbles of 20 persons.
Doctor Fong says many of you will understand that this does not make sense.
He says we need to stop twisting and turning the COVID safe directives to suit our purposes.
He also says we need to treasure the memory of those we have lost and when more normal times return we can plan memorial events in which our loved ones are commemorated in a suitable way.
Doctor Fong says everyone should recall that this latest outbreak gained momentum when one person who contracted the virus in the border quarantine area attended a funeral, yet funeral gatherings continue to be sources of spread.
Doctor Fong says the death of a loved one is a difficult time for everyone, but people must adjust to the current situation and avoid funeral gatherings.
He says the deceased must be buried, and we must pay our respects and accompany them during their last hours on earth, but we must temporarily find new ways to do this.
The Permanent Secretary says they will strengthen enforcement of COVID-safe restrictions such as restrictions on movement and gatherings, mask-wearing, physical distancing, and the other measures designed to prevent people from coming into contact with the virus.
19,348 people have been vaccinated in the Suva-Nausori corridor and 24,042 in all of Fiji since Monday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says to date, 18.5 percent of the targeted population have received at least one dose, and 3,117 individuals have had 2 doses.
Doctor Fong says an additional 50,000 AstraZeneca doses are due to arrive in the country by the end of the week.
He says once these doses are deployed, at least 260,000 people will have got their first dose.
The COVID-19 restrictions in the Western Division are being reviewed and announcements will be made by the Health Ministry soon.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they are doing the same with the Northern Division, where there is no evidence of transmission.
He says the data for the Western Division is good but they need to be cautious.
Doctor Fong says while they have been conducting an appropriate number of tests and have uncovered no new cases, they will need to maintain the escalated community surveillance.
The Permanent Secretary also says they will need to maintain restrictions on movement from Viti Levu to Vanua Levu in order to ensure that Vanua Levu remains transmission-free.
He says they will be exploring and announcing soon protocols of movement that will allow persons who have not been home for long to return home.
Doctor Fong says this virus has kept families apart and has caused undue social suffering.
He says their response has been firm and has proven successful in the Western Division and in specific locations in the Central Division.
Doctor Fong urges all Fijians to stay the course and follow the practices that are necessary to contain this outbreak and get us back to normal.
Head of Health Protection, Dr Aalisha Sahukhan says the 7 day average daily test positivity in the Central Division is increasing and is currently at 1.1 percent, and she also urges people to adhere to the health restrictions in place as the teams in the Central Division have been working almost 24/7, in all weather conditions to do contact tracing.
Dr. Sahukhan says the daily test positivity is still below the 2 to 5 percent threshold that they have adding that this upward trend is also indicative of the increasing number of cases reported daily in the Central Division despite high levels of testing.
Dr Sahukhan says the health teams have been doing a remarkable job and they do need the public’s help.
She adds the majority of the new cases from the Central Division are linked to existing clusters and these clusters are large because they are associated with mass gathering events such as funerals, large work groups or large households.
Dr.Sahukhan says Fiji has had 360 cases since last year, 161 recoveries and 4 deaths.
She also says they have done over 58,000 lab tests since April.
Dr.Sahukhan adds the most recent data shows 3.2 tests per 1,000 population are being conducted in the Central Division which is above their target and says this is comparable to Australia and New Zealand.
The Fiji Emergency Medical Assistance Team Field Hospital in Lautoka will be moved to CWM Hospital on June 6th.
This has been confirmed by the Health Ministry's Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu who says that over the weekend they will move patients from the FEMAT Hospital to the Lautoka Hospital.
Doctor Tudravu says the whole operation of the Fiji Emergency Medical Assistance Team will be brought to take up a supporting role for CWM.
Lautoka Hospital has completed 21 days of isolation and it has also been 21 days since the last case was recorded from within Lautoka Hospital, with 4 rounds of testing completed for all patients and staff.
Doctor Tudravu says today is Day 20 of the operations of FEMAT Field Hospital in Lautoka and 1,328 people have gone through triage, 152 admissions, 93 discharges together with 58 operations which include 39 operations done at the MV Veivueti Hospital Ship.
Doctor Tudravu says at the moment there are 13 community and hospital isolation facilities activities.
He says six community and seven health facilities are now used as isolation wards and is accommodating 197 positive cases.
Doctor Tudravu also calls on people to temporarily amend their last rites without dishonoring their family members.
He says funeral gatherings set the perfect stage for a super spreader event. Doctor Tudravu says he has also done some amendments on performing the last rituals for family members.
He says today is the 40th day of the current outbreak and people should expect more mass screening and contracting.
Suva, Nausori and Lami are now in one big containment zone known as the Lami-Nausori containment zone.
The borders were lifted at 4 o'clock this morning following the announcement by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama late last night.
Bainimarama says this means that the containment zone will now be bordered at Wainadoi at one end and Logani at the other while all other perimeters will remain the same.
The new Lami-Nausori containment zone will remain under a 6pm until 4am curfew.
The Prime Minister says in the Lami-Nausori containment zone only essential businesses and businesses that meet the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism, and Transport guidelines will be allowed to open.
He says business owners and managers will be accountable for ensuring that employees, customers, and visitors follow COVID-safe practices.
Bainimarama says the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism, and Transport will announce a list of businesses that can resume work, including businesses that employ large numbers of people, businesses with strict overseas orders that must be filled, businesses that support socio-economic development, and some small businesses that support the most disadvantaged people in the country.
The Prime Minister says they have cut through the bureaucracy of securing approvals and get businesses that can operate within the ambit of our health restrictions open as soon and safely as possible.
He adds they will continue with consultations with various commercial and business organisations on specifics regarding some industries.
He stresses that in the Lami-Nausori zone high-risk businesses will remain closed.
Two new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Nadi.
There have been no cases in the Nadi area for 17 days and 20 days in Lautoka.
In an address to the nation this evening, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says the good news is that they have excellent knowledge of the movements of these two persons and they will be able to establish a small locked down area in Korociri Settlement near Nawaka village where these cases are residents and stop the virus there.
He adds for now the establishment of specific locked areas and teams made up of Ministry of Health and Medical Services, RFMF and Fiji Police sweeping across suburbs and localities in high risk zones screening and swabbing will be a major part of the targeted surgical approach.
Nadi and Lautoka are now in one large containment zone.
Following the announcement by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says the Lomolomo border separating Nadi and Lautoka was removed at 4 o'clock this morning.
Bainimarama says this creates one large Nadi-Lautoka containment zone in which people will be able to travel freely to go to work or resume business.
He says businesses will be able to open as long as they adopt the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport guidelines.
High-risk businesses such as gyms, bars and grog shops will remain closed until further notice.
Bainimarama adds from next Saturday the borders at the Momi junction on the Sigatoka end of Nadi and at Nacilau, on the Ba end of Lautoka will also be removed.
He says the curfew hours for the Nadi-Lautoka containment zone will be from 8pm to 4am beginning today.
The Prime Minister says in the next 7 days, the Ministry of Health will carry out large screening and swabbing exercises within the one Nadi-Lautoka containment zone.
Some COVID-19 restrictions will start to ease in the Northern Division and maritime areas from today as there are no recorded cases of COVID-19.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says all businesses including what is deemed to be high-risk businesses such as hairdressing salons, gyms and billiard rooms will also be allowed to operate.
He says Fijians who wish to travel from Vanua Levu and the maritime areas can now return to Viti Levu by sea or air.
If you wish to do so please call 163 to register with the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport.
Bainimarama says travel will also be allowed from Viti Levu and containment zones to outside Viti Levu or non-containment zones but this will be subject to various protocols being met.
The Ministry of Health is currently working on these protocols and will announce the details within the next four days.
The Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has highlighted if people do not get vaccinated, the economy will not reopen, people cannot go back to work or their businesses and resume life as normal.
Bainimarama says they will roll out a large vaccination drive in the Nadi-Lautoka Zone starting on Monday.
He says the Ministry of Health will also carry out a large screening and swabbing exercise within the one Nadi-Lautoka Containment Zone in the next 7-days.
The Prime Minister adds he knows that life has not been easy and many people understand the necessity of what needs to be done.
He is urging all Fijians to get registered and vaccinated so that they can protect themselves and their families.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says they will from today strictly enforce COVID-19 safe measures at funerals through the disciplined forces.
Bainimarama says funerals and gatherings surrounding funerals have been a major source of the spread of this virus, and we simply must adjust our ways temporarily in this emergency.
He says masking will remain mandatory and people must observe proper social distancing during funerals and functions relating to the passing away of our loved ones.
The Prime Minister adds the ten-person rule applies before, during, and after the funeral.
Bainimarama is asking people to limit their reguregu or other religious and cultural practices, rituals and prayers before, during and after the passing away of your loved ones to ten people.
Nawaka Tramline Settlement resident in Nadi, Ravinesh Prasad says Health Ministry officials are swabbing residents today as the area was declared an isolation zone yesterday afternoon.
Prasad says they, as well as 50 other households in Nawaka were not given prior notice before their area was cordoned off.
He says some people were seen loitering in the neighborhood today however, patrolling police officers warned them to get back to their houses.
The security officer says he will not be able to go to work now and will be on leave without pay.
He says he had done some shopping yesterday and hopes it will be able to last them throughout this period.
Prasad says he is hopeful the government would assist them if they run out of food.
The resident says he is the person earning an income for his family as his wife who works in a garment factory and his son who is also a factory worker have not been going to work for the past five weeks.
Meanwhile, Korociri Settlement, Nawajikuma Settlement and Qina Road Settlement are now screening and isolation zones as well.
The Health Ministry says this exercise is an opportunity to check for COVID-like symptoms and travel/movement histories that may have put fellow residents in the path of Fijians living with COVID.
It says this is a necessary step and one of the ways to stop this infection from spreading.
Mobile Screening Teams are visiting these areas to conduct COVID-19 screening and swabbing.
The Health Ministry says in the interest of public and personal safety, residents of these areas are requested to stay home and avoid any close contact with people from other households.
18 new COVID-19 cases were recorded by the Ministry of Health yesterday and we are now awaiting the new cases from 6pm last night to 6pm this evening.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong will have a press conference at 5:30 this evening.
We are also awaiting the breakdown of the 18 new cases yesterday.
2 of the new cases yesterday are from Nadi.
There have been no cases in the Nadi area for 17 days and 20 days in Lautoka.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says the good news is that they have excellent knowledge of the movements of these two persons in Nadi and they will be able to establish a small locked down area in Koroviri Settlement near Nawaka village where these cases are residents and stop the virus there.
He adds for now the establishment of specific locked areas and teams made up of Ministry of Health and Medical Services, RFMF and Fiji Police sweeping across suburbs and localities in high risk zones screening and swabbing will be a major part of the targeted surgical approach.
18 new COVID-19 cases were recorded on Saturday and another 23 new cases were recorded yesterday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says all of these cases are linked to existing clusters.
9 cases from Saturday are from the Narere cluster, 5 from the Waila cluster, 1 from Muanikoso, 1 from the Navy cluster and 2 from Korociri in Nadi.
Doctor Fong says the 2 two in Nadi are linked to each other and are from the Korociri Settlement near Nawaka Village, which is now under lockdown.
15 cases from yesterday are part of the Navy cluster, including 1 from Nadonumai in Lami, and 3 from Khalsa Road, 7 are part of the Waila cluster, and 1 is part of the Nadali cluster.
He says they can now confirm that all 46 cases announced last Friday were generated from known clusters.
The 3 that were under investigation are now known to be from the Navy cluster.
Doctor Fong says this is reassuring in that the cases coming from the screening areas and tests coming from non-screening areas remain negative.
We now have recorded 401 cases in Fiji since the first case was detected in March of last year, with 164 recoveries and 4 deaths.
There have been 331 cases since this outbreak started in April.
Over 60,000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted since this outbreak, with over 103,566 since they started testing early last year.
Doctor Fong says there were 3 recoveries on Saturday which means there are now 233 active cases.
2 of the active cases are in Nadi, and 231 in the Suva-Lami-Nausori containment zone.
He says 2 of the current active cases are considered severe and are admitted at the CWM Hospital.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says funeral gatherings and grog drinking remain the major concerns as far as the spread of COVID-19 is concerned in the country.
Doctor Fong says a factor that is promoting the spread of the virus is that many people are gathering in a limited space such as large families at home, dormitory-style living, crowded settlements and crowded work spaces with poor ventilation.
He says they will limit the size of funeral-related gatherings.
Doctor Fong says we need 10 persons only at the burial site.
He says funeral gatherings before and after the burials need to be discouraged strongly as they generate the most covid-unsafe behaviour.
Doctor Fong says if they need to happen, we need to limit them to 10 persons or fewer and to no more than 1 hour.
He says they have been seeing in recent weeks that a number of infected individuals have reported drinking grog with others in their cluster, and they have reason to believe that grog drinking is becoming a significant factor in the spread of the virus.
Doctor Fong says grog drinking involves close contact with others and drinking out of a common cup, which create perfect conditions for the virus to spread from one person to another.
He says grog drinking is an important part of our culture and our social life in Fiji, but we must ask that people refrain from sharing grog with people from outside their household during this pandemic period.
Don’t invite anyone to your house, don’t go to anyone else’s house, don’t share a bowl with colleagues after work, or during work or in any other place.
You also need to protect your personal space at home and at work by making sure you maintain COVID-safe measures at all times, whether you are in your home or outside your home.
Do not engage in any gatherings outside of your home.
Avoid crowds and contained spaces, and keep washing your hands.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says as the Ministry of Health’s operations move on, they will need to create more COVID quarantine and isolation facilities.
Doctor Fong is asking that the general public help them by accepting these facilities in or near their communities and understand that these facilities are safe.
He says they are carefully controlled and pose no danger.
Doctor Fong says quarantine and isolation facilities are a necessary part of the battle to be COVID-contained, and we need them.
Meanwhile, he says they always expected that we might see cases emerge again in Nadi and Lautoka.
He says before Saturday, the last case recorded in Nadi was on May 12th.
This means that the Nadi Containment Zone went more than 1 incubation period of 14 days before registering another case, despite high levels of testing. But he says they knew this was not long enough.
Doctor Fong says they were never COVID-free; they could only contain the virus.
He says they have seen this experience replicated in many countries around the world; where certain areas go through a prolonged phase of no cases and then one case suddenly emerges.
The Permanent Secretary says this highlights the point: no country is safe until every country is safe and for Fiji, nowhere is safe until everywhere is safe.
He says this is why they must emphasize that there is no ‘us against them’.
Doctor Fong says just because you don’t have cases recorded in your area does not mean that you are safe.
He says it is not Suva against Nadi or other parts of Fiji.
The Permanent Secretary says we are all in this together, and we must combine all our resources to stop the virus where we know it is spreading.
He confirms that they had health staff from Labasa and Suva assisting in Lautoka during the Lautoka Hospital isolation.
Doctor Fong says those same staff are coming to help in Suva now.
The Health Ministry says they have administered 136,247 AstraZeneca doses so far.
Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong says they have administered 36,885 vaccinations from 24th to 29th May – 33,077 first doses and 3,808 second doses.
He says the new shipment of vaccines have arrived in the country and they will be continuing the vaccination programme this week.
Once this new batch of vaccines is used up, Doctor Fong says they will have given the first dose of the vaccine to 260,000 people in Fiji in total.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms that rumours that he has resigned from his position are not true.
He confirmed this while responding to a question on whether it is true that he had resigned as the Permanent Secretary for Health however, it was not accepted by the government.
Dr. Fong was appointed as the Acting Permanent Secretary for Health in June last year and was confirmed to the position in October.
Head of Health Protection, Doctor Aalisha Sahukhan says thd lifting of the borders of the Lami Suva and Nausori Containment Zones is not giving people license to go out and visit your families.
She says they have seen that despite this containment, cases are increasing with the majority of these new cases linked to existing clusters that have been found through extensive contact tracing efforts.
Dr. Sahukhan says these clusters are large because they are associated with funerals and all cases have either come from large households or they have had a large number of workplace contacts.
She says the message remains the same - when you move, the virus moves with you.
Dr. Sahukhan says the 3 reasons you need to go out is to shop for food, get medical treatment or to carry out work in approved businesses.
She has also confirmed that all 46 cases that were announced on Friday are linked to existing clusters.
It was earlier announced that three cases were under investigation as they had not been linked to other cases.
3 more patients have recovered which means that there are 233 active cases in Fiji.
She says out of these, 231 cases are in the Lami Suva Nausori Containment Zone and 2 are from Nadi Containment Zone.
Fiji has had a total of 401 cases since the first case was confirmed on March 19th last year where 164 people have recovered while 4 people have died.
Dr. Sahukhan says there has been 331 cases during this current outbreak that started in April.
She says over 60,000 test for COVID-19 have been since this outbreak starting in April and in total, over 103,000 tests have been conducted since testing started early last year.
1978 samples were tested yesterday and the daily average of testing nationally is at over 2,400.
She says that the most recent data shows that testing in the Central Division is continuing to happen at a very high level as they are exceeding their target of 3 tests per population of 1,000.
She says however, they are also seeing that the average daily test positivity is also increasing and right now it is sitting at 1.5%.
Dr. Sahukhan adds that it is below the threshold of 2-5% but they know that increasing cases in the Central Division is causing an increase in test positivity.
600 Fijians have registered through the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport helpline 163 in relocating to Viti Levu.
Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport Shaheen Ali says they have done repatriation flights for Fijians stranded overseas and they still have a duty of care for Fijians domestcally.
He says more than 100 Fijians have not seen their families for over a month and this will give them an opportunity to do so.
Ali says for people who want to relocate, they must be sure that this is not a temporary thing.
He says those who are staying in Viti Levu and want to relocate to a non-containment zone or other containment zones should register and await further advice as they shall get back to them in four days with the developed protocols.
He adds there may be restrictions on relocating to a high risk or a lockdown area.
Health Ministry's Permanent Secretary Dr James Fong says as they continue to escalate community surveillance, they are hoping to pick up more cases of COVID-19 as the two cases in Nadi were identified.
When questioned whether they expect more cases in the coming days as a lot of people are moving in public transport, Dr. Fong says people need to understand that nowhere in the world, a 24 hour curfew lockdown has been done for more than 5 to 6 days.
He says every single lockdown that has happened around the world have always allowed some degree of movement and some degree of essential businesses to operate.
Dr. Fong says Fiji has been strict with the lockdowns.
He adds they have found cases in clusters and are now covering these areas by targeted lockdowns.
Dr. Fong says they have discussed with the RFMF on how they can come up with a plan that looks at community surveillance.
Dr. Fong says the two cases of COVID-19 in Nadi were identified because of escalated community surveillance program.
He says one of the cases from Nadi was accompanying someone who was going to get admitted in the hospital and this person was swabbed before going into the hospital.
He says the second case in Nadi was identified after the person's workplace did random sampling of their staff.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says as they continue with the community surveillance, they are hoping that they will pick up a lot more COVID cases like the current Nadi cases.
Doctor Fong highlighted this when questioned if there could more people out there who are not showing signs but are positive COVID cases like the Nadi cases.
He says the two cases in Nadi were identified because of the escalated community surveillance which is done in places where there are high risk people which they swabbed.
Doctor Fong says one of the Nadi cases was supposed to accompany a patient to the hospital and was swabbed before the patient went to the hospital.
He says the other case was identified at the work place where random sampling was conducted.
Doctor Fong says both cases were asymptomatic.
The Parliamentary staff will be swabbed after their 4 days isolation ends today.
The Parliamentary Secretariat has confirmed that they will have to get clearance from the Health Ministry in order for parliament to resume.
The Parliament sittings scheduled from last Friday to this week have been cancelled after a secretariat staff was identified as a primary contact of a COVID-19 positive case.
In a statement, Speaker of Parliament Ratu Epeli Nailatikau had said that as a precautionary measure and upon the directive of the Ministry of Health, the Parliamentary precincts and offices will be closed until further notice.
He says all Parliamentary business will resume upon advice and clearance from the Ministry of Health.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong confirms that they have recorded an additional 6 cases last night and another 23 cases this morning.
2 cases are from the Narere cluster, 3 cases are from the Waila cluster, 9 from the Nawaka, Nadi cluster and 15 cases are from the Navy cluster.
All these new cases are linked to existing clusters.
Doctor Fong says all of these cases are stable and are either in isolation facilities or home isolation
A correction has been made to the total case count.
He says one case was found to have been tested and entered twice, as the individual provided different names while being swabbed on two occasions: as a result, the individual was entered first as case 309 and then a second time as case 346.
After correcting this error, by removing the duplicate, they have recorded 429 cases in Fiji since March last year and 359 during the current outbreak.
There have been 3 recoveries, which means there are now 258 active cases.
Doctor Fong says all cases are stable and 2 are considered to be severe.
He also says they have received genomic sequencing results from the reference lab in Melbourne for positive samples during this outbreak.
The most recent case sample in this batch of results is case 158 (an Extra Supermarket worker).
The results show that, based on the samples that have been sequenced, B.1.617.2, the variant of concern that was first identified in India, is the only variant circulating in the community.
Subsequent positive case samples have been sent to Melbourne for genomic sequencing and they are awaiting results.
The Ministry is also further extending its community surveillance testing in the community.
This will be done with the security forces and in some instances will involve creating screening zones especially in densely populated communities that will involve restricting movement while the screening teams do their work.
Doctor Fong says please do not panic.
This does not mean there is a positive case in your neighbourhood. It only means they are screening to facilitate the safety of your neighbourhood.
The Health Ministry has analyzed data this week from 82 people and found that they had 3,444 contacts among them.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this is why they ask people to go out only for essential purposes, to use the careFIJI app, to remember their movements and contacts and to cooperate fully with the contact tracers for COVID-19.
He says it is very important for everyone to understand how easily this virus is transmitted.
Doctor Fong says misunderstanding, complacency and wishful thinking are some of our greatest obstacles in combating this virus.
First, people must remember that they can have the virus and transmit the virus to others even if they show no symptoms.
Second, the contact tracing makes clear that the average person can come into contact with dozens of other people in the course of a day.
Doctor Fong says put those two factors together and you have a formula for significant spread.
He says please constantly keep in your minds that the virus is still among us and we must always exercise extreme care.
Meanwhile, a new shipment of vaccines has arrived in the country.
Doctor Fong says there were no vaccinations administered on Sunday, but the vaccination programme will continue this week in the Lami-Nausori and Nadi-Lautoka corridors.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms that 32 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded.
In addition to the 23 new cases reported yesterday morning, there are 9 new cases as of 6 o’clock last night.
The 9 new cases are all linked to existing clusters.
Another 4 cases are from Nawaka, Nadi while 5 are from Muanikoso, Nasinu.
There are now 267 active cases with 252 of these cases from the Lami-Suva-Nausori containment zone, and 15 cases from Nadi.
2 of the active cases in Suva are considered to be severe cases.
Fiji has had 438 cases in total since our first case was reported in March 2020, with 167 recoveries and 4 deaths.
There have been 368 cases since this outbreak started in April 2021.
65,877 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted during this current outbreak, with 108,738 conducted in total since testing started in early 2020.
This does not yet include the 11,000 samples recently tested in Australia.
2 cases were recorded from the Narere cluster, 3 cases from the Waila cluster, 9 from the Nawaka, Nadi cluster and 15 cases from the Navy cluster yesterday afternoon.
Doctor Fong says all of these cases are stable and are either in isolation facilities or home isolation.
He also says they have received genomic sequencing results from the reference lab in Melbourne for positive samples during this outbreak.
The most recent case sample in this batch of results is case 158 (an Extra Supermarket worker).
The results show that, based on the samples that have been sequenced, B.1.617.2, the variant of concern that was first identified in India, is the only variant circulating in the community.
Subsequent positive case samples have been sent to Melbourne for genomic sequencing and they are awaiting results.
The Ministry is also further extending its community surveillance testing in the community.
This will be done with the security forces and in some instances will involve creating screening zones especially in densely populated communities that will involve restricting movement while the screening teams do their work.
Doctor Fong says please do not panic.
This does not mean there is a positive case in your neighbourhood.
It only means they are screening to facilitate the safety of your neighbourhood.
Fiji has recorded 26 new cases of COVID-19 as of this morning, which brings the total number of cases to 394 during the current outbreak.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says all these new cases are linked to existing clusters and all are stable and are either in isolation facilities or home isolation.
He says 23 cases are from the Navy cluster, 1 from the Extra Supermarket cluster while 2 cases are from the Nawaka cluster.
There are currently 293 active cases, 17 of these cases are from Nadi, and 276 are within the Lami-Nausori containment zone.
A total of 464 cases have been recorded in Fiji since the first case in March last year.
Doctor Fong says they are also aware of the increasing danger posed to the health facilities and will be escalating the mitigation measures.
This will include setting up field hospitals and more quarantine and isolation facilities.
He says as such, this may involve temporarily taking over assets for this purpose.
Meanwhile the Ministry administered 12,572 first doses and 134-second doses - a total of 12,706 vaccinations across Viti Levu, a record for one day.
Doctor Fong thanked and congratulated all Fijians who braved the rain to get vaccinated and the vaccination teams that made it possible.
148,522 people have received their first dose of the vaccine so far.
This is 28% of the target population, which is people aged 18 years and older in Fiji.
4,251 people, which is 3% of the target population, have received their 2nd dose and are considered fully vaccinated.
Parts of the CWM Hospital in Suva and the Nadi Hospital are now on lockdown after positive COVID-19 cases were recorded.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms the first detected case is a patient from Labasa who was admitted at CWM Hospital six weeks ago.
He says she was swabbed as part of the exit protocol before her scheduled transfer to Labasa Hospital.
Doctor Fong says it is suspected that she caught the virus from either another patient, visitor or staff during her admission at CWM Hospital.
The second case at the CWM Hospital is a nurse.
She developed symptoms and was swabbed and isolated as part of the hospital’s existing surveillance program.
Doctor Fong says the nurse worked in a different part of the hospital to the positive patient, and at this early stage in the investigation, no connection has been made between her and the patient, or any known clusters.
He says an early part of the response to the outbreak in Central Division – frontline health staff had been removed from their places of residence and housed in bubbles in accommodation facilities across Suva.
The Permanent Secretary says these staff have been separated from their families for weeks on end in order to safeguard our essential health services.
He says this nurse had been working within a bubble and was housed at Holiday Inn.
Doctor Fong says the detection of these 2 cases within the hospital will require measures to secure the hospital and its staff and patients.
He says the existing protocol for weeks has been to isolate every new admission and their carer, and have them swabbed and tested before allowing admission into wards within the hospital.
Doctor Fong says hospital staff were tested if they had symptoms, or if they were residents of an area with reported COVID-19 cases.
Staff in the COVID-19 isolation ward were tested more regularly, with negative results required before ending their rotation through that ward.
Doctor Fong says in response to these recent cases, all patients, their carers, and all staff at CWM will now be swabbed and tested in order to gauge the extent of any spread within the hospital.
An estimated 1,200 people will be tested.
The Health Ministry is currently conducting evaluations to determine which areas within CWM need to be locked down and what services need to be curtailed, and they are establishing procedures to keep critical services functioning safely.
For the time being, all non-emergency outpatient services will cease including the special outpatients department.
The wards of concern in the East and West Wings have been put on lockdown.
These are the Acute Medical Ward, Acute Surgical Ward, Beqa Ward, and ANZ Ward.
Doctor Fong says emergency services will continue at CWM.
He says the Emergency Department is functioning and inpatient pediatrics and obstetrics services will continue.
The Maternity Ward and Children’s Wing are still in operation but all access to these areas from other parts of the hospital have been closed.
Doctor Fong says the data from the testing will determine how the existing contingency plans will be reviewed and what further measures will be implemented.
In addition to a Nadi hospital worker testing positive, Doctor Fong says further investigation has also revealed that a case announced over the weekend from the Nawaka cluster, who was discovered as part of screening and contact tracing in that area, had given birth and been discharged from the hospital a week ago.
Another previously announced positive case had spent significant time as a visitor in the Nadi Hospital just prior to being positive.
All staff and patients currently in the Nadi Hospital are being tested.
In response to these cases, the Nadi Hospital will be locked down, and services will be relocated.
There are a total of 35 new cases up to 6 o’clock last night.
Of the 9 new cases announced last night, 5 of the cases are linked to the Navosai Narere cluster, 1 to the Waila cluster, 1 is from the Nawaka cluster and works at Nadi hospital and 2 have been detected at CWM Hospital.
Fiji has recorded another 22 new cases of COVID-19 as of this morning - this includes 14 cases from the CWM Hospital cluster and one new case that is yet to be linked to other cases or clusters and is currently under investigation.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the case under investigation is an individual from Caubati and was swabbed at the Valelevu stationary screening clinic after presenting with symptoms.
Doctor Fong says last night they conducted extensive swabbing at CWM Hospital. The testing of those swabs has revealed the 14 new positive cases announced today. Swabbing has continued today and they will be awaiting more results.
They are still in the process of evaluating the data, and the results of testing will determine the best way to secure CWM Hospital while continuing to safely provide medical services to Fijians who access health services at the hospital.
Currently, CWM is not providing non-emergency outpatient services, including the special outpatients department, and the Acute Medical Ward, Acute Surgical Ward, Beqa Ward, and ANZ Ward remain on lockdown.
Emergency services are continuing at CWM Hospital.
Doctor Fong says the Emergency Department is functioning and inpatient pediatrics and obstetrics services are continuing. The Maternity Ward and Children’s Wing have developed stringent screening areas in the Antenatal Clinic area and the Children's Outpatient Department for patients requiring urgent admission. All access to and from other parts of the hospital has been closed off to the Maternity and Children’s Wing. CWM hospital contingency plans for emergency scenarios have been finalised.
All the other new cases are linked to existing clusters
Doctor Fong says all of these cases are stable and are either in isolation facilities or home isolation.
4 cases are linked to the Navosai, Narere cluster, 2 cases to the Kinoya cluster and 1 case to the Navy cluster.
We now have had 495 cases in Fiji since our first case was recorded in March last year, and 425 during the current outbreak that started in April.
Fiji currently has 324 active cases.
Yesterday the Health Ministry screened 5,882 people in the stationary screening clinics of which 26% were screened.
The mobile teams screened 10,436 and of which 18.5% were screened.
Doctor Fong reassures the public that all the medical and security forces who have turned positive are not part of the public health team directly engaging the public in the containment and community surveillance programs.
Meanwhile he has expressed the Ministry’s appreciation of the private sector, especially those in the hotel and accommodation industry, who stepped forward to assist them during these difficult times.
He says they could not have had an effective COVID response unless they could ensure the welfare and safety of their own health care workers who were at the centre of the Ministry’s COVID-19 response.
He says because they are out in the community finding, interviewing and testing people who may have come into contact with an infected person, they have had to isolate them from their families for weeks now.
Doctor Fong says they could not have done that without the support of the hotel industry, which stepped up and provided COVID-safe and affordable accommodation for the staff.
He says ot has been a great service to the country.
There are 35 new cases of COVID-19.
22 cases were recorded yesterday morning while 13 new cases were announced last night.
All the new cases announced last night are from existing clusters.
7 cases are from the Queen Elizabeth Barracks cluster, 3 cases are from the CWM Hospital cluster and 3 cases are from the Nawaka, Nadi cluster.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 14 patients have recovered, which means there are now 323 active cases.
There have been 438 cases since this outbreak started in April 2021.
Fiji has had 508 cases in total since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 181 recoveries and 4 deaths.
70,807 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted since this outbreak started in April, with 113,668 conducted in total since testing started in early 2020.
Of the 22 cases of COVID-19 recorded yesterday morning – 14 are cases from the CWM Hospital cluster and there is one new case that is yet to be linked to other cases or clusters and is currently under investigation.
Doctor Fong says the case under investigation is an individual from Caubati and was swabbed at the Valelevu stationary screening clinic after presenting with symptoms.
He says on Tuesday night they conducted extensive swabbing at CWM Hospital.
The testing of those swabs has revealed 14 new positive cases.
Swabbing continues and they will be awaiting more results.
They are still in the process of evaluating the data, and the results of testing will determine the best way to secure CWM Hospital while continuing to safely provide medical services to Fijians who access health services at the hospital.
Currently, CWM is not providing non-emergency outpatient services, including the special outpatients department, and the Acute Medical Ward, Acute Surgical Ward, Beqa Ward, and ANZ Ward remain on lockdown.
Emergency services are continuing at CWM Hospital.
Doctor Fong says the Emergency Department is functioning and inpatient pediatrics and obstetrics services are continuing.
The Maternity Ward and Children’s Wing have developed stringent screening areas in the Antenatal Clinic area and the Children's Outpatient Department for patients requiring urgent admission.
All-access to and from other parts of the hospital has been closed off to the Maternity and Children’s Wing. CWM hospital contingency plans for emergency scenarios have been finalised.
All the other new cases are linked to existing clusters.
Doctor Fong says all of these cases are stable and are either in isolation facilities or home isolation.
4 cases are linked to the Navosai, Narere cluster, 2 cases to the Kinoya cluster and 1 case to the Navy cluster.
The Health Ministry screened 5,882 people in the stationary screening clinics of which 26% were screened.
The mobile teams screened 10,436 and of which 18.5% were screened.
Doctor Fong reassures the public that all the medical and security forces who have turned positive are not part of the public health team directly engaging the public in the containment and community surveillance programs.
Meanwhile, he has expressed the Ministry’s appreciation of the private sector, especially those in the hotel and accommodation industry, who stepped forward to assist them during these difficult times.
He says they could not have had an effective COVID response unless they could ensure the welfare and safety of their own health care workers who were at the centre of the Ministry’s COVID-19 response.
He says because they are out in the community finding, interviewing and testing people who may have come into contact with an infected person, they have had to isolate them from their families for weeks now.
Doctor Fong says they could not have done that without the support of the hotel industry, which stepped up and provided COVID-safe and affordable accommodation for the staff.
He says it has been a great service to the country.
Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete says it will be disappointing for parliament to say that front-liners are the super spreaders of COVID-19.
While responding to a question by SODELPA MP Adi Litia Qionibaravi where she asked as to how the Ministry of Health is ensuring the front-liners are strictly following protocols given that it does appear from data from the Ministry that it is the front-liners that are the super spreaders, Dr Waqainabete says the super-spreaders are, as far as they know from the evidence that they have, are the funerals and the instances of backend of industries where protocols were not followed entirely.
He says there are many front-liners and they are given strict adherence protocols to follow.
But Doctor Waqainabete says there are individuals that maybe different and may not be able to follow all the individual protocols.
He has also assured people that the front-liners will give their best for this nation.
Minister for Health Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete says the Grand Pacific Hotel, James Cook Hotel, Holiday Inn and Peninsula in Suva are currently being used as quarantine facilities.
Doctor Waqainabete highlighted this when questioned by FijiFirst MP Joseph Nand to give an update on the number of quarantine facilities and how they are managed.
The Health Minister says there are four quarantine facilities in Nadi and four in the greater Suva area.
He says due to the increase in COVID cases in the Central Division from the Suva to Nausori corridor a number of hotels have been designated as quarantine facilities with 151 occupants and some are Health Ministry staff who are working in bubbles.
Doctor Waqainabete says there was a competitive expression of interest that was put out where these hotels were chosen.
He says assessments were done and training of infection control is provided for hotel staff and the facility management.
The Health Minister says they are also briefed about the protocols and procedures together with the disciplined forces who are working with them to ensure the safety and security of the occupants.
Doctor Waqainabete says all occupants are monitored daily for a period of 14 days and are also swabbed.
He says the quarantine facilities are places where they bring people from areas that may have diseases and they put them in quarantine for a particular time that is stipulated according to the incubation period of a particular disease.
Doctor Waqainabete says isolation facilities are where they have those that are sick and looked after in hospitals and community isolation.
Meanwhile Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says government is taking care of all the unanticipated expenditure, and they have just approved $4-$5 million yesterday to pay hotels for accommodation cost.
Sayed-Khaiyum says the nurse who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the CWM Hospital is staying at Holiday Inn and other personnel are staying at other different hotels and people have also been brought from their homes and put in hotels.
Sayed-Khaiyum says they did not have any COVID-19 case when the National Budget was developed last year.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed there are 28 new cases as of 6pm tonight and 5 of these cases are under investigation.
23 of the new cases are linked to the existing clusters.
Doctor Fong says 2 new cases are from the Nawaka, Nadi cluster, 1 from the CWM Hospital cluster, 4 from the FICAC cluster and 16 from the Navy cluster.
Doctor Fong says 3 are close contacts of a case under investigation from Caubati announced yesterday, 1 is under investigation with no known links to other cases at this stage, and 1 case from Navosai, Narere was tested after presenting to Valelevu Health Centre with symptoms. The investigation is ongoing into any links between the Narere case and other cases.
The Permanent Secretary for Health says current investigations into the situation at CWM Hospital indicate that so far the transmission was limited to specific areas of the hospital and this has allowed them to maintain services such as maternity and paediatrics, where the testing revealed no positive cases.
He says corridors to the affected areas have been closed.
Doctor Fong says the FEMAT teams will set up field units at the Vodafone Arena and FMF Gymnasium to provide services that will complement the services they can currently provide at the CWM facility.
2 patients have recovered, which means there are now 349 active cases in isolation. There have been 466 cases during the current outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 536 cases in Fiji since the first case in March 2020, with 183 recoveries and 4 deaths.
43,406 people have received their first dose and 279 have received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca from Monday, 31 May to yesterday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says most of the vaccinations this week have been in the Central and Western Divisions, where the current outbreak is centred.
Doctor Fong says since the beginning of the vaccination effort, a total of 34% of the national population has received one dose of the vaccine, and 3%have received two doses.
He says vaccinations will continue through Saturday and resume again on Monday, 7th June.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says while members of the frontline team constitute the group with the highest risk of contracting COVID-19, the medical and military personnel who have tested positive to date are not part of the frontline public health response team doing surveillance and containment effort in the communities.
Doctor Fong says at this time, when we have seen an escalation of cases, the Health Ministry reminds all frontline workers of the higher level of COVID-safe behavior expected by the community and their profession.
He says the same is true for all community leaders and persons in leadership positions in our community in setting an example of a high standard for COVID-safe behavior at all times.
Doctor Fong says they rigorously screen and test the frontline personnel for their safety and the public’s safety precisely because they come into contact with persons who have been exposed to the virus.
He says this ensures that the risk to the public from contact with the contract-tracing and containment teams is eliminated.
Doctor Fong says they expect that all frontline teams will carefully observe established COVID-safe protocol and they appreciate the feedback they get from the public in this regard.
He stresses that COVID-safe behavior needs to be maintained by all sections of the community, but especially those in the frontline of the public health response and clinical response.
The Public Health Amendment Bill has been passed unanimously by Parliament which aims to bring in fines for offences which may include the failure to wear an appropriate face covering or present the careFIJI mobile app on entering business premises, or the failure to comply with mandatory curfews, physical distancing requirements and capacity restrictions for gatherings, events, public service vehicles and businesses.
Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says one of the intentions of having these fines is that it does not drag people through the cell systems.
He further says Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has said that they have to make sure that the fines are realistic.
Sayed-Khaiyum says they are not going to slap people with a $50 fine, and it will be a realistic fine.
He adds they are doing this because they need to inculcate a pattern of behaviour, need to ensure compliance and to ensure there is deterrence without affecting efficiency and productivity.
Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete says the necessary legislative changes is contemporary and is designed to respond appropriately as a whole of nation approach to the outbreak.
Dr. Waqainabete says this amendment aims to act as a deterrent.
SODELPA Leader Viliame Gavoka says the Bill to amend the Public Health Act 1935 is not practical.
Gavoka says it will be very hard to enforce the requirements of the Bill and it will be difficult especially for those living in the rural areas.
He says this Bill needed more consultations.
National Federation Party Leader Professor Biman Prasad says they have not been told how much people will have to pay in fines if they fail to follow protocols and if it is $50, a lot of people would be hard pressed to pay it.
Prasad says those who would be in charge of making sure protocols are followed should ensure that the public is encouraged and educated about what they should do and not do to avoid putting the burden on people during this difficult time.
The NFP Leader says those that are in charge of implementing these fines should take into account the situation of many people and their ability to pay the fines.
Clause 2 of the Bill also sets out other penalties that the Health Minister may prescribe by regulations, including late payment fees and the closure of businesses. The latter is to ensure that despite the operation of other written laws relating to businesses in Fiji, such businesses may still be shut down due to the failure to comply with COVID-safe measures and orders.
The infringement notice must, name the person to whom the infringement notice is issued; specify the particulars of the offence; specify the fixed penalty that the person named on the infringement notice is required to pay; and specify any other information prescribed by regulations.
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services has announced that three of its staff who are part of the operations in the COVID-19 Incident Management Team have tested positive for COVID-19 which has also resulted in the secondary contacts, including the Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong, Doctor Aalisha Sahukhan, and Doctor Jemesa Tudravu, also taking precautionary measures and working from home.
The Health Ministry says the primary contacts of the three staff have been identified and safely quarantined.
This has led to the stand-down of all personnel who were operating from Level 3 at the Ministry of Health and Medical Services Headquarters at Dinem House in Toorak.
The Ministry says services of the COVID–19 Incident Management Team continue with contingency plans activated.
The Health Ministry is also informing the public that the Permanent Secretary will be issuing daily statements during this period and will provide updates on the COVID situation from the Ministry of Health as and when required.
Fiji recorded 35 new COVID-19 cases yesterday which includes 3 cases from the Ministry of Health Headquarters COVID-19 Incident Management Team and 11 cases from the Management Team’s warehouse in Lami.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 1 is a case from the Navy cluster that was reported last night while the remaining 34 new cases were recorded today.
10 cases are from the CWM Hospital cluster, 5 cases from the Navosai cluster, another 2 cases from the Navy cluster, and 1 case from the Nadali cluster.
Doctor Fong says there are 2 new cases from Navosai and Tamavua under investigation to determine any links to other cases.
The 3 cases from the Ministry of Health’s Headquarters COVID-19 Incident Management Team were picked up as a result of a program of routine swabbing of the health staff.
Doctor Fong says more than 80 staff at the Ministry of Health’s Headquarters at Dinem House were swabbed, with all but the 3 returning negative results.
He says the staff identified as primary contacts of the 3 cases will quarantine for 14 days while secondary contacts, who are contacts of the primary contacts, will self-quarantine at home for at least 4 days, awaiting results of day 4 swabs of the primary contacts.
6 patients have recovered, which means there are now 378 active cases in isolation. There have been 501 cases during the current outbreak that started in April 2021. Fiji has recorded a total of 571 cases in Fiji since the first case in March 2020, with 189 recoveries and 4 deaths.
195,169 people have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca so far while 4,615 people have received the second dose.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means 37% of Fijians have received the first dose, and 0.86% have received the second dose.
From 31st May through yesterday, 59,209 individuals received the first doses of the vaccine nationwide and 327 received the second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says we know that if we simply stay isolated and not come into contact with another person, the COVID-19 virus would disappear after 14 days.
However he says unfortunately, we can’t do that, so we need to employ other effective preventative measures.
Doctor Fong says the most important among them are mask-wearing and social distancing.
He says it is distressing to see that after all these months, there are still people who refuse to accept and follow these simple measures.
Doctor Fong says yes, they are inconvenient, but they are necessary and they are effective.
He says if we all follow those practices, we can make great progress in stopping this virus.
The Permanent Secretary says we also know that testing is extremely useful in preventing the spread of the virus because it allows them to identify people who have the virus and isolate them appropriately.
The stationary screening and mobile screening clinics screened 18,611 people yesterday from which 2582 persons were swab tested.
He says that action has two purposes - it prevents positive patients from transmitting the virus to others, and it allows health care workers to observe them and provide medical attention when needed.
The Ministry urges everyone to cooperate with the surveillance teams and to agree to be screened and swabbed.
Doctor Fong says it could save your life and the lives of others, and you will be doing your part to keep Fiji safe.
Despite the recent development with the Incident Management Team, the team with the leadership of the Permanent Secretary remains fully engaged in spearheading and facilitating every aspect of the current whole of Government response to the outbreak in Fiji.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong has confirmed that 33 new cases have been recorded.
5 cases are from the Navosai cluster, 5 from the Navy cluster, 2 cases from the Health Ministry’s Incident Management Team Headquarters cluster, 1 case from the IMT warehouse, 3 cases from CWM Hospital cluster, 13 cases from the Waila cluster and 2 cases from the Nawaka/Nadi Hospital cluster.
2 cases from Khalsa and Vatuwaqa are under investigation to determine if they have links to other cases.
Doctor Fong also says sadly, a 38 year old woman, who had earlier been reported as testing positive for COVID-19 (case 488) at CWM Hospital has died.
However, he says she is not being counted as another COVID-19 death as she was already very ill due to other serious medical conditions for which she had been admitted to the hospital.
Doctor Fong says clinically her cause of death is related to these conditions rather than the incidental finding of a COVID-19 infection, which was picked up as a result of screening of all patients in the hospital.
4 patients have recovered, which means there are now 406 active cases in isolation.
There have been 534 cases during the current outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 604 cases in Fiji since the first case in March 2020, with 193 recoveries, and 4 deaths due to COVID-19.
A total of 3677 samples were tested and reported on 3rd June.
This does not yet include testing numbers from the lab at Nadi Hospital.
206,658 people have received their first doses and 4,599 have taken their second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca so far.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says from Monday to yesterday, they administered 70,693 first doses and 482 second doses.
Meanwhile Doctor Fong says experience worldwide and in Fiji has shown that the COVID-19 vaccines in use, including the AstraZeneca vaccine that are being administered to the people in Fiji, are effective and safe.
He says all vaccines carry some risks, but adverse reactions to vaccines are rare.
Doctor Fong says we have more than a century of experience with vaccines, and we can thank them for eradicating smallpox and preventing diseases like polio and measles, whose victims are largely children.
He says on the other hand, illness from the coronavirus is not rare, and the consequences can be fatal.
The Permanent Secretary says thd vaccine helps to protect against severe disease.
People are urged to listen to the medical experts about vaccine safety, not random people spreading false information on social media and the internet.
A record number of daily COVID-19 cases has been announced as the Health Ministry confirms there are 83 new cases.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the majority of these cases are from known clusters or areas already under containment or lockdown protocols, including in Waila, CWM Hospital, the Incident Management Team at the Health Ministry Headquarters, the IMT Warehouse in Lami, Caubati, Navy, Samabula, Shop N Save Supermarket, Nawaka Nadi, and Navosai.
Doctor Fong says the cluster of greatest concern is at CWM Hospital where their medical teams are going to great lengths to provide critical treatment without exposing themselves and their patients to the virus.
He says in Lautoka, they cordoned off the hospital as a COVID-care facility and deployed a field hospital to handle non-COVID care.
They will be replicating the success of that model at CWM Hospital.
Doctor Fong says the CWM Hospital will become a full-time COVID-care facility with tightly controlled movement into the hospital.
Access to Laboratory, Maternity and Paediatric Units will be through escalated screening protocols and package decontamination protocols.
He says a field hospital for the treatment of non-COVID patients in the vicinity of the CWM Hospital is being established in conjunction with Fiji's partners from Australia.
Meanwhile, new clusters have been reported in Naitasiri.
Doctor Fong says there are 2 cases from Matasinasau Village in Naitasiri, one of whom was recently discharged from CWM Hospital and one case who had moved to Tavua Village by the time the results were known.
1 case is from Laselevu, 1 case in the Savusavu settlement and 1 case is from Vuisiga Village, Vunidawa.
Doctor Fong says the Naitasiri Containment Response Team have also had to stand down due to exposure to a positive case.
One case has been confirmed in Tavua in a traveller who recently arrived from Lautoka.
In total, 11 of the 83 cases are of unknown origin and will be classified as cases of community transmission until proven otherwise.
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services has confirmed services from the headquarters of the Ministry in Toorak will resume from today.
The public is assured that Dinem and Namosi House have both been thoroughly decontaminated and therefore safe to enter.
The Ministry is implementing stringent COVID safety measures which will include some staff based at the two buildings to work from home.
Some of the staff will report to work at the two buildings and will strictly adhere to COVID-19 protocols.
Members of the public are advised that entrance to the two buildings is strictly for essential business only and visitors to both buildings will be subject to strict COVID safety measures.
After the declaration of the Health Headquarters in Suva as a site of interest, owing to the COVID-19 positive cases from the Incident Management Team, Dinem House and the adjacent Namosi House along Amy Street, Toorak were closed from Friday 4th June 2021.
The Ministry says the closure of the two buildings was to allow for a thorough decontamination process.
During this period of the closure of Health Headquarters, the Health Ministry says it acknowledges the hardworking doctors, nurses and other health staff around the divisions and at the sub-divisional level for their hard work and dedication to ensure health services were delivered to the public.
Minister, Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete and the staff of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services also thank the public for their understanding and messages of support and encouragement during this period.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says in the course of contact tracing investigations, it’s been found that a funeral was held recently in Mulomulo Village, Nadi with nearly 100 people in attendance.
The entire community has since been locked down.
He says that reckless gathering could potentially result in another super-spreader event.
Doctor Fong says the rule is simple: only ten people are allowed to attend a funeral.
That applies before, during and after the funeral.
He says if we don’t respect those rules, we will sadly have more of our loved ones to bury due to the loss of life that can result from COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says the high number of cases confirmed signals a much larger proportion of cases in the community.
He says expect more days of high numbers of confirmed cases.
Doctor Fong says they sadly expect more hospitalisations as more severe cases of the disease develop but thanks to the massive step-up in the pace of the testing, we can continue to fight this virus in a targeted way, a way that allows Fijians to access essential services and allows the economy to function as normally and safely as possible.
Doctor Fong says Fiji is now testing at the highest rate in Oceania.
He says we have never been more equipped than today to confront an outbreak, and we should take faith in our constantly strengthening capacity against this invisible enemy but we know the front of this battle extends everywhere and to everyone.
Doctor Fong says this will ultimately be won by all of us through the decisions we all make every day.
He says we cannot wait for more record-breaking days of case numbers for all Fijians to take the health measures seriously.
Meanwhile 50,000 additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca will be arriving into the country this week from Australia.
Doctor Fong says they have administered 206,658 first doses and 4,599 second doses nationwide so far.
From Monday to Friday, the Ministry administered 70,693 first doses and 482 second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms that another 64 COVID-19 cases have been recorded and the new cases stem from existing clusters.
10 cases are from the CWM Hospital cluster, 11 from the Nawaka cluster, 23 from the Navy cluster, 9 from the Navosai cluster, 1 from Waila and 10 from the COVID-19 Incident Management Team cluster.
Doctor Fong says for the 83 cases reported on Sunday, they can now confirm that 77 were connected to existing clusters.
23 are from the Incident Management Team cluster, 14 from the CWM Hospital cluster, 6 from the Waila cluster, 3 from Caubati cluster, 11 from the Navosai cluster, 4 from the RFMF cluster, 6 from the Shop N Save cluster, 9 from Samabula and 1 from the Nawaka cluster.
Doctor Fong says the potential for new clusters relates to the 5 cases in Naitasiri and 1 case in Tavua.
He also confirms a patient at CWM Hospital, who had tested positive while admitted, died on Sunday.
However, it has been determined that his death was caused by the serious medical illnesses for which he had been admitted to the hospital, and not COVID-19.
20 patients have recovered, which means there are now 515 active cases in isolation.
There have been 681 cases during the current outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 751 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020.
We have had 230 recoveries and 4 deaths due to COVID-19.
A total of 86,055 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 126,476 tested since testing began in early 2020.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they are concerned about recurring incidents of people violating established protocols designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 after confirmation that a man travelled from Naitasiri to have a grog session in Tavua Village. The individual travelled from Naitasiri and had a grog session with acquaintances in Tavua Village. Doctor Fong says with the support of the Tui Tavua, they have facilitated a lockdown of Tavua Village for an initial 4 days. They will screen all contacts and then plan a more targeted lockdown area in the village. The Health Ministry applauds the strong leadership of the Tui Tavua and other community leaders who are helping to rapidly escalate necessary public health containment measures. The Permanent Secretary says the support of all communities, outside or within containment zones, through the promotion and enforcement of COVID-safe behaviour is vital for our national effort to stop the spread of this virus. He says they know that this is not an isolated case of social gathering behaviour that is prolonging the COVID-19 outbreak in Fiji by allowing the virus to move further into our communities. Doctor Fong says the non-containment zones are still at risk of being breached. He says Fijians living in non-containment areas must also act as if the virus is already in their communities by avoiding social gatherings and observing the COVID safe protocols and guidelines they have issued. Doctor Fong says these breaches are potentially dangerous and endanger the health and lives of all Fijians. Meanwhile after thorough decontamination following some cases among staff in the Incident Management Team Warehouse, the warehouse facility has been fully re-opened allowing for a complete supply chain of essential items for our frontline officials. Grog session in Tavua Village results in lockdown By Vijay NarayanMonday 07/06/2021
The Health Ministry confirms their contact tracing investigations have identified several of their vaccination personnel as secondary contacts of an earlier-announced COVID-19 case in Nadi.
As a result, the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in Nadi has been temporarily halted until these staff can be swabbed and cleared.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says while an overwhelming majority of new cases are linked to existing clusters, it is clear that the recent escalation in daily case numbers from the Central Division signals the increasing severity of this outbreak.
Doctor Fong says the emergence of clusters outside of the Lami-Nausori containment zone in Naitasiri is also a cause for concern, and the cases within the CWM Hospital, as well as within the COVID-19 Incident Management Team, are serious developments that have had an impact on their ability to respond.
Doctor Fong says we can expect more cases.
Therefore, now more than ever, they are urging every Fijian to consistently take heed of the measures they have announced to protect yourselves and your loved ones from this virus.
If you leave your home you should behave as if every single person you encounter is potentially a carrier of COVID-19.
Anyone can get COVID-19, but we can all reduce our risk by following these simple rules if we have to leave home: Wear a well-fitted mask, maintain physical distancing of at least 2 metres between yourself and others, download the careFIJI app and activate your Bluetooth, avoid crowds and crowded, confined places and wash your hands frequently with soap and water or hand sanitiser.
Do not attend or organize social gatherings.
Don’t meet up with friends.
Don’t share a bowl of grog with workmates after work or anyone outside your household.
Don’t visit family that live outside your home. It is safest to avoid interacting with anyone who is not a member of your household as much as possible.
A new daily record of COVID-19 cases has been announced as 94 new cases have been confirmed.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms 28 cases are from the CWM Hospital cluster, 8 from the Nawaka, Nadi cluster, 5 from the Navy cluster, 14 from the Navosai cluster, 26 from the Waila cluster, 9 from the Health Ministry’s Incident Management Team cluster, 3 from the RFMF cluster and 1 from the Caubati cluster.
2 cases that tested positive after presenting to Valelevu Health Centre are included in the CWM Hospital cluster as they had recently been discharged from the hospital.
Please note a cluster does not mean that all the cases are at CWM Hospital.
It means the source of the virus is from that cluster.
The Valelevu Health Centre is temporarily closed for decontamination.
Doctor Fong says a person who was admitted in the CWM Hospital’s Acute Medical Ward, died yesterday morning as a result of the medical condition for which he was initially admitted.
He says while the individual did test positive for COVID-19 during his admission at the hospital, they have not classified this as a COVID death based on the assessment of his doctors, who have determined that he died due to complications of his chronic medical condition.
The Ministry expresses their condolences to his family.
4 patients have recovered, which means there are now 604 active cases in isolation.
There have been 775 cases during the current outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 845 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020.
We have had 234 recoveries, and 4 deaths due to COVID-19.
A total of 88,784 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 129,205 tested since testing began in early 2020.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 35 new cases of COVID-19 however he says expect the cases to escalate.
While making the announcement via zoom, Doctor Fong says this is the latest update in a record-breaking surge over the last several days, with the majority of cases among known clusters in the Central Division.
He says after an entire year without a local case of the virus, he knows these double-digit daily case numbers are unsettling news for many and they should be.
The Permanent Secretary stresses nothing is reassuring about the low numbers of severe disease and death recorded so far.
He says this is the same variant that has inflicted mass death upon many other nations.
Doctor Fong calls on people not to listen to the false prophets and pseudo-experts who say this disease cannot harm them.
He says they are lying, and they will lead vulnerable Fijians into ICUs and, in worst-case scenarios, an early grave.
Doctor Fong says we shouldn’t have to force anyone to take obvious steps to keep themselves safe and healthy.
He calls on people not to wait for more deaths to hone their discipline.
He says while they will continue to publish the locations of new clusters, no one should base their adherence or lack thereof based on whether they are near a cluster or in a red zone or a green zone.
Doctor Fong says we are dealing with community transmission.
That means the exact source of every case is not known so while they will continue to employ targeted lockdowns, everyone in Fiji must adhere to COVID-safe protocols.
He says the Central Division is seeing the biggest spikes in case numbers, but if we are not extremely careful we could see severe outbreaks in many other parts of Fiji.
Doctor Fong says this is a highly transmissible and deadly disease but there are ways we can protect ourselves.
He says if you are one of those who have not been taking this outbreak seriously, it’s time to stop being careless.
The Permanent Secretary says there has never been a higher level of risk in the Lami-Nausori Containment Area than today.
He says the scale of this outbreak now requires a different approach.
They are guided by two objectives: Keep already infectious and potentially infectious people safely away from the public, and provide life-saving care to those who do develop a severe case of COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says they will now be maintaining their stationary screening clinics and saving the mobile teams to do contact tracing, screen areas of concern and deploy to homes that report individuals with COVID-like symptoms.
If individuals test positive, they will be placed under home isolation, with groceries and essential household items provided.
Doctor Fong says if they develop a severe illness, they will be transported to a hospital.
He says if you feel symptoms call the Health Ministry on 158, get tested, get protected with the care you need now and don’t muck around with your health or the health of your loved ones.
The Permanent Secretary says the mitigation measures will mostly be in the Central Division where containment measures are focused on positive persons and contacts.
He also says Fijians in the West, in the North, and everywhere in Fiji must continue with the COVID-safe measures.
Doctor Fong says it is therefore extremely important that people understand why they need to carefully manage movement from Contained Areas to Uncontained Areas.
He says they sympathise with your need to relocate; they are working hard to develop protocols that can allow you to move without risking further transmission of the virus.
Doctor Fong also says the longer-term path out of this crisis is clear: We have to protect as many Fijians as possible as quickly as possible through safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.
He says that means getting as many jabs in as many arms as we can.
Doctor Fong says more than 225,000 have already received at least one dose.
He says that is an excellent start but we need to immunise more and we need everyone who has received dose one to receive their second dose when it is due.
Doctor Fong says that is our best possible defence against a wave of hospitalizations and even deaths that could be headed our way.
The Head of Health Protection Dr Aalisha Sahukhan says 26 of the new COVID-19 cases are linked to the previous announced clusters.
She says the cluster for COVID-19 Incident Management Team has 5 new cases, CWM Hospital cluster has 18 new cases, Fiji Navy cluster has 1 new case, Nawaka, Nadi cluster has 1 new case and Caubati cluster also has 1 new case.
9 cases are under investigation to determine if they have any links to other cases.
2 cases are from Lami, 2 are in Nasinu, 2 are in Valelevu, 2 cases are in Koronivia and 2 cases are from Toorak.
She says 15 patients have recovered and there are now 624 active cases in isolation.
Dr. Sahukhan says they are aware of the concern about the number of frontline health care workers that have tested positive for COVID-19.
Dr. Sahukhan says medical staff and frontline health care workers cannot stay at home as there would be no response to this outbreak and nobody will be left to take care of sick patients in hospitals if they stay at home.
Dr. Sahukhan adds if you're carrying out approved work outside your home, then you should avoid eating lunch with others in your office as you have to take off masks to eat.
She says most offices have common office tea room which is a potential source of transmission.
The Health Ministry's Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu says health workers are able, committed and willing but the community needs to be willing to work with them to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Dr Tudravu says they are working with various government agencies and disciplinary forces but it will not be enough if they do not have the support from the community.
He says they have the staffing numbers to address the situation at hand.
Dr Tudravu says currently there are active cases in the hospitals, community isolation facilities and a group that is being looked after at home.
He says the CWM Hospital has now been designated as a COVID hospital which is very similar to what was done in the Lautoka Hospital when it was on lockdown.
Dr Tudravu says the FEMAT Field Hospital at the Vodafone Arena is now admitting and caring for non COVID cases.
He says in the last 24 hours, 4,708 individuals were screened with 512 swabbed.
Dr Tudravu says also in the last 24 hours 12, 346 individuals received their first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine while 136 received their second dose.
Three officers of the Nasinu Police Station have tested positive for COVID-19, and Acting Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu says they have tried their best to ensure none of the officers get the virus however this cannot be helped.
Tudravu says another 15 officers from the Nasinu Police Station have been swabbed, and they are waiting for the results.
The Acting Commissioner is also calling on the members of the public to please follow the COVID protocols.
Tudravu also says they know as members of the force they are needed on the frontlines at the moment.
39 new cases of COVID-19 have been announced and 7 of these cases are under investigation.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 4 cases are under investigation in Lami, 1 case in Toorak, 1 case in Nasinu and 1 case from Reservoir Road.
32 of the new cases are linked to existing clusters.
6 cases are from the Nawaka, Nadi cluster, another 11 cases are from the CWM Hospital cluster, 5 cases from the Nasinu Police Barracks cluster, 3 from FICAC cluster, 2 from the Navy cluster, 2 from the Waila cluster, 1 from the Incident Management Team, 1 from the Naitasiri cluster and 1 from the Caubati cluster.
Doctor Fong says the current outbreak remains primarily centred within the Lami-Suva-Nausori Containment Zone.
He says their mitigation strategy announced yesterday is targeted at isolating cases, treating patients who develop severe cases of the disease, and ensuring that vaccines continue to be administered to the public.
Doctor Fong says in the near term, they are concerned that Lami may see increasing number of cases.
They also anticipate more cases from the cluster at the Police Barracks in Nasinu.
The stationary and mobile screening teams are tracing and testing known contacts and are isolating positive patients to prevent the further spread of the virus.
7 patients have recovered, which means there are now 656 active cases in isolation. There have been 849 cases during the current outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 919 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There have been 256 recoveries and 4 deaths due to COVID-19.
3 COVID-19 positive patients have died from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses.
Meanwhile 228,030 people in Fiji have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
A total of 97,094 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 139,955 tested since testing began in early 2020.
51 new COVID-19 cases have been announced yesterday, and 35 of these cases are from the existing Nawaka, Nadi cluster.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 48 of the new cases are linked to existing clusters.
6 are from the CWM Hospital cluster, 2 from the Vunimono cluster, 4 from the Health Ministry’s Incident Management Team cluster and 1 from the Waila cluster.
Doctor Fong says 1 of the new cases is noted to be a primary contact of another case, and the connection to a cluster is currently being determined by their contact tracing teams.
2 of the new cases are from Raiwai and Nakasi and are under investigation to determine whether they have links to other cases.
Doctor Fong also says an individual who was admitted in the CWM Hospital’s Acute Medical Ward and then tested positive for COVID-19 has died.
His doctors have determined that he died due to complications of the serious medical condition that led him to his admission in hospital.
The Ministry expresses their condolences to his family.
22 patients have recovered, which means there are now 684 active cases in isolation.
There have been 900 cases during the current outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 970 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There have been 278 recoveries and 4 deaths due to COVID-19.
A total of 4 COVID-19 positive patients have died from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses.
A total of 100,286 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 143,147 tested since testing began in early 2020. The national 7 day average daily test positivity is 2%.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed there are 47 new COVID-19 cases yesterday - 19 of these are from the CWM Hospital cluster and 15 are from the Nawaka Nadi cluster.
Doctor Fong says 42 of the new cases are linked to existing clusters.
3 are from the Health Ministry’s Incident Management Team cluster, 1 from the Waila cluster, 1 from the Muanikoso cluster, 1 from the Navy cluster and another 2 cases from the Reservoir Road cluster.
1 case from Wailoku, 1 from Wainibuka, 1 from Tacirua and 1 from Davuilevu Housing are under investigation.
Doctor Fong says 1 case is noted to be a primary contact of an existing case.
The contact tracing team are to confirm the cluster link.
Doctor Fong also says a review of cases from Nadi reported this week has found that 3 cases tested positive twice, and were subsequently counted twice, due to errors with the identifying information that was entered for each test.
The 3 duplicate records have been removed from the active and total case count.
26 patients have recovered, which means there are now 702 active cases in isolation.
There have been 944 cases during this outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 1,014 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There have been 304 recoveries and 4 deaths due to COVID-19.
A total of 4 COVID-19 positive patients have died from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses.
104,533 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 147,394 tested since testing began in early 2020.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms there are 105 new COVID-19 cases and 98 of the new cases are linked to existing clusters
It has also been confirmed that another 2 patients admitted at CWM Hospital for pre-existing severe illnesses have died.
Doctor Fong says with the ongoing outbreak at the hospital, both patients tested positive for COVID-19 during their admission.
However, he says their doctors have determined that their causes of death are related to the pre-existing illnesses for which they were admitted and receiving treatment for at the hospital.
Doctor Fong says these are not COVID-19 caused deaths and the Ministry extends their condolences to the loved ones of the deceased patients.
Meanwhile, Doctor Fong confirms 21 COVID-19 cases announced are linked to the CWM Hospital cluster, 16 from Nawajikuma, Nawaka in Nadi, 6 cases from the Tramline, Nawaka, Nadi cluster, 1 more case from the Kinoya cluster, 2 cases from the Navosai cluster, 11 cases from the Waila cluster, 11 cases from the Navy cluster, 8 cases from the Health Ministry’s Incident Management Team cluster, 15 cases from the Muanikoso cluster and 7 more cases from the Nasinu Police Barracks cluster.
5 cases from Grantham Road and 2 cases from Tacirua are under investigation.
Doctor Fong says a review of cases from Nadi reported yesterday has found that 1 case tested positive twice, and was subsequently counted twice, due to different names for the same person being entered on the forms for each of the samples tested.
The duplicate record has been removed from the active and total case count.
8 patients have recovered, which means there are now 796 active cases in isolation.
There have been 1048 cases during this outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 1118 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There have been 312 recoveries and 4 deaths due to COVID-19.
A total of 6 COVID-19 positive patients have died from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses.
107,672 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 150,533 tested since testing began in early 2020.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed that there are 89 new cases of COVID-19, and he is confident that case numbers will rise in the near term and that record of daily cases will be broken again.
However Doctor Fong says it does not mean they are helpless and it does not mean we cannot protect ourselves.
He says most of these cases are contacts of cases they have found and from clusters, they know about.
Doctor Fong says this is useful for containment purposes because it lets them know where to target lockdowns but the sheer number of daily cases is a matter of concern.
He says if we look inside the numbers, we can give ourselves a much clearer idea of exactly what is happening.
The Permanent Secretary says when we do, we see other factors that are a cause for some optimism over the long-term.
He says first, they are testing more than they ever have.
Doctor Fong says at this same time last year, they were running under 120 tests a day.
He says now, they can run over 3,000 tests every 24 hours.
The Permanent Secretary says relative to our population, we are testing more than any other country in Oceania.
He says that’s because we are dealing with an outbreak, and because of the massive expansions, we have made to our testing capacity.
Doctor Fong says second is that the number of severe cases is very low.
In his view, even one is too many.
He says very few people have needed hospital care, and there may be a number of reasons for that, but they believe that the fact that almost half the adults in Fiji have received at least one dose of the vaccine could be one reason.
Doctor Fong says that is a reminder to all of us about the value of the vaccines and the protection they offer against severe disease.
He says another is possibly the relative youth of our population.
Doctor Fong says healthy young people are generally less likely to get a severe case than older people however, they can pass the virus to more vulnerable people, so all of us, especially young people must exercise extreme caution at all times.
The third major factor inside these numbers is that most of these cases are occurring within known clusters, and often among people who are already isolated.
Doctor Fong says they know that in several of these clusters people live in close proximity to each other, so even after they have locked them down, the spread within those communities is highly likely.
He says as long as we can maintain the integrity of the areas of isolation, we have a good chance of limiting or stemming the spread.
The Permanent Secretary for Health confirms that they are in discussions with Australia about a range of areas for their continued support, including contingency options, like an AUSMAT (Australian Medical Assistance Teams) deployment, if it should be needed as Fiji deals with COVID-19 cases and other cases relating to critical care.
Doctor James Fong says they have continued to confirm cases at the CWM Hospital cluster, which is now a wholly dedicated COVID-care facility.
He says they have to combat the virus while continuing to give Fijians access to critical care.
The other current major clusters are in Kinoya, Navosai, Nawajikuma-Nadi, Tramline-Nadi, Waila, Grantham Road, Tacirua, the Navy Headquarters, Muanikoso and the Nasinu Police Barracks.
Doctor Fong stresses that these areas are where the risk of transmission is highest but clusters do not always denote a location as someone can be linked to a cluster but live in a different part of Suva than the case they are linked to.
He says there are certainly cases beyond these clusters they have also not identified but risk resides everywhere in the Central Division, and they have good reason to suspect, in other areas of Viti Levu as well.
Doctor Fong stresses that we must still take every possible measure to protect ourselves.
He also says he is still in home quarantine as a contact of a confirmed case from the Incident Management Team which he leads.
The Permanent Secretary says he has continued to test negative for the virus and is expected to clear home quarantine on 17th June following a negative final exit swab.
Doctor Fong says there are no social gatherings allowed of any nature, all houses of worship are closed, businesses without clear, COVID-safe plans cannot open and those approved to open should have the careFIJI QR code at the point of entry, masks must be worn everywhere in public, people should have their careFIJI app on and everyone should follow the COVID safety guidelines.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong urges the politicians who are saying that the Health Ministry has no plan for COVID-19 to walk back that rhetoric and consider the clear and firm plan that the Ministry is working to implement day and night.
Doctor Fong says they are saying the Ministry has no plan, undermining confidence in their mitigation measures.
He says no plan means no hope and that simply isn’t true.
The Permanent Secretary says mitigation is a plan.
He says it is well documented in the Public Health Publications and was part of the preparedness and response document that they developed in February 2020.
Doctor Fong says they follow the science by adjusting it to our context.
He is asking all politicians to use their platforms to help encourage Fijians to follow the clear rules we have in place.
Doctor Fong says if you have 100,000 followers, 1,000 followers, or ten followers: Use your platform.
He is calling on them to help the Ministry to tell people to wear masks, tell people to avoid gatherings and keep good physical distance from others, tell people to install careFIJI and use the new QR code system and tell people why they should make the choice to be vaccinated.
The Permanent Secretary says they can’t win this fight alone.
He says we need all of you with us; and all your family, friends and neighbours.
Doctor Fong says all positive patients are entered into home isolation, contacts of cases are entered into quarantine and must test negative over 14 days before being cleared, areas with high case numbers are being locked down in a targeted manner, groceries and household essentials are being provided to these families under lockdown orders, nursing homes and elderly care facilities have been closed to all visitors; and they are rolling out vaccines at an excellent pace.
He says a Telehealth program piloted in Lautoka to allow for healthcare consultations over the phone is progressing well based on feedback from the clinicians and customers.
They will be looking to expand this pilot project into existing protocols in CWM Hospital and health facilities within the Lami-Nausori containment zone.
He says this is all to say: They are not giving up.
Doctor Fong says a key pillar of their mitigation phase is protecting those most vulnerable; the elderly and those living with co-morbidities that make them more likely to become seriously ill or die from the virus.
He says for their sake, we all must stay the course.
The Permanent Secretary says they are also protecting the economically vulnerable by paving highly-controlled COVID-safe pathways for businesses to re-open.
He says a number of barbershops and hairdressers were given permission to reopen recently.
Doctor Fong says they are confident that as long as the barbers and patrons are wearing masks at all times, haircuts can be managed safely.
He says the risk of transmission, will never be zero but they can bring that risk as close to zero as possible if everyone follows the rules.
Doctor Fong also says groceries and other household essentials have been delivered to areas under lockdown, including in Nawaka, where they had some dangerously crowded protests over the weekend.
He says he was sorry to see that protest take place when groceries and household essentials were already on the way.
The Permanent Secretary says in fact, they had notified the community several days prior that those items were to be delivered that day, and they were delivered on schedule.
He says that same day of the protest, the third delivery of groceries and household items arrived to the community.
Doctor Fong says when he sees crowding like that in a lockdown area, he sees the risk of transmission.
He says we have already seen 119 cases in Nadi since the start of this outbreak, with another 28 confirmed in the last 24 hours, up till 6am this morning.
He is again asking for the patience of the public as they seek to contain the spread of this virus.
Doctor Fong says together with the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Communications, they are strengthening their database by allowing for the electronic registration of household information and their needs.
He also says extensive discussions are taking place to create a mechanism for the many Fijians stuck in Viti Levu to make the journey home.
Doctor Fong says in many instances children have not seen their parents, wives and husbands have been separated.
He says the Health Ministry with the Ministry of Commerce Trade Tourism and Transport, Ministry of Maritime and Rural Affairs and Ministry of iTaukei Affairs have put together a number of protocols to ensure that the protocols of safe travel, including a proper 14 days of quarantine, are fully adhered to.
The Permanent Secretary also thanks all of the businesses that have enlisted in the plan to make Fiji COVID-safe, the businesses that are adopting careFIJI QR codes and the businesses that are offering discounts to vaccinated Fijians.
He says we need more of that and they appreciate the leaders who are using their voices to support this plan and help it succeed.
Head of Health Protection Dr Aalisha Sahukhan says one patient who had tested positive for COVID-19 during her admission at the CWM Hospital has passed away.
Dr. Sahukhan says the doctors that treated her have ruled out COVID-19 as her cause of death.
She says her cause of death is related to the severe illness for which she was admitted in the ICU.
Dr. Sahukhan adds the Health Ministry expresses their condolences to her family.
She further says that 23 patients have recovered which means there are 860 active cases in isolation.
Dr. Sahukhan says Fiji has had 1,136 cases since this outbreak began in April while we have had 1206 cases since our first case in March last year.
There have been 335 recoveries.
She adds that 4 people have died due to COVID-19 while 7 positive COVID cases have died due to pre-existing non COVID related illnesses.
Meanwhile Dr. Sahukhan says vaccination is not new to Fiji and has urged everyone to get vaccinated.
The Health Ministry's Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu says we must not let the number of COVID cases surpass the capacity of health services to cater for sick people.
He says this is their capacity to care for very sick people including ICU care.
Tudravu says they are also building up the hospital capacity which also includes their fall back capacity such as FEMAT, so essentially, if the increasing cases outstrip their current and reserve capacities, then the fight will be extremely difficult.
Dr Tudravu says if people follow the COVID 19 safe measures diligently, this will not be the case.
He says this is Day 50 of the current outbreak and Day 10 ever since the FEMAT Field Hospital in Suva was operational.
Dr Tudravu says FEMAT Hospital is also seeing referrals for the Central Division from Navua to Nayavu in Wainibuka.
He says 45 surgical operations and13 deliveries were done at FEMAT.
Dr Tudravu says 129 personnel are currently operating at the field hospital.
He says screening and swabbing continues in parts of the country.
Health Ministry's Permanent Secretary Dr James Fong reveals there were difficulties in the initial part of their operation at the CWM Hospital regarding the designation as to who were the primary and secondary contacts of COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Fong says some people were designated as secondary contacts and were released to go home after four days of quarantine after initial assessment however there was realisation later that these people needed to come back for the full quarantine measure.
He revealed this when asked as to how the discharged patients of CWM Hospital are testing positive to COVID-19 after released into the communities.
Dr. Fong says he agrees that when CWM Hospital went into lockdown, they had a little bit of problem regarding definitions of primary and secondary contacts.
He says this has been sorted and they have moved forward with a clearer view of what needs to be sorted to define primary and secondary contacts.
A new daily record of COVID-19 cases has been reached as 116 new cases have been announced while there is an unfortunate death from COVID-19.
A 73-year-old patient at the CWM Hospital has died.
The patient had been admitted to the hospital for almost a month for a severe non-COVID related illness and tested positive 11 days ago.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says whilst his prognosis was poor, this death has been classified as a COVID-19 death by the doctors treating him.
This is the 3rd death due to COVID-19 during this current outbreak and the 5th COVID-19 death overall for Fiji.
Doctor James Fong also says 93 of the new cases are linked to the existing clusters.
7 cases are linked to the Caubati cluster, 24 to the Nasinu Police Barracks cluster, 3 to the Navy cluster, 14 to the CWM Hospital cluster, 3 to the Waila cluster, 5 to the Sakoca cluster, 2 from the Nawajikuma, Nawaka cluster, 8 from the Tramline, Nawaka, Nadi cluster, 1 from Muanikoso, 10 from the Reservoir Rd cluster, 1 from Navosai cluster, 1 from the Nakasi cluster, 2 from the Tacirua cluster, 2 from the Grantham Rd cluster and 10 cases from the Vunimono cluster.
3 cases have been identified as primary contacts of earlier cases, and the respective response teams are determining the cluster link.
Doctor Fong says 13 cases are under investigation to determine whether they have links to other cases.
2 cases are from Mead Road, 1 from Nasese, 1 from Princes Rd, 1 from Vatuwaqa, 1 from Veisari, Lami, 1 from Tovata in Makoi, 1 from Wailoku, 2 from Koronivia, 1 from Vanuadina Village, Nausori, 1 from Naduru, Nausori and 1 from Nausori Town.
He says investigations are also ongoing into 3 cases that were swabbed at the Valelevu and Raiwaqa screening clinics.
Doctor Fong says there are also 4 cases in the Korovou area in Tailevu.
Early investigations have revealed that 1 is a driver that was recruited into the Korovou COVID-19 response team.
The other 3 cases are primary contacts of this driver - a relative and other members of the response team.
Investigations are ongoing into how these cases contracted the virus, and the subdivisional medical team are working to contain this new cluster.
32 COVID-19 cases have recovered, which means there are now 943 active cases in isolation.
There have been 1252 cases during this outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 1322 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There have been 367 recoveries and 5 deaths due to COVID-19.
7 COVID-19 positive patients have died from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses.
114,386 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 157,247 tested since testing began in early 2020.
In the last 24 hours, a total of 4,355 first doses and 730 second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered nationally.
This brings the total number of vaccinations conducted to date to 242,721 first doses and 6,224 second doses into the arms of Fijians.
41% of the target population of people aged 18 and over have received the first dose of the vaccine.
42% have received the first dose in the Central Division, 56% in the Western Division, 12% in the Eastern Division, and 12% in the Northern Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the COVID-19 outbreak, based on the number of daily cases, is escalating in the Lami - Nausori containment area, with a majority of the cases in the lockdown areas or clusters.
Doctor Fong says the 7 day rolling average of daily cases is now at 68 cases per day.
He says the 116 new cases announced was not unexpected, and daily case numbers are expected to increase further.
Doctor Fong says the detection of a new cluster in the Korovou area, outside the containment zones, is a cause for concern.
He says while they continue to respond to new cases and monitor the outbreak closely, their mitigation measures to cater for severe illness are presently able to cater for the current caseload.
Doctor Fong says with the rising case numbers, the risk of an increase in severe cases is high but there are contingency measures in place to respond accordingly.
Please stay at home as much as possible.
If you have to leave your home: wear a mask, keep at least 2 metres between yourselves and others outside your household, frequently wash your hands with soap and water, or an alcohol-based hand sanitiser.
Download the careFIJI app and Bluetooth on.
Behave as if anyone you encounter outside your home may have the virus.
Don’t attend social gatherings.
Don’t drink grog with anyone outside your household.
Don’t invite anyone home.
Please get vaccinated as it will reduce your risk of contracting the virus and help protect you from severe disease and death if you do get infected with COVID-19.
121 new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed while cases in Suva, Lami, Nausori and Nadi are being investigated.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says a new cluster has been identified within the Rewa Emergency Operations Centre, possibly linked to the Vunimono cluster.
There are 2 new cases for this cluster.
A new cluster is also at the Town House Hotel in Suva where CWM Hospital and Incident Management Team staff are being accommodated.
Doctor Fong says there are 19 cases within this cluster, likely linked to the CWM Hospital or IMT clusters.
11 cases have been identified as primary contacts of earlier cases, and the respective response teams are determining the cluster link.
He says cases at Nasevou St – Lami, Nakoba St – Lami, Delainavesi – Lami, Qauia St – Lami, Naituni - Rewa, Qima Settlement – Nadi, Feeder Rd, Tacirua, Wainivula Rd, Cunningham Stage 4, Naduru Rd, Ura Place, Toorak, Freshet, Makoi, Bau St Nausori, Toga, Nausori, Nabitu, Nausori are also under investigation.
Doctor Fong says 61 cases are linked to existing clusters.
There is 1 case from the Korovou cluster, 8 cases from the Incident Management Team cluster, 26 cases from the CWM Hospital cluster, 5 cases from the Tramline, Nawaka, Nadi cluster, 1 case from the Nawajikuma, Nawaka, Nadi cluster, 1 from the Kinoya cluster, 1 from the Navosai cluster, 4 from the Sakoca cluster, 3 from Naitasiri, 4 from the Wailoku cluster, 4 from the Nasinu Police Barracks cluster and 3 from the Navy cluster.
21 COVID-19 cases have recovered, which means there are now 1,043 active cases in isolation.
There have been 1,373 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 1,443 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There have been 388 recoveries and 5 deaths due to COVID-19.
A total of 7 COVID-19 positive patients have died from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses.
117,221 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 160,082 tested since testing began in early 2020.
42 percent of Fijians aged 18 years and over have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine so far.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they are making extremely efficient use of the vaccines we have received, and they thank the more than 246,000 people in Fiji who have come forward to be vaccinated.
An additional 70,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines will arrive in Fiji from Australia over the next week.
Doctor Fong says the arrival of these vaccines will bring Australia’s total vaccine contribution to Fiji to 250,000 doses out of the one million pledged to Fiji.
He says Fiji is grateful that the commitment to deliver 40,000 vaccines per month has been exceeded.
Doctor Fong says Australia’s commitment, as well as that of New Zealand, has helped us reserve the full dosage of COVID-19 vaccines for every eligible Fijian.
He says they are grateful for the expedited commitment of the Australian and New Zealand governments as we contend with this surge in new local cases.
Doctor Fong says Fiji is also grateful to the Indian Government for its initial contribution to 100,000 COVID-19 vaccines.
He says this week, several US states, including New York and California, have lifted most COVID restrictions.
Doctor Fong says they were able to do so because they have immunised enough of their populations against COVID-19.
He says Fiji’s road to recovery will look much the same.
Doctor Fong says his teams are committed to continuing vaccinating our population and protecting Fijians from this deadly disease.
According to a recent study by Public Health England, after both doses, the AstraZeneca vaccine is 92% successful at preventing hospitalization from the Delta variant of COVID-19 present in Fiji.
The Permanent Secretary is asking those who have received one dose to make sure they receive dose number two, and they encourage every eligible Fijian awaiting their first dose to seize this opportunity to protect themselves.
Meanwhile, he says the majority of new COVID cases continue to be confirmed within known clusters in areas already under a lockdown or are individuals under home quarantine.
However, he says new clusters in new locations do pose a serious risk of wider transmission.
Doctor Fong says they are prepared to mitigate the impact of a larger number of daily case totals and have contingency plans in place to care for patients who develop severe cases of the virus.
But he says it should be noted that this case surge is not inevitable.
Doctor Fong says widespread public adherence to the health protection measures in force can limit or stop the spread of COVID-19 entirely and lessen the growing burden on our frontline health officials.
He says essential movement, when managed in a COVID-safe manner, can occur without moving the virus and without putting you, your loved ones, and your community members at high risk of becoming infected.
Meanwhile, a number of personalities and staff of Communications Fiji Limited, parent company of Legend FM, FM96, Viti FM, Navtarang, Radio Sargam and fijivillage got their second doses yesterday.
Please get vaccinated and help the country move forward.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms 91 new COVID-19 cases have been reported between 6 o’clock Wednesday night and 8 o’clock yesterday morning.
Doctor Fong says they are shifting to a new daily reporting format that will replace the current evening public reporting of the consolidated cases for the day.
He says from today, the new daily cases will be reported to the public at 3pm for the 24 hour reporting period of 8am to 8am.
Doctor Fong says this will allow the teams to investigate new cases and gather information to share with the public in a more efficient manner.
He says sadly, a 76-year-old man has died due to COVID-19.
The man was admitted at the CWM Hospital and had a severe pre-existing medical condition.
Doctor Fong says his cause of death has been assessed by his doctors to be due to COVID-19.
This is the 4th death due to COVID-19 during this current outbreak.
49 of the new cases reported have been confirmed in the existing clusters.
1 case is from the Waila cluster, 5 from the Rewa Operations Centre cluster, 1 from the Vunivivi cluster, 2 from the Nasinu Police Barracks cluster, 4 from the Korovou cluster, 13 from the Navosai cluster, 17 from the CWM Hospital cluster, 4 cases from the Tramline, Nadi cluster, 1 case from the Grantham Road cluster and 1 case from the Town House hotel cluster.
36 cases have been identified as primary contacts of earlier cases, and the respective response teams are determining the cluster link.
This includes 3 cases from Veisari Lami and 5 cases from Delainavesi, Lami.
Doctor Fong says 1 case from Vusuya, Rewa, 1 case from Namuka-i-Lau, Lami, 1 case from Lami village, 1 case from Waikerekere, Lami and 2 cases from Raiwaqa are also under investigation.
A review of cases recently reported from Nadi has revealed a duplicate entry for 1 case, therefore the duplicate has been removed from the active and total case count.
64 COVID-19 cases have recovered, which means there are now 1068 active cases in isolation.
There have been 1,463 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 1533 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There have been 452 recoveries and 6 deaths due to COVID-19.
A total of 7 COVID-19 positive patients have died from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says Fiji’s border quarantine facilities and protocols have been exhaustively reviewed to protect against transmission stemming from individuals entered into quarantine or isolation.
The quarantine capacity is to be capped at 300, and this will be reviewed as and when appropriate. Doctor Fong says hotel workers deemed as high-risk will include housekeeping staff, maintenance, and reception staff and will be accommodated within the quarantine facility.
He says CCTV coverage has been upgraded in selected quarantine facilities, for improved monitoring and surveillance.
Doctor Fong says all infection prevention protocols have been reviewed in all quarantine facilities and a refresher program has been carried out for all Hotel, Military and Health staff.
He says internal reviews of the standard cleaning and disinfection protocols and the food and amenities delivery and exchange protocols for quarantine facilities have been conducted.
The Permanent Secretary says new mitigation measures have been introduced to address the risk related to transmission of the virus within tightly contained spaces within quarantine facilities in the course of operations and frontline surveillance reporting, which includes mandatory reporting for staff on leave, has been strengthened.
He says routine surveillance swabbing of all quarantine facility workers, health officials, military, and transfer companies will step-up from a fortnightly basis to a weekly basis (once every 7 days), to ensure early identification and appropriate management of cases.
They have escalated immunization rates for quarantine facilities and personnel – 90% of hotel workers, 100% of transfer drivers and 100% of health workers and military personnel are fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says well-run quarantine facilities with adequate bed capacity are critical to the containment of COVID-19.
He is asking the public’s cooperation in establishing quarantine facilities.
Doctor Fong says we are all safer when suitable facilities are open and available to cater for Fijians who may have been exposed to COVID-19.
He says their mitigation strategy continues to rely on the women and men, doctors, nurses, contact tracers and members of our disciplined forces who serve on the frontlines.
Doctor Fong says while they are provided with the proper personal protective equipment, they face a risk to their health and wellbeing every day of their service to the nation.
He is also making a strong appeal to our health officials to remain resolute in their purpose, their professionalism, and patience in their service to the public.
Doctor Fong says their two-month battle against this outbreak has demanded great sacrifices from all of them, but it has also saved countless lives.
He says in the line of duty, you may encounter moments of frustration.
Doctor Fong urges you to meet those moments with compassion.
The Health Ministry says it is disturbed by some reports of impolite and inappropriate conduct by some of the frontline officials, including those administering vaccines.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they apologise if there have been any shortcomings or unprofessional lapses in their service delivery.
He says they are constantly seeking to improve their services and they will not allow these incidents to define the professionalism of their overall effort.
Meanwhile, Doctor Fong says they have made excellent progress to date with more than 250,000 people in Fiji receiving at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and many more have been screened and tested.
He says they have set a standard of professional conduct that has inspired confidence from the Fijian people, and that must remain the benchmark for their engagement with the public.
Doctor Fong says it is their mission to offer the full protection of vaccines to every eligible individual in Fiji and they cannot allow that mission to be compromised by reports of unprofessional conduct.
He says every Fijian who makes the decision to come forward to be vaccinated or swabbed to protect themselves, their loved ones and the country should be applauded, and these patriotic Fijians, regardless of their background or status, deserve nothing less than the full measure of their empathy and courtesy.
The Permanent Secretary says we are all on the same team in the fight against the virus and victory can only be achieved together.
115 new COVID-19 cases have been announced for the 24-hour period ending at 8am yesterday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 12 cases are from new clusters: 8 of these cases are from Max Value Supermarket, Lami and 4 from Public Rental Board.
7 cases have also been detected during screening at the Valelevu, Nuffield Health Centre in Tamavua, and Raiwaqa screening clinics.
Doctor Fong says 1 case was also identified during screening at Nadi Hospital.
Investigations are underway to determine any links to known cases.
21 cases have been identified as primary contacts of previous cases and are under investigation by the contact tracing teams to determine if there is a cluster link.
2 cases from Naqio settlement, Rewa, 1 case from Nadave, 7 cases from Nausori Village, 4 cases in Naulu, 1 case in Omkar Rd, Narere, 1 case in Valenicina, Lami, 1 case in Verata, Nausori, 1 case from Milverton Road, Raiwaqa, 2 cases from Qauia, Lami, 1 case from Naduru Road, Nausori and 1 case from Fiji Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Services are under investigation to determine if they have links to other cases.
Doctor Fong says the 22 cases are currently considered cases of community transmission.
The majority of the cases announced are related to existing clusters of transmission or to localities where significant transmission has occurred.
Doctor Fong says 8 cases are from the Waila cluster, 6 cases are from the Nasinu Police Barracks cluster, 2 cases are from the Navosai cluster, 8 cases are from the CWM Hospital cluster, 7 cases are from Nawajikuma, Nadi cluster, 7 cases are from the Townhouse Hotel cluster, 13 cases are from the Freshet cluster and 1 case is from the Rewa Emergency Operations Centre cluster.
A 49 year old man has unfortunately passed away at CWM Hospital.
Doctor Fong says he had been admitted for almost a month and was being treated for a severe non-COVID pre-existing condition.
He tested positive for COVID-19 during his admission, and his doctors are currently investigating to determine if this is a COVID-19 death.
There are now 1,182 active cases in isolation.
There have been 1,578 cases during this outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 1648 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There have been 452 recoveries and 6 deaths due to COVID-19.
A total of 7 COVID-19 positive patients have died from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses.
121,193 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 164,054 tested since testing began in early 2020.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms they have recorded 150 new cases in the 24-hour period ending at 8am yesterday.
117 cases are from known clusters.
2 cases who presented to the FEMAT Field Hospital at the Vodafone Arena are under investigation and 4 cases are under investigation from Totogo Police.
Doctor Fong says CWM Hospital cluster has 32 new cases, Nasinu Police Barracks cluster has 1 new case, RFMF cluster has 1 new case, Townhouse Hotel cluster has 18 new cases, Public Rental Board cluster has 1 new case, Freshet cluster 3 new cases, Navosai cluster has 7 new cases, Mineral Resources Department cluster has 9 new cases, Waila cluster 9 cases, Vunimono cluster 1 case, Max Value Supermarket Lami cluster 1 case, Muanikoso cluster has 4 new cases, Caubati cluster 1 new case, Korovou cluster 2 more cases, Vunivivi cluster 1 case while the Fiji Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Services cluster has 26 new cases.
Doctor Fong says a new cluster has been identified at the Nasese Medical Centre with 1 new case reported, adding to the 6 cases already in this cluster.
7 cases are primary contacts of other cases – this includes 3 cases from Charles Street in Toorak.
23 cases are currently under investigation and considered as cases of community transmission.
1 case is in Salato Rd, Tamavua, 4 cases in Duvula Rd, Nadera, 1 case in Bryce Street, Raiwaqa, 1 case in Sanpuran St, Nausori, 1 case in Navuso, Nausori, 1 case in Anorogo Pl, Davuilevu, 5 cases in Muana Village, Toga in Nausori, 1 case in Naitalasese, Bua Rd, 1 case in Matanimoli Rd, 2 cases in Wainibokasi and 1 case from Qauia, Lami.
Investigations into the death of a 49-year-old at CWM Hospital are now complete.
The patient’s doctors at the hospital have determined that his death was a result of the severe non-COVID-19 pre-existing medical condition that he was receiving treatment for during his admission at the hospital and not COVID-19.
21 more COVID-19 patients have recovered, which means there are now 1,311 active cases in isolation.
There have been 1,728 cases during this outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 1,798 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There have been 473 recoveries and 6 deaths due to COVID-19, with 4 of the deaths during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
A total of 8 COVID-19 positive patients have died from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses. 124,264 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 167,125 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The 7 day average of new COVID-19 cases per day for Fiji has increased to 105 cases per day or 119 cases per million population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the increasing number of cases in the Lami-Suva-Nausori containment zone clearly indicates ongoing community transmission.
He says there are also clusters in Naitasiri and one cluster in Korovou.
Doctor Fong says we continue to have cases reported in Nadi, but so far they are from within the containment zone in the Nawaka area.
He says to date this outbreak appears contained to Viti Levu, with the Northern and Eastern divisions yet to detect a case.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the main priority of the Australian Medical Assistance Team coming in will be on creating additional medical spaces that can offer non-COVID care to patients and strengthen their infection control protocols.
Doctor Fong confirms the multi-disciplinary AUSMAT team has been deployed to Fiji to assist with the provision of health care services, primarily in the Central Division.
He says the AUSMAT team will deploy for 28-days starting next week.
Doctor Fong confirms the members of the deployment are all fully-vaccinated so they have amended the quarantine requirements to ten days to allow them to deploy quickly upon arrival to Fiji.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says while we have not seen high rates of hospitalisations and fatalities so far in Fiji, that could change if COVID-19 spreads further among more vulnerable segments of our population.
Doctor Fong says the best way to protect those most vulnerable in our society is by adopting common-sense measures to protect ourselves from the virus and stop us from becoming carriers.
He stresses when you have the chance to be vaccinated, come forward and get vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says just because young people are less likely to suffer from severe disease, does not mean they cannot pass the virus to others who may be more susceptible to be hospitalised or die due to COVID-19.
He says if you need to leave the house, wear a mask or face covering.
Do not gather.
Maintain a physical distance of two metres from others at all times.
Install careFIJI and keep the Bluetooth turned on whenever you leave the home.
Wash your hands often with soap or use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser.
Fiji has a daily record of new COVID-19 cases as Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 166 cases in the 24 hour period ending at 8am yesterday.
Doctor Fong also confirms that there is a COVID-19 related death as well.
He says sadly, a 77-year-old man who was bedridden at home for several months has passed away.
The man was diagnosed as COVID-19 positive by the CWM screening team.
Doctor Fong says while he had pre-existing medical conditions, based on available clinical data the consensus is that this represents a COVID-19 death.
This brings the total COVID-19 deaths to date in Fiji to 7.
The family has been counselled and further containment measures have been activated.
Doctor Fong also says as expected they are seeing a few more cases arising in the Lami area.
He says the current priority is therefore to prevent the export of cases into the other non-containiment zones.
As such any request to move outside of the Central Division to other areas of Viti Levu and from Viti Levu to Vanua Levu and the Maritime Zone needs to be strictly regulated.
Doctor Fong says pre-departure swab tests and quarantine capability are being expanded and strengthened to reduce the risk of spread within and beyond Viti Levu.
He says while a majority of the new cases are linked to existing clusters, going forward, they will now report on areas of interest since the number of positive cases have grown.
He says community transmission is broad throughout the Central Division.
Doctor Fong says they will post on various Government social media platforms, heat maps to delineate case distribution within the Central and Western divisions.
He says everyone should be practice Covid safe measures whenever you leave your home, irrespective of where you live and where you are going.
The 56 stationery screening clinics remain operational throughout the country.
A total of 3901 individuals were screened and 561 swabbed at the clinics in the last 24 hours.
The screening clinics have now screened 177,003 individuals and swabbed 22,622 individuals since commencement.
50,000 more doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine as part of support from the Australian government has been delivered to Fiji.
The Health Ministry says with the arrival of more vaccines, they will not only ramp up their rollout on Viti Levu but also recommence in the Northern and Eastern Divisions.
Vaccination teams will be out again tomorrow in parts of the country.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 126 new COVID-19 cases in the 24 hour period ending at 8am yesterday.
There have been 2020 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Doctor Fong says they are sadly reporting another death at CWM Hospital.
This is a 42-year-old male admitted to the hospital with leptospirosis.
Doctor Fong says the man also tested positive for COVID-19 during his admission.
His death is being investigated by his doctors to determine if it will be classified as a COVID-19 death.
Doctor Fong also says they have recorded an increase in new cases from the Lami area.
The Ministry is working with other Government agencies and the community to establish additional isolation facilities in the Lami area to cater for the positive cases from the area.
He says additional isolation facilities have also been pursued in the Nausori area to complement the current capacities they have, and to cater for positive cases from the Nausori area.
Members of the public are advised to continue to practice COVID-19 safe measures to protect themselves, their families, and their communities.
Doctor Fong says an important part of the COVID-19 response was to use various technologies available to them, and these technologies were of immense benefit to their organizing of information for planning, implementation and deployment of their resources.
He says one such technology is the use of geospatial information, which greatly assisted his team in organizing the information collected from the ground and presented in a map that could be understood by the team and those on the ground.
He says they pleased to announce the launch of the COVID-19 Dashboard, where active cases in Fiji can now be viewed online using an interactive GIS Dashboard.
The Dashboard will give members of the public an interactive map that provides information on active cases and their locations.
As long as users have an internet connection, they can navigate on the map to view the case spread at various locations across the country.
It is anticipated that this dashboard will provide members of the public situational awareness of where the active cases are, and follow the relevant safety guidelines put in place by the Ministry to protect themselves and their families.
Doctor Fong says on behalf of the Ministry of Health, he would like to acknowledge the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources for providing their geospatial information resources for this dashboard.
Meanwhile, there have been 59 recoveries since the last update, which means that there are now 1542 active cases in isolation.
Fiji has recorded a total of 2090 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There have been 532 recoveries, and 7 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 5 of these deaths during the current outbreak
8 COVID-19 positive patients have died from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses.
1 death is under investigation.
A total of 130,002 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 172,863 tested since testing began in early 2020.
He says vaccination has recommenced at the 16 vaccination sites and 4 mobile teams in the Western Division, and the 12 vaccination sites and 1 mobile team in the Central Division.
The Ministry will be providing an update on yesterday’s vaccination activity in today's report.
[image: Fijian Govt./Facebook]
The new COVID-19 cases continue to rise according to the Ministry of Health’s official COVID-19 Dashboard as 180 cases have been added to the list.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong confirms there have been three deaths at the CWM Hospital.
He says the first is a 68-year-old admitted to the hospital for a pre-existing non-COVID medical condition.
Doctor Fong adds he tested positive during his admission and his doctors have confirmed his death as a COVID-19 death.
He says the second is a 57-year-old who was also admitted to the hospital for a pre-existing non-COVID medical condition. He also tested positive during his admission, and his doctors are investigating to determine if his death was caused by COVID-19.
Doctor Fong has revealed the third death is a 66-year-old who was declared dead on arrival to the emergency department at CWM Hospital, according to protocol she was swabbed and also tested positive to COVID-19.
Her doctors are conducting investigations to determine if her death was caused by COVID-19.
The death of the 42-year-old male at CWM Hospital announced on Monday has now been classified as a COVID-19 death.
There have now been 9 deaths due to COVID-19, with 7 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
2 deaths are under investigation to determine if they were caused by COVID-19 and 8 COVID-19 positive patients have died from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses.
According to the official dashboard, the total number of cases since the outbreak started in April this year is 2,200.
There are 1,631 active cases while there have been 86 recoveries.
A number of areas in the Suva/Nausori containment zone now have active cases of COVID-19.
According to the dashboard, the active cases are in Suva City, Toorak, Muanikau, Flagstaff, Laucala Bay, Wailea, Raiwasa, Samabula, Nabua, Namadi Heights, Tamavua, Colo-i-Suva, Kinoya, Nadera, Wainivula, Valelevu, Narere, Muanikoso, Makoi, Nasole, Nakasi, Adi Davila Road, Davuilevu, Koronivia, Waila, Sawani, Nausori, Wainibokasi, Kuku/Raralevu, Vunimono, Vuci Road, Namara, Naqali, Wailoku, Lami, Suvavou and Navesi.
In Nadi, there are cases in Nawajikuma and Tramline in Nawaka, Uciwai, Martintar, Legalega and Narewa.
There are also active cases in Drasa Vitogo, Lautoka.
The total cases since March last year is 2,270.
Doctor Fong had confirmed that the active cases in Fiji can now be viewed online using the interactive GIS Dashboard.
The dashboard gives members of the public an interactive map that provides information on active cases and their locations.
As long as users have an internet connection, they can navigate on the map to view the case spread at various locations across the country.
It is anticipated that this dashboard will provide members of the public situational awareness of where the active cases are, and follow the relevant safety guidelines put in place by the Ministry to protect themselves and their families.
Please follow all the COVID safety guidelines – wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds and sanitize, wear a mask, practice 2 metres physical distancing and avoid unnecessary movements.
The Ministry of Health also advises people to get vaccinated when the vaccination teams come to your area.
A new daily record has been set for Fiji as 279 new COVID-19 cases have been announced as of 8am yesterday while four COVID-19 related deaths have been confirmed.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says out of the new cases, 46 are from existing containment zones or quarantine facilities in Nadi.
22 of these cases are from Nawajikuma, 8 are from Tramline, and 16 are close contacts in quarantine facilities.
Doctor Fong says the remaining 233 cases are from the Lami-Nausori Containment Zone, 196 of which are from existing areas of concern.
He says this means they are either from known clusters or they have a potential link to an existing case.
All 279 of these new patients are currently in isolation at home or in a facility.
Doctor Fong says the first two deaths were announced yesterday as being under investigation to determine if they were caused by COVID-19.
The first death was a 57-year-old man who was admitted to the CWM Hospital for a pre-existing non-COVID medical condition.
Doctor Fong says the man tested positive during his admission.
The second was a 66-year-old woman who was declared dead on arrival to the Emergency Department at CWM Hospital. In accordance with protocol, the woman was swabbed and tested positive for COVID-19. Their doctors have now confirmed that COVID-19 caused the deaths of both these individuals.
Doctor Fong says the third death was a 62-year-old man from Nausori. He was referred to the CWM Hospital on Tuesday from Nausori Health Centre in severe respiratory distress. He says the man had obvious signs and symptoms of severe COVID-19 and he tested positive later in the day. Despite the efforts of the medical team at CWM Hospital, he died on Tuesday afternoon.
The Permanent Secretary says the fourth death is a 77-year-old woman who had been admitted at CWM Hospital for a pre-existing non-COVID medical condition. She tested positive during her admission and died yesterday. Her doctors have confirmed that she died due to COVID-19.
There are nine other patients admitted at CWM Hospital with severe cases of COVID-19. One of these patients is a 30-year-old with no pre-existing illness.
Doctor Fong says 24 days ago they locked down CWM Hospital to protect its vulnerable patient population.
He says these newly admitted COVID cases are exactly why they made that decision.
However, he says that measure came at great cost, as there are specialty health services within CWM Hospital that are no longer fully available to those who need them.
Doctor Fong says the visiting AUSMAT team’s first priority is working with their teams at CWM Hospital to strengthen their infection control protocols so that COVID and non-COVID care are both available to the public.
According to the official COVID-19 dashboard, the active cases are in Toorak, Muanikau, Flagstaff, Laucala Bay, Raiwaqa, Bainiwai, Raiwasa, Vatuwaqa, Samabula, Nabua, Namadi Heights, Wailea, Kinoya, Tamavua, Nadera, Wainivula, Nasole, Nuffield in Tamavua, Wailoku, Navesi, Valelevu, Muanikoso, Narere, Makoi, Nakasi, Nausori, Noco, Wainibokasi, Naililili, Luvuluvu, Davuilevu, Colo-i-Suva, Sawani, Waila, Adi Davila Road, Wainibuku, Naqeledamu, Mokani, Namara, Baulevu, Koronivia, Korovou, Naitasiri, Laselevu, Kuku/Raralevu, Wailoku, Lami and Suvavou.
In Nadi, there are cases in Nawaka, Double Tree Quarantine Facility, Mercure Hotel Quarantine Facility, Tanoa Skylode Hotel Quarantine Facility, Nasau Resort Villas Quarantine Facility, Tanoa Quarantine Facility, Airport Apartments Quarantine Facilities and the Hilton Resort Quarantine Facility.
There are also active cases in Drasa Vitogo and Vitogo Parade in Lautoka.
There is also a case now at the Outrigger quarantine facility in Sigatoka.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the COVID-19 virus is a killer that no Fijian can afford to treat lightly, and we must fully vaccinate all of our adult population as quickly as possible.
Doctor Fong says they know from extensive evidence, including from Public Health England, that vaccines offer excellent protection against hospitalisation and death from the virus, including against the Delta variant present in Fiji.
He says the vaccines they have reserved for every Fijian offer at least 92% protection against hospitalisation, which is remarkable, but the vaccine requires two doses to offer that protection, not one dose.
Doctor Fong says it takes an additional two weeks after the second dose for the full protection from the virus to set in.
He also confirms that of the four confirmed COVID deaths reported yesterday, none were fully vaccinated against the virus.
Three were not vaccinated at all and one had received only one dose of a vaccine.
The Permanent Secretary says this means two doses for every eligible Fijian.
Doctor Fong says if you have already received one dose, please come forward for dose number two.
If you have not had the chance to be vaccinated, he says the Health Ministry will make that opportunity available to you soon.
He says thanks to our diplomatic efforts, and the support of India, Australia and New Zealand, we have enough vaccines on the way for every adult in Fiji.
So far, more than 280,000 Fijians have received at least one dose of a vaccine.
More than 18,000 are already fully-vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says of the nearly 300,000 people which have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, there are zero deaths caused by a COVID-19 vaccine in Fiji.
He says every report of an adverse event has been thoroughly investigated.
The Permanent Secretary says no serious ill effects have been linked to the vaccine. He says that is in line with the global data that shows the risk of such an adverse event is extremely low.
Of the 2,479 cases detected in this outbreak, 11 Fijians have died from the virus.
Doctor Fong asks everyone to please do the math.
He says this virus is a killer, the risk that it claims more lives is huge.
The Permanent Secretary says in contrast, vaccines offer us huge protection and we need that protection urgently.
75 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded for Qauia in Lami in the 24 hours to 8am yesterday and expect more cases as more tested positive throughout yesterday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they have instituted a targeted containment programme for the community in Qauia.
He says they have relied on this tool many times through this outbreak and they have learned some important lessons about how they achieve success against this highly transmissible variant, particularly in how they limit transmission within containment zones.
While speaking directly to the families living in Qauia and other informal settlements that are under containment protocols, Doctor Fong says when you are still within your community, you must do your utmost to protect your bubbles and stay within your houses. He says many in your communities, including the elderly and those living with underlying health conditions, even some young people, could be killed by the virus.
Doctor Fong says they have to protect these Fijians, that is the Health Ministry’s mission and he calls on these communities to please make it yours as well.
He also says as soon as you step through the doors of your houses, you are at-risk of becoming infected.
Wear a mask or face covering, do not gather with others and the people who share your home are the only people with whom you should share close contact.
Doctor Fong says they cannot send authorities into every community every hour of the day to enforce those rules.
He says that responsibility rests with you, and the Ministry will play it’s role.
Doctor Fong says they will make sure the affected people are provided with groceries and household essentials.
He says none of us face easy choices in this outbreak but we obviously have to avoid any unnecessary loss of life.
The Permanent Secretary says they are counting on you and every Fijian to adopt COVID-safe behaviour, maintain that discipline and, when it is your turn, be vaccinated.
For those who do not reside in targeted containment areas, some people have asked Doctor Fong about the rules regarding outdoor exercise.
He says as the Fiji Police clarified this week, outdoor exercise is allowed so long as you wear a mask and only interact with members of your own household.
Doctor Fong says we can’t risk contact sports, we can’t risk any activity that puts people in close contact with others but we know that physical fitness is vitally important to keep ourselves healthy.
He says he also saw the footage of the brawl in Jittu Estate in Suva.
Doctor Fong says there were no winners of that fight except for the virus itself.
He says these outbursts of violence are never acceptable and they have never posed a greater risk to the wellbeing of our people than today.
Doctor Fong says if even one of the dozens involved in the altercation was carrying the virus, every member of that community was placed at risk, the officers involved in breaking up the fight were put at risk, as were their colleagues and members of their families.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they have detected two cases of unknown origin in Lautoka.
Doctor Fong says they have not linked these cases which are a mother and her daughter, to any known clusters.
He says both patients have been securely moved into an isolation facility in Nadi.
Doctor Fong says thanks to the contact tracing investigations through the careFIJI app, which both patients used regularly, they have identified 47 contacts.
He says no areas in Lautoka have been entered under containment protocol as of now.
Meanwhile Doctor Fong says you may have seen the new digital map they developed that shows the locations of active COVID-19 cases in Fiji.
He says they will update it daily as a general guide of serious hotspots of transmission.
Doctor Fong says this tool is useful, but don’t let it lull you into complacency just because your community does not lie within a hotspot.
He stresses every area in Fiji faces some level of risk due to how fast this virus, and this variant in particular, can spread.
Health Ministry's Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu says through their learnings from previous lockdowns, the lockdown in Qauia now provides the opportunity for them to better their efforts through a more collaborative approach with members of the community, government agencies, front-liners and civil society organisations.
Tudravu says they met with front-line teams, disciplined forces and others today to ensure they are collaborating more with those that are providing services including social service support for the provision of food, household items, hygiene kits and other items.
Tudravu also confirms that they have separated the West Wing of the CWM Hospital to become the COVID part of the hospital and East Wing becoming green zone with specialist functions such as laboratory and radiology services and operating threatre.
He says Nadi Hospital will reopen this Friday.
Tudravu says all their staff have tested negative through a series of testing and are ready to report to duty.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says any discussions of a broader lockdown apart from the targeted lockdown that they have, needs to be part of a broader discussion and is beyond the Ministry of Health, adding that they have given the advice they need to give.
Doctor Fong highlighted this when questioned if they will be conducting more targeted area lockdowns with the increase in the number of COVID cases and if they are also looking at a larger lockdown area like the whole of Lami.
He says one of the lessons that he has learnt is that if the Ministry tries to do a lockdown, they cannot control the other variables that are involved.
While responding to a question on whether Dr. Fong as the Permanent Secretary of Health has advised the Prime Minister of the need to have a nationwide lockdown as the cases of COVID-19 escalate, Dr.Fong says they have given the advice that they needed to give.
Doctor Fong also says one thing they have learned is that a lot of people need support to be COVID-safe and no amount of lockdown will keep them safe from COVID-19.
He says because they have developed better capacity to support these lockdowns, they are now mobilizing in a coordinated manner to be able to supplement the needs of those who are in these lockdown areas.
The Permanent Secretary adds they continue to escalate the mitigation measures that will reduce the worst impact of the disease.
Dr Fong says it is a difficult battle that cannot be won overnight.
He has also stressed that this pandemic is unlikely to go away completely.
The Health Ministry's Head of Health Protection Doctor Aalisha Sahukhan says what they were afraid of and warned would happen when this outbreak started two months ago is now happening.
She says the daily case numbers will only increase.
Doctor Sahukhan adds she knows most of you will be asking how many more cases a day can we expect.
She says they are working with the World Health Organisation on mathematical modelling to give them a projection.
The Head of Health Protection says they can also look to other countries to see how they weathered their outbreaks last year and this year to give them a comparison.
Doctor Sahukhan says for India - at the peak of the outbreak that happened in May, they went to 280 cases per million population per day.
She says for the United Kingdom - at the peak of their outbreak, they went to 800 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Sahukhan revealed that right now, Fiji is sitting at 187 cases per million population per day or 166 cases per day.
She says if our daily cases rise to a peak that is similar to the United Kingdom, we should approximately expect 700 cases per day or more.
Doctor Sahukhan stresses there are a number of factors that can affect this and it does not mean that we are going to hit that number.
She says if we look at other countries and compare, it gives them something to look out for.
Doctor Sahukhan says beyond the cases, what they worry about the most is the severe cases that cause hospitalisation and the deaths.
She has revealed that our national seven day daily test positivity has risen to up to 4.9%, so we are just below the 5% World Health Organisation threshold that indicates widespread community transmission.
Doctor Sahukhan says there have been 13 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji and 11 of these deaths were during the outbreak that started in April this year.
308 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed - 297 cases are from the Lami-Nausori Containment Zone, and 11 are from Tramline Nadi.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 218 of the cases in Lami-Suva-Nausori are from existing areas of interest.
This includes 153 cases from Qauia in Lami.
12 cases are from new areas of interest that include Goodman Fielder, Gounder Shipping, Nausori Police Barracks and Saint Giles Hospital.
Doctor Fong says the remaining cases are contacts of known cases, or cases that were seen in screening clinics and were swabbed.
The distribution of new cases can be seen on the map provided on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
He says in the interest of safeguarding patient privacy, locations of cases on the map indicate the general area a case comes from and are not exact.
Doctor Fong confirms the Gounder Shipping crew have been isolated.
In accordance with the shipping crew protocol, any unloading of freight will take place in areas that are clearly demarcated so there are no interactions between the crew and others, including people on the ground in Vanua Levu and the outer islands.
He says the crew are not permitted to disembark in Vanua Levu nor in the islands and these protocols have been and will continue to be strictly enforced by the Police, the Health Ministry teams and the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji.
Doctor Fong also assures people that they have not yet facilitated the movement of anyone from Viti Levu to the Vanua Levu or the outer islands.
He confirms a 63-year-old man who tested positive for COVID-19 has also died.
He presented to the FEMAT hospital on 22nd June, tested positive and was then referred to CWM Hospital.
Doctor Fong says this death is being investigated by doctors at CWM Hospital to determine if it was caused by COVID-19.
He also says there are currently seven severe cases of COVID-19 admitted at CWM Hospital.
The Permanent Secretary says two of the nine patients in severe condition reported yesterday are doing better and are no longer classified as severe.
According to the official COVID-19 dashboard, the active cases are in Ratu Sukuna Road, Nasova Police Barracks, Vaturua Lane, Knolly Street, Berry Road, Toorak, Waimanu Road, Raiwaqa, Walu Bay, Samabula, Tamavua, Gaji Road, Grantham Road, Vatuwaqa, Laucala Beach, Nadawa, Kinoya, Caubati, Cunningham, Sasawira Zone, Nausori, Nalase Dreketi, Koronivia, Davuilevu, Vunivaivai, Nadali, Toga, Waila, Raralevu Village, Naqeledamu Zone, Baulevu Zone, Tobuniqio Village, Vunidawa Hospital, Wainibokasi, Verata, Lutu, Naitasiri, Lami, Qauia Settlement and Navikinikini Village.
In Nadi there are cases in Nawaka, Double Tree Quarantine Facility, Mercure Hotel Quarantine Facility, Tanoa Skylodge Hotel Quarantine Facility, Nasau Resort Villas Quarantine Facility, Tanoa Quarantine Facility, Airport Apartments Quarantine Facilities and the Hilton Resort Quarantine Facility. In Lautoka there are active cases in Drasa Vitogo and Vitogo Parade.
There is also a case at the Outrigger Quarantine Facility in Sigatoka.
He also says the metrics that the Ministry teams assess on a regular basis all indicate that we will see higher increases in daily case numbers in the near-term.
Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says people have the constitutional right to refuse a medical procedure or treatment however if your employer says you cannot work at that workplace unless you get vaccinated, then you face the consequences and won’t be able to work there.
Sayed-Khaiyum says the Government is not looking at mandatory vaccinations for COVID-19 however people who do not get vaccinated may be told by their employer that they cannot work there.
Sayed-Khaiyum says while he has been meeting a number of organisations as part of the budget consultations, the most important issue is that if we all get vaccinated it will open up a lot of opportunities for the country as a whole.
27,654 people have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 while 262,151 people have got their first jabs of the COVID vaccine, AstraZeneca.
The target is to get 587,641 Fijians fully vaccinated which will ensure that our country moves forward.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they have not advised the government to enforce a 24 hour curfew for 28 days for Viti Levu.
Doctor Fong has made it clear that if he believed there was a medical case to be made for a 24 hour curfew for 28 days for all of Viti Levu, he would advise the Prime Minister directly.
He says he has the Prime Minister’s number and the Prime Minister sits across from him in the briefings.
Doctor Fong says he has not done that because, medically, they do not believe a 24 hour curfew for 28 straight days would work.
He hopes that puts a definitive end to the social media speculation.
Doctor Fong says if you have time to tweet or post on Facebook, don’t dedicate your platform to disinformation.
He says please emphasise the importance of the health measures that are proven to stop the spread of the virus.
The Permanent Secretary says he believes some of people including those in the media need a better grasp of what they mean when they say “lockdown” in Fiji.
Doctor Fong says we are not in Australia and we are not in New Zealand. He says a lockdown, in the Fijian context, means a 24 hour curfew.
He says it means no movement for any purposes except for medical emergencies, no shopping, no going out to get food, no going for a walk, no nothing – it means total lockdown.
The Permanent Secretary says other countries have not done that.
He says Australia and New Zealand have never done that so to say that many other countries have done a strict lockdown is not correct.
Doctor Fong says few, if any countries, have locked down in the same manner that Fiji has locked down.
He says here we have a different system and the word “lockdown” signals a much stricter policy.
Doctor Fong says instead of going for that strict lockdown option, movement in Fiji has been restricted for essential purposes and a curfew takes effect from 6pm until until 4am every day.
He says anywhere else in the world that alone would constitute a lockdown and in many other places in the world, measures similar to those have worked well to reduce the spread of the virus.
He further says this has worked because of public compliance.
Doctor Fong also says the reason they have not recommended four full weeks of a 24 hour curfew is that given the track record of poor public compliance, they cannot guarantee that they would see compliance everywhere in the country and therefore they simply do not have the capacity to enforce such a strict lockdown everywhere on Viti Levu.
He says the tragic reality is that Fijians living in communities most vulnerable to the virus, including those in informal settlements, are also those most vulnerable to the socioeconomic catastrophe that a 24 hour lockdown for 28 days would bring about.
The Permanent Secretary says even under such a strict lockdown, they believe the virus would continue to circulate within many of these communities.
He says they believe individuals would attempt to leave these communities and some would succeed.
Doctor Fong says they believe that after 28 days of a 24 hour curfew and the untold hardship it would bring for Fijians, we will still see new cases on day 29.
He says there are no easy choices at this stage, but some choices are still smarter than others, and they believe there is a better and smarter way forward than a 28 day total lockdown.
266,436 people have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca while 32,766 Fijians are now fully vaccinated.
While speaking on the fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan, Head of the Vaccination Taskforce, Doctor Rachel Devi says 70,000 doses arrived from Australia last week and they anticipate another 65,000 doses to come in.
Doctor Devi says they are also making arrangements for vaccines to start arriving from New Zealand.
Vaccinations have also started in Vanua Levu and Doctor Devi advises everyone to ensure that your vaccination cards are stamped when you get the jabs after some people in Savusavu said they got their jabs however their cards were not stamped. She advises these people to go to the nearest vaccination centre as the information can be checked on the digitalFIJI platform and your card can be stamped.
Doctor Devi says the vaccine supply and rollout is progressing well, and she is calling on every eligible Fijian to come forward and get vaccinated.
She says on an average they have seen between 30,000 to 70,000 vaccines being administered in a week.
The target is to get 587,641 Fijians fully vaccinated which will ensure that our country moves forward.
You can watch the Straight Talk interview at 8am tomorrow on our website, facebook page and youtube channel, fijivillage.
Meanwhile Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says in the last three days, they have deployed 14,730 doses.
The Rewa and Nausori medical subdivision and the Ba medical subdivision are leading the way in terms of vaccine coverage with 70 percent and 81 percent of their target populations having received at least one dose of the vaccine, respectively.
He also highlighted that there is a 30 year old woman in the Intensive Care Unit right now suffering from a severe case of COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says don’t think being young makes you immune.
He says the highly contagious Delta variant present in Fiji has been described as the “fittest and the fastest” variant in the world.
Doctor Fong says anyone can be seriously impacted by this virus and this variant.
He says if you won’t respect those rules for yourselves, please do it for those most vulnerable.
The Permanent Secretary says one thing that deeply concerns him and his teams is the high rate of Fijians living with non communicable diseases.
He says these medical conditions like diabetes and hypertension contribute to higher rates of mortality from COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says until all of these Fijians are fully-vaccinated, we have to take extreme precautions to protect them, especially those living within areas of concern.
To make sure these Fijians continue to access life-sustaining medication, the Health Ministry has established a telehealth for Fijians living with non-communicable diseases that will open for the Western and Central divisions from next Monday and be available Monday through Friday from 9am until 4pm. The number is 165. If you need access to your NCD treatment medication, please call the number from next Monday.
He says they will arrange for you to be able to pick your medication up from safe points or have them delivered by mobile teams if you are living in an area under a targeted containment programme.
The helpline will be monitored and evaluated for calls received to ensure assistance is completed, all the way through to the delivery of the medication.
Please wear masks, maintain a physical distance of two metres, and make sure to wash your hands often and thoroughly. This will dramatically reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19.
Also get vaccinated when the teams come to your area.
President Jioji Konrote and Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama got their second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca today.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the President and the Prime Minister have encouraged every eligible Fijian to follow their lead in protecting themselves from COVID-19.
He says many others have done the same.
Doctor Fong says it takes two weeks after receiving the second dose of the vaccine for the full benefits of immunity to set in.
He says we are very fortunate to have these vaccines available and on the way.
The target population for vaccinations is just over 586,000 adults and they are aiming to vaccinate as many of those Fijians as possible as quickly as those vaccines arrive.
He says when we have achieved adequate levels of immunity, the Ministry can begin relaxing restrictions and allow for the possibility of international travel to Fiji.
Doctor Fong says until that day, we must practice strict adherence to the health measures like mask-wearing, handwashing, and physical distancing.
He says their work is not done as their mission is to fully vaccinate every eligible Fijian.
Doctor Fong says there are people in intensive care as he speaks due to COVID-19 and the doctors and nurses are going to every possible length to care for them.
He says the more vaccines they administer, the more Fijians we keep out of ICUs and in the arms of the families that love them.
Doctor Fong stresses that morally, medically, vaccines are the right choice for all of us.
The Head of Health Protection Dr. Aalisha Sahukhan has today asked all leaders and anyone who has influence over people to do everything they can to encourage the general public to get vaccinated and also abide by the health protocols.
Dr. Sahukhan says with increasing cases, they expect increasing severe disease and deaths.
She says while their hospitals are not overwhelmed with severe cases, this is a real possibility and they are preparing for this.
Dr. Sahukhan also has a message for those that have been fully vaccinated.
Dr. Sahukhan says there have been now 13 deaths due to COVID-19 with 11 during the outbreak which started in April this year. One death is under investigation.
17 people have recovered in the last 24 hours which means there are 2,173 active cases of COVID-19 in isolation.
Fiji has now recorded 2,848 cases of COVID-19 since March, 2020 and we have had 653 recoveries.
Dr. Sahukhan adds since the outbreak started in April this year, they have tested 138,443 people for COVID-19.
She says they tested 2,913 people on Tuesday and there is now a high level of testing.
Our national 7-day average daily test positivity continues to increase and is now at 5.7%.
A 34-year-old woman of Veiraisi Settlement from Nadera has passed away due to COVID-19 while Fiji has recorded 215 new COVID-19 cases in the 24 hour period ending at 8am today.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the woman was unwell at home before collapsing and was rushed to the CWM Hospital.
She was declared dead on arrival at the Emergency Department at CWM Hospital.
Doctor Fong says the woman had no known pre-existing medical conditions, and was swabbed according to protocol in the Emergency Department, and tested positive.
Her death has been determined to have been caused by COVID-19 by her doctors at CWM Hospital.
Doctor Fong says she was not vaccinated.
2 more people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died.
The doctors at CWM Hospital are investigating to determine if their deaths were caused by COVID-19.
There have now been 14 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 12 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Doctor Fong says they have recorded 8 COVID positive patients that died from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses. 3 deaths are currently under investigation.
Looking at the new cases announced - 2 cases are from the Nawakalevu Containment Zone in Nadi and 1 nurse at the Natabua Quarantine Facility in Lautoka, with the remaining 212 cases from the Lami-Suva-Nausori Containment Zone.
101 cases are from existing areas of interest in this zone, and 18 are from new areas of interest which are FMF, New World Valelevu, Police Medical Suva, and Our Lady of Nazareth Wailoku.
The remaining cases are contacts of known cases, cases that were seen in screening clinics and were swabbed, and cases under investigation to determine possible sources of transmission.
According to the official COVID-19 dashboard, the active cases are in Toorak, Waimanu Road, Ratu Sukuna Road, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Nasova Police Barracks, Muanikau, Laucala Bay, Flagstaff, Knolly Street, Berry Road, Raiwaqa, Wailea, Vatuwaqa, Samabula, Tamavua, Namadi, Nabua, Valelevu, Kinoya, Nadera, Nadawa, Laqere, Kalabu, Muanikoso, Tovata, Narere, Makoi, Nakasi, Davuilevu, Koronivia, Dilkusha, Sawani, Naqali, Naqeledamu, Lakena, Vuci Road, Naduru, Vunivaivai, Kuku/ Raralevu, Mokani, Kasavu, Logani, Tobuniqio Village, Verata, Korovou, Waikalou, Laselevu and Tubarua Village in Naitasiri, Wailoku, Reservoir Road, Walu Bay, Naval Base, Tamavua-I-Wai, Nadonumai, Delainavesi, Vugalei, Lami Village, Lami Police Station, Qauia, Naivikinikini Settlement, Wailekutu, Namuka-I-Lau and Veisari.
Other quarantine facilities with active cases in Suva are the Grand Pacific Hotel, Holiday Inn, Southern Cross Hotel, James Cook Hotel, Peninsula, Tanoa Hotel and Town House Apartments.
In Nadi there are cases in Nawaka, Savunawai, Double Tree Quarantine Facility, Airport Apartments Quarantine Facilities, Mercure Hotel Quarantine Facility, Nasau Resort Villas Quarantine Facility, Tanoa Quarantine Facility, and the Hilton Resort Quarantine Facility. In Lautoka there are active cases Natabua Quarantine Facility in Drasa Vitogo and Vitogo Parade.
There is also a case at the Outrigger Quarantine Facility in Sigatoka.
There have been 22 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 2,363 active cases in isolation.
Doctor Fong says there have been 2,993 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 3,063 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 675 recoveries.
142,087 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 184,948 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 6.3 percent and continues on an upward trend.
A total of 3,179 individuals were screened and 210 swabbed by the mobile screening teams in the last 24 hours. This brings the cumulative total to 655,404 individuals screened and 52,725 swabbed since the start of this mobile screening program.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the 7 day average of new COVID cases per day has increased to 203 cases per day or 230 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says all the evidence is that there is widespread community transmission in the Lami-Suva-Nausori containment zone.
He says the daily testing numbers have remained at a high level, and yet the test positivity continues to increase.
Doctor Fong says there are also clusters in Naitasiri and one cluster in Korovou.
He says cases continue to be reported in Nadi, but so far they are from within the containment zone in the Nawajikuma, Nawakalevu, and Tramline Containment Area.
Two cases from the same family were detected in Lautoka, as announced 3 days ago and now a nurse at the Natabua Quarantine Facility has tested positive.
He says to date, this outbreak appears contained to Viti Levu, with the Northern and Eastern divisions yet to detect a case.
272,354 people have received the first doses of AstraZeneca since the beginning of the vaccination campaign in Fiji and 38,031 are now fully vaccinated.
This means that 46% of the adults in Fiji have received one dose, and 6.5% have received the second dose.
The target is to get 587,641 Fijians fully vaccinated which will ensure that our country moves forward.
While speaking on the fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan, Head of the Vaccination Taskforce, Doctor Rachel Devi says people should not believe the videos with fake information that claim that COVID-19 is not real.
With some people saying that this is all a lie an they do not want to get vaccinated, Doctor Devi says the proof is all around us on what COVID is doing to us and other countries in the world.
Doctor Devi says the reality can be seen on the ground in Fiji.
The reported COVID-19 cases based on tests conducted continue to rise in our country as 266 new cases have been announced in the 24 hour period ending at 8am today.
Another unvaccinated person has died from COVID-19.
This death was previously announced as being under investigation to determine if the cause of death was COVID-19.
This is a 67 year old man from Suvavou Lami who was admitted at the CWM Hospital for a pre-existing non-COVID-19 medical condition.
During his admission he tested positive for COVID-19, developed severe COVID-19, and died. His doctors have determined that his death was caused by COVID-19.
There have now been 15 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 13 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. 2 deaths are still under investigation to determine if they were caused by COVID-19.
Fiji has also recorded 8 COVID-19 positive patients that died from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses that they had been receiving treatment for at the CWM Hospital.
Looking at the new cases announced - Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 1 case is from the Nawakalevu Containment Zone in Nadi, while the remaining 265 cases are from the Lami-Suva-Nausori Containment Zone.
102 cases are from existing areas of interest in this zone.
There are no new areas of interest to report today.
Doctor Fong says the remaining cases are contacts of known cases, cases that were seen in screening clinics and were swabbed, and cases under investigation to determine possible sources of transmission.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard. You can check the link out on our website, fijivillage.
There have been 61 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 2568 active cases in isolation.
There have been 3259 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 3329 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 736 recoveries.
145,053 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 187,914 tested since testing began in early 2020.
Doctor Fong says the national 7-day average daily test positivity is 6.8 percent and continues on an upward trend.
The 7 day average of new cases per day has increased to 220 cases per day or 301 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says the daily testing numbers have remained at a high level, and yet the test positivity continues to increase.
All the evidence is that there is widespread community transmission in the Lami-Suva-Nausori Containment Zone.
Doctor Fong says this means the outbreak is not confined to specific areas and everyone should take the necessary precautions and prevent themselves and their loved ones from getting infected.
There are clusters of active cases in Naitasiri and one cluster in Korovou.
There continue to be cases reported in Nadi, but so far they are from within the containment zone in the Nawajikuma, Nawakalevu, and Tramline Containment Area.
In Lautoka, there are 3 active cases currently, as announced previously.
To date, this outbreak appears contained to Viti Levu, with the Northern and Eastern divisions yet to detect a case.
Stay home as much as possible, but if you have to leave your home, wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth, make sure you have the careFIJI app downloaded and Bluetooth on if you have a smartphone, keep at least 2 metres between yourself and others outside your home.
Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Avoid crowds, and crowded confined places.
According to the official COVID-19 dashboard, the active cases are in Toorak, Waimanu Road, Ratu Sukuna Road, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Nasova Police Barracks, Muanikau, Laucala Bay, Flagstaff, Knolly Street, Berry Road, Raiwaqa, Wailea, Vatuwaqa, Samabula, Tamavua, Namadi, Nabua, Valelevu, Kinoya, Nadera, Nadawa, Laqere, Kalabu, Muanikoso, Tovata, Narere, Makoi, Nakasi, Davuilevu, Koronivia, Dilkusha, Sawani, Naqali, Naqeledamu, Lakena, Vuci Road, Naduru, Vunivaivai, Kuku/ Raralevu, Mokani, Kasavu, Logani, Tobuniqio Village, Verata, Korovou, Waikalou, Laselevu and Tubarua Village in Naitasiri, Wailoku, Reservoir Road, Walu Bay, Naval Base, Tamavua-I-Wai, Nadonumai, Delainavesi, Vugalei, Lami Village, Lami Police Station, Qauia, Naivikinikini Settlement, Wailekutu, Namuka-I-Lau and Veisari.
Other quarantine facilities with active cases in Suva are the Grand Pacific Hotel, Holiday Inn, Southern Cross Hotel, James Cook Hotel, Peninsula, Tanoa Hotel and Town House Apartments.
In Nadi there are cases in Nawaka, Savunawai, Double Tree Quarantine Facility, Airport Apartments Quarantine Facilities, Mercure Hotel Quarantine Facility, Nasau Resort Villas Quarantine Facility, Tanoa Quarantine Facility, and the Hilton Resort Quarantine Facility. In Lautoka there are active cases Natabua Quarantine Facility in Drasa Vitogo and Vitogo Parade.
There is also a case at the Outrigger Quarantine Facility in Sigatoka.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 262 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded based on the test results in the 24 hour period ending at 8am yesterday, and there are new cases at Jittu Estate, MV Liohona Shipping, Milverton Rd, Natogadravu, Waikete Village and Nauluvatu Village.
There have been 3,521 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
5 cases are known contacts of cases from the Nawakalevu Containment Zone that have been undergoing 14 day quarantine in quarantine facilities in Nadi, 3 are contacts from within the existing Korovou cluster, while the remaining 254 cases are from the Lami-Suva-Nausori Containment Zone.
Doctor Fong says 113 cases are from existing areas of interest in this zone, and 43 are new areas including Jittu Estate, MV Liohona Shipping, Milverton Rd, Natogadravu, Waikete Village and Nauluvatu Village.
The remaining cases are contacts of known cases, cases that were seen in screening clinics and were swabbed, and cases under investigation to determine possible sources of transmission.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check the link out on our website, fijivillage.
Doctor Fong says there have been 17 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 2813 active cases in isolation.
Fiji has recorded a total of 3591 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 753 recoveries.
There have been 15 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 13 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
2 deaths are still under investigation to determine if they were caused by COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says they have also recorded 8 COVID-19 positive patients that died from the pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses that they had been receiving treatment for at the CWM Hospital.
147,961 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 190,822 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 7.4% and continues on an upward trend.
In the last 24 hours, a total of 664 individuals were screened and 63 swabbed by the mobile screening teams bringing the cumulative total to 659,436 individuals screened and 53,169 swabbed since the start of this mobile screening program.
The 7 day average of new cases per day has increased to 234 cases per day or 264 cases per million population per day.
The daily testing numbers have remained at a high level, and yet the test positivity continues to increase.
Doctor Fong says all the evidence is that there is widespread community transmission in the Lami-Suva-Nausori Containment Zone.
This means the outbreak is not confined to specific areas and everyone should take the necessary precautions and prevent themselves and their loved ones getting infected.
There are clusters of active cases in Naitasiri and one cluster in Korovou.
There continue to be cases reported in Nadi, but so far they are from within the containment zone in the Nawajikuma, Nawakalevu, and Tramline Containment Area. In Lautoka, there are 3 active cases, as announced previously.
He says to date, this outbreak appears contained to Viti Levu, with the Northern and Eastern divisions yet to detect a case.
Stay home as much as possible, but if you have to leave your home, wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth, make sure you have the careFIJI app downloaded and Bluetooth on if you have a smartphone, keep at least 2 metres between yourself and others outside your home.
Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, or use an alcohol based hand sanitizer.
Avoid crowds, and crowded, confined places.
According to the official COVID-19 dashboard, the active cases are in Toorak, Waimanu Road, Ratu Sukuna Road, Queen Elizabeth Drive, MV Liohona Shipping, Nasova Police Barracks, Muanikau, Laucala Bay, Flagstaff, Knolly Street, Berry Road, Jittu Estate, Raiwaqa, Milverton Rd, Wailea, Vatuwaqa, Samabula, Tamavua, Namadi, Nabua, Valelevu, Kinoya, Nadera, Nadawa, Laqere, Kalabu, Muanikoso, Tovata, Narere, Makoi, Nakasi, Davuilevu, Koronivia, Dilkusha, Sawani, Naqali, Naqeledamu, Lakena, Vuci Road, Naduru, Vunivaivai, Kuku/ Raralevu, Wainibokasi, Noco, Nailili, Nakelo, Luvuluvu, Mokani, Kasavu, Logani, Tobuniqio Village, Verata, Korovou, Waikalou, Laselevu, Tubarua Village and Nauluvatu Village in Naitasiri, Namara, Waikete Village and Natogadravu in Tailevu, Wailoku, Reservoir Road, Walu Bay, Naval Base, Tamavua-I-Wai, Nadonumai, Delainavesi, Vugalei, Lami Village, Lami Police Station, Qauia, Naivikinikini Settlement, Wailekutu, Namuka-I-Lau and Veisari.
Other quarantine facilities with active cases in Suva are the Grand Pacific Hotel, Holiday Inn, Southern Cross Hotel, James Cook Hotel, Peninsula, Tanoa Hotel and Town House Apartments.
In Nadi there are cases in Nawaka, Savunawai, Double Tree Quarantine Facility, Airport Apartments Quarantine Facilities, Mercure Hotel Quarantine Facility, Nasau Resort Villas Quarantine Facility, Tanoa Quarantine Facility, and the Hilton Resort Quarantine Facility.
In Lautoka there are active cases in Natabua Quarantine Facility in Drasa Vitogo and Vitogo Parade.
There is also a case at the Outrigger Quarantine Facility in Sigatoka.
241 new COVID-19 cases have been announced – 17 new cases are from Fiji Times, Food City Suva, Matanisivoro Settlement, National Kidney Centre in Nadera, Suva City Council and Tamavua-i-Wai.
There are 2 deaths confirmed as a result of COVID-19 which brings the total deaths to 17 in Fiji, with 15 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
A 50-year-old man from Newtown is believed to have died at home and was declared dead on arrival by doctors at the Valelevu Health Centre.
He was reported to be in severe respiratory distress before death.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says he was swabbed at the health centre, and tested positive.
His death has been classified as a COVID-19 death by the doctors at the health centre.
He had received the first dose of the vaccine early this month.
The man was not fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says a death previously reported as under investigation has now been classified as a COVID-19 death by doctors.
This is a 62-year-old man from Grantham Road who presented to the FEMAT Field Hospital in respiratory distress and died on the same day.
He had been having respiratory symptoms, including shortness of breath, for at least a week before presenting to FEMAT.
Doctor Fong says according to protocol he was swabbed and tested positive for COVID-19.
He was not vaccinated.
There are currently 21 COVID-19 patients with severe illness admitted at CWM Hospital.
He also says 5 new cases are prison officers from Suva at the Fiji Sugar Corporation Compound in Rakiraki.
They were undergoing 14 days quarantine at the FSC compound as part of the essential movement from the red zone to the green zone when they tested positive.
The remaining cases are from the Lami-Suva-Nausori Containment Zone.
Doctor Fong says the remaining cases are contacts of known cases, cases that were seen in screening clinics and were swabbed, and cases under investigation to determine possible sources of transmission.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the dashboard link on our website, fijivillage.
1 death is still under investigation to determine if it was caused by COVID-19.
The Ministry has also recorded 8 COVID-19 positive patients that died from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses that they had been receiving treatment for at the CWM Hospital.
There have been 26 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 3027 active cases in isolation.
There have been 3726 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 3832 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 779 recoveries.
150,878 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 193,739 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 7.9% and continues on an upward trend.
Doctor Fong says the 7-day average of new cases per day has increased to 250 cases per day or 283 cases per million population per day.
He says all the evidence is that there is widespread community transmission in the Lami-Suva-Nausori Containment Zone.
Doctor Fong says this means the outbreak is not confined to specific areas and everyone should take the necessary precautions and prevent themselves and their loved ones from getting infected.
There are clusters of active cases in Naitasiri and one cluster in Korovou.
There continue to be cases reported in Nadi, but so far they are from within the containment zone in the Nawajikuma, Nawakalevu, and Tramline containment area.
In Lautoka, there are 3 active cases currently, as announced previously.
There are 5 cases contained in quarantine at the Ra FSC compound as part of the essential movement from red to green zones.
Doctor Fong says to date, this outbreak appears contained to Viti Levu, with the Northern and Eastern divisions yet to detect a case.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms there are 4 COVID-19 deaths and 312 new cases in the 24 hour reporting period that ended at 8am yesterday, and with increasing cases, severe cases and deaths, he will make an announcement today to outline the next phase of the COVID-19 mitigation strategy.
The 7 day average of new cases per day has increased to 269 cases per day or 304 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says there has also been a notable increase in positive patients with severe disease, as well as an increase in deaths.
He says the steady increase in average daily case numbers in combination with other indicators suggest higher daily numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the coming weeks, particularly in the Central and Western divisions.
Doctor Fong says until more Fijians are protected through vaccination, there are important steps that must be taken to strengthen their capacity to identify and treat those most vulnerable to the severe disease and death due to COVID-19, including efforts to raise public awareness of COVID-like symptoms.
Looking at the unfortunate deaths - the first was a case that was previously announced as under investigation to determine if COVID-19 was the cause of death.
This is an 82-year-old woman from Qauia in Lami.
She had pre-existing medical conditions, was bedridden, and died at home.
Doctor Fong says according to protocol she was swabbed and tested positive for COVID-19.
She was declared dead by the attending medical officer and after investigation, it has been determined that the cause of death was COVID-19.
Other members of her household have also tested positive.
The 82-year-old woman was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the second death was a 68-year-old man from Toorak, who was admitted to CWM Hospital after presenting to the FEMAT Field Hospital on 24th June in severe respiratory distress and testing positive.
He died on Monday in the Intensive Care Unit.
His doctors have determined that his death was caused by COVID-19.
He was not vaccinated.
The Permanent Secretary says the third death was a 39-year-old woman from Knolly Street.
She tested positive and was admitted to CWM Hospital after having severe symptoms of COVID-19 at home, including shortness of breath.
She died on Monday in the Intensive Care Unit, and her doctors have determined that her death was caused by COVID-19.
She had received her first dose of the vaccine this month.
She was not fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fourth is a 70-year-old man from Veisari in Lami who presented in respiratory distress and died on Monday night at the Raiwaqa Health Centre.
According to protocol he was swabbed and tested positive.
His doctors have determined that his death was caused by COVID-19.
He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says a 54-year-old male who tested positive for COVID-19 at CWMH has also died.
He was admitted at the hospital for a severe pre-existing non-COVID-19 illness and it has been determined by his doctors that he died due to that illness and not due to COVID-19.
He was not vaccinated.
There have now been 21 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 19 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The Health Ministry has also recorded 9 COVID-19 positive patients that died from the pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses that they had been receiving treatment for at the CWM Hospital.
Looking at the new cases - 17 cases are from the Western Division.
4 are from the existing containment zones of Tramline and Qima Settlement in Nadi. 1 is a prison officer from Suva in the Tavua Prison Compound.
He was undergoing quarantine as part of the movement from the red zone to the green zone - similar to the prison officers reported positive in Rakiraki on Monday.
The 2nd case in Tavua lives at the PWD Quarters and his source of transmission is under investigation.
Doctor Fong says there are also 4 new cases from Lovu Lautoka with unknown sources of transmission. 7 contacts of these Lovu cases in Lautoka have also tested positive.
The remaining 295 cases are from the Lami-Nausori containment area.
There are 165 from existing areas of interest and 10 from new areas of interest: Cost U Less Supermarket, Golden Manufacturers and the Kidney Foundation of Fiji.
The remaining cases are contacts of known cases, cases that were seen in screening clinics and were swabbed, and cases under investigation to determine possible sources of transmission.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the COVID-19 dashboard. You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
There have been 29 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 3,306 active cases in isolation.
Doctor Fong says there have been 4,074 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 4,144 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 808 recoveries.
According to the official COVID-19 dashboard, the active cases are in Toorak, Waimanu Road, CWM Hospital, the Kidney Foundation of Fiji, Ratu Sukuna Road, Cost U Less Supermarket, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Nasova Police Barracks, Muanikau, Laucala Bay, Flagstaff, Knolly Street, Berry Road, Raiwaqa, Wailea, Vatuwaqa, Samabula, Tamavua, Namadi, Nabua, Valelevu, Kinoya, Nadera, Nadawa, Laqere, Kalabu, Muanikoso, Tovata, Narere, Makoi, Nakasi, Davuilevu, Koronivia, Toga, Dilkusha, Sawani, Naqali, Naqeledamu, Lakena, Vuci Road, Naduru, Vunivaivai, Kuku/ Raralevu, Mokani, Kasavu, Logani, Tobuniqio Village, Verata, Korovou, Waikalou, Laselevu and Tubarua Village in Naitasiri, Wailoku, Reservoir Road, Walu Bay, Naval Base, Tamavua-I-Wai, Nadonumai, Delainavesi, Vugalei, Lami Village, Lami Police Station, Qauia, Naivikinikini Settlement, Wailekutu, Namuka-I-Lau and Veisari and Golden Manufacturers. Other quarantine facilities with active cases in Suva are the Grand Pacific Hotel, Holiday Inn, Southern Cross Hotel, James Cook Hotel, Peninsula, Tanoa Hotel and Town House Apartments.
In Nadi, there are cases in Nawaka, Savunawai, DoubleTree Quarantine Facility, Airport Apartments Quarantine Facilities, Mercure Hotel Quarantine Facility, Nasau Resort Villas Quarantine Facility, Tanoa Quarantine Facility, and the Hilton Resort Quarantine Facility.
In Lautoka, there are active cases in Natabua Quarantine Facility in Drasa Vitogo, Vitogo Parade and Lovu.
There is also a case at the Outrigger Quarantine Facility in Sigatoka.
There are also cases in the Fiji Sugar Corporation compound in Rakiraki.
A case has been confirmed in Tavua Prison Compound while the 2nd case in Tavua lives at the PWD Quarters.
154,009 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 196,870 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 8.3 percent and continues on an upward trend.
Please note the symptoms of COVID-19 may start mild, with a runny nose, nasal congestion, cough, sore throat, fever, headache, body ache, or diarrhoea.
However, for some people, this could quickly worsen into severe COVID.
Doctor Fong says severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency and we should all know symptoms.
The symptoms include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake; and pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
If you or a loved one have any of these symptoms please go to your nearest health centre immediately.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 287, 148 people in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 45,139 have received their second doses.
This equates to 49 percent of the target population having had at least one dose and 7.69 percent being fully vaccinated nationwide.
Doctor Fong says a total of 8,194 first doses and 1,794 second doses of the vaccine were administered nationally in the last 24 hours.
The Health Ministry has also launched a vaccine dashboard that provides real-time data on first dose and second dose numbers at the national, divisional and sub-divisional levels.
The dashboard offers eight different map overlays that show the number of first and second doses given, as well as the percentage of the target population that have received each dose.
You can check out the vaccine dashboard link on our website, fijivillage.
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
A new daily record number of cases has been announced as Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms there are 431 cases and 3 deaths related to COVID-19 in the 24-hour reporting period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Doctor Fong says these new cases are from the Central and Western Divisions.
According to Official COVID-19 Dashboard, there are active cases in Toorak, CWM Hospital, Waimanu Road, Brown Street, Moti Street, FNU Samabula, Vatoa Street, Crompton Place, Helson Street, Nayau Street, Sovu Place, Lakeba Street, Bureta Street, Tubou Street, Grifith Road, Vunakece Road, Ragg Avenue, Sukanaivalu Road, Ratu Dovi Road, Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Tacirua East, Yasiyasi Road, Caubati, Suva Wharf, Pender Street, Cakobau Road, the Kidney Foundation of Fiji, Ratu Sukuna Road, Cost U Less Supermarket, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Nasova Police Barracks, Tokelau Street, Nasese, Muanikau, Laucala Bay, Flagstaff, Knolly Street, Berry Road, Raiwaqa, Wailea, Nailuva Road, Rewa Street, PRB Flats Nabua, Vatuwaqa, Nuffield, Wainivula, Cunningham, Namadi, Nabua, Valelevu, Ura Place, Nuqa Place, Kabatia Place, Khalsa Road, Makosoi Road, Rosi Street, Pilling Road, Tovata Road, Maqbool Road, Nawanawa Road, Nasole Road, Nepani Road, Kinoya, Nadera, Nepani, Nadawa, Laqere, Kalabu, Muanikoso, Tovata, Narere, Makoi, Nakasi, Davuilevu, Koronivia, Pritam Singh Road, Kalokalo Crescent, Mana Place, Beaumont Road, Toga, Dilkusha, Sawani, Naqali, Naqeledamu, Lakena, Vuci Road, Naduru, Vunivaivai, Kuku/ Raralevu Noco, Luvuluvu, Wainibokasi, Sasawira, Colo-i-Suva, Baulevu, Namara, Nakelo, Waibuka, Mokani, Kasavu, Logani, Tobuniqio Village, Verata, Korovou, Waikalou, Laselevu and Tubarua Village in Naitasiri, Wailoku, Reservoir Road, Walu Bay, Naval Base, Tamavua-I-Wai, Panoramic Road, Waiqanake, Nadonumai, Delainavesi, Vugalei, Lami Village, Lami Police Station, Vetaia Street, Wailada, Valenicina, Qauia, Kalekana, Naivikinikini Settlement, Wailekutu, Namuka-I-Lau and Veisari, Bilo Road and Golden Manufacturers.
The quarantine facilities with active cases in Suva are the Grand Pacific Hotel, Holiday Inn, Southern Cross Hotel, James Cook Hotel, Peninsula, Tanoa Hotel and Town House Apartments. There are also cases at the Lami Novotel.
In Nadi, there are cases in Nawaka, Savunawai, DoubleTree Quarantine Facility, Airport Apartments Quarantine Facilities, Mercure Hotel Quarantine Facility, Nasau Resort Villas Quarantine Facility, Nalagi Quarantine Facility, Tanoa Quarantine Facility, Grand West Villas Quarantine Facility, Nadi Hospital Isolation Facility and the Hilton Resort Quarantine Facility.
In Lautoka, there are active cases in Natabua Quarantine Facility in Drasa Vitogo, Lautoka Hospital Isolation Facility, Rifle Range, Vitogo Parade, Paipai and Lovu.
There is also a case at the Outrigger Quarantine Facility in Sigatoka. There are also cases in the Fiji Sugar Corporation compound in Rakiraki.
A case has been confirmed in Tavua Prison Compound while the 2nd case in Tavua lives at the PWD Quarters.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard. You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
The Permanent Secretary says the 7-day average of new cases per day has increased to 285 cases per day or 305 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says there has also been a notable increase in positive patients with severe disease, as well as an increase in deaths.
He says the steady increase in average daily case numbers in combination with other indicators suggest higher daily numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the coming weeks, particularly in the Central and Western divisions.
There are now 24 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 22 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The Health Ministry has also recorded 11 COVID-19 positive patients who died from conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
There have been 36 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 3,896 active cases in isolation.
There have been 4,779 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 4,849 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 918 recoveries.
159,939 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 202,800 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 8.9% and continues on an upward trend.
5 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients have been confirmed in the 24-hour reporting period that ended at 8am yesterday however 3 cases are under investigation, 1 death has been classified as a COVID-19 death and 1 death has been classified as death from other medical causes. 404 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded as at 8am today.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the new death from COVID-19 reported today is a 72 year old woman from Kinoya who presented to the FEMAT Field Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
She had been sick at home with cough, fever and shortness of breath for at least 5 days before coming to the hospital. She died at the hospital that same day. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says there have now been 25 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 23 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has also recorded 12 COVID-19 positive patients who died from conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19. Doctor Fong says the new 404 cases are mainly from the Central and Western Divisions.
There are two cases that have been identified at the Malau Quarantine Facility.
These two cases are noted to be repatriates from the Central Division and are in quarantine.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard. You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
Doctor Fong says there have been 52 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 4,243 active cases in isolation.
There have been 5183 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 5253 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 970 recoveries.
5649 individuals were screened and 1267 were swabbed at the stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total to 234,365 individuals screened and 32,267 swabbed to date.
163,261 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 206,122 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 9.5 percent and continues on an upward trend.
Doctor Fong says the 7-day average of new cases per day has increased to 313 cases per day or 336 cases per million population per day.
He says there has also been a notable increase in positive patients with severe disease, as well as an increase in deaths.
Doctor Fong says the steady increase in average daily case numbers in combination with other indicators suggest higher daily numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the coming weeks, particularly in the Central and Western divisions.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 309,293 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca and 49,876 Fijians have received their second doses.
Doctor Fong says this means that 53 percent of the target population has received at least one dose and 8.5 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
A total of 5,243 first doses and 1,141 second doses of the vaccine were administered nationally in the last 24 hours.
You can check the Ministry’s vaccine dashboard to find real-time data on first-dose and second-dose numbers at the national, divisional and sub-divisional levels. You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Health repeats its advice that Fijians take steps to protect themselves until an adequate number of people are protected through vaccination and to be particularly vigilant in protecting people who are most vulnerable to severe infection, including the elderly, people with weakened or compromised immune systems, and people suffering from other serious conditions. Be alert to the symptoms, which include runny nose, nasal congestion, cough, sore throat, fever, headache, body ache, or diarrhoea.
More severe symptoms, which could indicate a medical emergency, include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake; and pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
If you have any of these symptoms, mild or severe, please go immediately to a nearby testing facility for evaluation.
Fiji now has 4,496 active COVID-19 cases in isolation and 27 deaths from the deadly virus.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms there are 386 new cases of COVID-19 and 2 COVID-19 deaths to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today.
Five of the new cases are contacts of cases who are undergoing 14 days of quarantine in quarantine facilities in Nadi.
The rest of the cases are from the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
Doctor Fong says the first death from COVID-19 is a 66-year-old woman from Valelevu who was declared dead on arrival by doctors at the emergency department at CWM Hospital.
He says this means she died at home or on the way to hospital. Her family reported that she had been feeling unwell at home for a few days. She was not vaccinated.
The second death was reported yesterday as being under investigation to determine if the cause of death was COVID-19. This was a 24-year-old woman from Wainibokasi admitted at the CWM Hospital for treatment of a serious non-COVID related medical condition, and later tested positive in hospital . After investigation, her doctors have determined that her death was caused by COVID-19 and not the prior medical condition. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the death of another person who tested positive for COVID-19 is also currently under investigation to determine if COVID-19 was the cause of death.
There have now been 27 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 25 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has also recorded 12 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
3 deaths are under investigation to determine the cause of death.
There have been 131 new recoveries reported since the last update.
Doctor Fong says there have been 5569 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
We have recorded a total of 5639 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 1101 recoveries.
166,501 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 209,362 tested since testing began in early 2020. 3240 tests have been reported for 1st July.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 10.2% and continues on an upward trend.
The 7-day average of new cases per day has increased to 330 cases per day or 373 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says as expected, with the increasing case numbers we are also seeing increasing numbers of people with severe disease, and more deaths in the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
He says of great concern is the people with severe disease that come to a medical facility in the late stages of their illness .
Doctor Fong says we are also sadly seeing people with severe disease die at home or on the way to hospital, before our medical teams have a chance to administer what could potentially be life saving treatment.
According to the Official COVID-19 Dashboard, the active cases are in High Street, Toorak Road, Charles Street, Augustus Street, Brown Street, Extension Street, Suva Street, Waimanu Road, Extension Street, Eden Street, Knolly Street, Pender Street, Berry Road, Gorrie Street, Gordon Street, McGregor Road, Denison Road, Bau Street, Holmes Street, Service Street, Victoria Parade, Southern Cross Road, Ratu Cakobau Road, Vesi Road, Moti Street, Lekutu Street, Eliza Street, Vuivui Road, Vudi Road, Ratu Sukuna Road, Nasova Road, Charlton Avenue, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Laucala Bay Road, Fletcher Road, Grantham Road, Falvey Road, Howell Road, Rewa Street, Bale Street, Greene Street, Ambler Place, McFarlane Road, Kapadia Place, Nairai Road, Avon Place, Derrick Street, Bryce Street, Davui Lane, Browning Street, Aidney Road, Gaji Road, Shalimar Street, Fletcher Road, Nacara Street, Millet Street, Viria Road, Malau Place, Wailea Street, Nanuku Street, Rifle Range Road, Jerusalem Road, Princes Road, Reservoir Road, Korovou Prison along Queens Road, Amra Street, Narain Jetty, Saint Giles Hospital along Reservoir Road, Crompton Place, Ratu Mara Road, Vatoa Road, Sovu Place, Nayau Street, Lakeba Street, Bureta Street, Helsen Street, Mead Road, Oneata Street, Bougainville Street, March Place, Vunakece Road, Griffith Place, Padam Lala Road, Sukanaivalu Road, Kameli Place, Sotutu Place, Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Salala Place, Kabatia Place, Tikaram Place, Salato Road, Ragg Avenue, Petrie Road. Nokonoko Road, Sekoula Road, Bulei Road, Vashantilal Road, Vesivesi Road, Kinoya Road, Tivi Road, Sarosaro Street, Ratu Dovi Road, Kabote Circle, Reba Circle, Savai Place, Qarase Street, Duvula Street, Tomanu Street, Nawanawa Road, Maqbool Road, Mandhir Street, Nasole Road, Nadawa Road, Rosi Street, Makosoi Road, Nasinu Road, Kabatua Lane, Pilling Road, Naveiwakau Road, Nayavumata Road, Duna Crescent, Caubati Road, Wainivula Road, Chanik Road, Khalsa Road, Raibevu Road, Vunisinu Road, Nawame Road, Natuvukica Road, Coloisuva, Nepani Road, Tovata Road, Narere Road, Waidranu Street, Muanikoso Road, Manulava Circle, Matanikorovatu Road, Pritam Singh Road, Kalokalo Crescent, Beaumont Road, Kelland Street, Vatoa Road, Omkar Road, Navosai Road, FNTC Road, Vishnu Deo Road, Koroba Street, Matana Street, Painapiu Street, Manuka Street, JP Maharaj Street, Koronivia Road, Wainibuku Road, Davuilevu, Dilkusha, Sawani, Naqali, Naqeledamu, Lakena, Vuci Road, Naduru, Vunivaivai, Kuku/ Raralevu Noco, Luvuluvu, Wainibokasi, Sasawira, Baulevu, Namara, Nakelo, Waibuka, Mokani, Kasavu, Logani, Tobuniqio Village, Verata, Korovou, Waikalou, Laselevu and Tubarua Village in Naitasiri, Wailoku, Walu Bay, Naval Base, Tamavua-I-Wai, Panoramic Road, Waiqanake, Nadonumai, Delainavesi, Vugalei, Lami Village, Lami Police Station, Vetaia Street, Wailada, Valenicina, Qauia, Kalekana, Naivikinikini Settlement, Wailekutu, Namuka-I-Lau and Veisari, Bilo Road and Golden Manufacturers.
The quarantine facilities with active cases in Suva are the Grand Pacific Hotel, Holiday Inn, Southern Cross Hotel, James Cook Hotel, Peninsula, Tanoa Hotel and Town House Apartments. There are also cases at the Lami Novotel.
In Nadi, there are cases in Nawaka, Savunawai, DoubleTree Quarantine Facility, Airport Apartments Quarantine Facilities, Mercure Hotel Quarantine Facility, Nasau Resort Villas Quarantine Facility, Nalagi Quarantine Facility, Tanoa Quarantine Facility, Grand West Villas Quarantine Facility, Nadi Hospital Isolation Facility and the Hilton Resort Quarantine Facility.
In Lautoka, there are active cases in Natabua Quarantine Facility in Drasa Vitogo, Lautoka Hospital Isolation Facility, Rifle Range, Vitogo Parade, Paipai and Lovu.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 315,898 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 51,408 people have received their second doses.
Doctor Fong says this means that 54% of the target population has received at least one dose and 8.8 % are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Doctor Fong also says they need all Fijians to know the severe symptoms of COVID-19, which include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake up or stay awake; and pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
If you or a loved one have any of these symptoms please go immediately to your nearest medical facility.
Please do not hide your symptoms and do not focus on home remedies.
There is a new daily record of new COVID-19 cases as Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 522 cases and 3 COVID-19 deaths for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Doctor Fong says they are seriously concerned that some people with severe disease come to a medical facility only in the late stages of their illness.
He says we are still sadly seeing people with severe disease die at home or on the way to hospital, before the medical teams have a chance to administer what could potentially be life-saving treatment.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the active cases and areas of interest on the dashboard link on our website, fijivillage.
According to the Official COVID-19 Dashboard, the active cases are in High Street, Toorak Road, Charles Street, Augustus Street, Brown Street, Extension Street, Suva Street, Waimanu Road, Eden Street, Knolly Street, Pender Street, Berry Road, Gorrie Street, Gordon Street, McGregor Road, Denison Road, Bau Street, Holmes Street, Service Street, Victoria Parade, Southern Cross Road, Epeli Street, Ratu Cakobau Road, Vesi Road, Moti Street, Lekutu Street, Eliza Street, Vuivui Road, Vudi Road, Ratu Sukuna Road, Nasova Road, Charlton Avenue, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Laucala Bay Road, Fletcher Road, Grantham Road, Falvey Road, Howell Road, Rewa Street, Bale Street, Greene Street, Ambler Place, McFarlane Road, Kapadia Place, Nairai Road, Avon Place, Derrick Street, Bryce Street, Davui Lane, Browning Street, Aidney Road, Gaji Road, Shalimar Street, Fletcher Road, Nacara Street, Millet Street, Viria Road, Malau Place, Wailea Street, Nanuku Street, Rifle Range Road, Jerusalem Road, Princes Road, Reservoir Road, Korovou Prison along Queens Road, Amra Street, Narain Jetty, Saint Giles Hospital along Reservoir Road, Crompton Place, Ratu Mara Road, Vatoa Road, Sovu Place, Nayau Street, Lakeba Street, Bureta Street, Helsen Street, Mead Road, Oneata Street, Bougainville Street, March Place, Vunakece Road, Griffith Place, Padam Lala Road, Sukanaivalu Road, Kameli Place, Sotutu Place, Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Salala Place, Kabatia Place, Tikaram Place, Salato Road, Ragg Avenue, Petrie Road. Nokonoko Road, Sekoula Road, Bulei Road, Vashantilal Road, Vesivesi Road, Kinoya Road, Tivi Road, Sarosaro Street, Ratu Dovi Road, Kabote Circle, Reba Circle, Savai Place, Qarase Street, Duvula Street, Tomanu Street, Nawanawa Road, Maqbool Road, Mandir Street, Nasole Road, Nadawa Road, Rosi Street, Makosoi Road, Nasinu Road, Kabatua Lane, Pilling Road, Naveiwakau Road, Nayavumata Road, Duna Crescent, Caubati Road, Wainivula Road, Chanik Road, Khalsa Road, Raibevu Road, Vunisinu Road, Nawame Road, Natuvukica Road, Coloisuva, Nepani Road, Tovata Road, Narere Road, Waidranu Street, Muanikoso Road, Manulava Circle, Matanikorovatu Road, Pritam Singh Road, Kalokalo Crescent, Beaumont Road, Kelland Street, Vatoa Road, Omkar Road, Navosai Road, FNTC Road, Vishnu Deo Road, Koroba Street, Matana Street, Painapiu Street, Manuka Street, JP Maharaj Street, Koronivia Road, Wainibuku Road, Davuilevu, Dilkusha, Sawani, Naqali, Naqeledamu, Lakena, Vuci Road, Naduru, Vunivaivai, Kuku/ Raralevu Noco, Luvuluvu, Wainibokasi, Sasawira, Baulevu, Namara, Nakelo, Waibuka, Mokani, Kasavu, Logani, Tobuniqio Village, Verata, Korovou, Waikalou, Laselevu and Tubarua Village in Naitasiri, Wailoku, Walu Bay, Naval Base, Tamavua-I-Wai, Panoramic Road, Waiqanake, Nadonumai, Delainavesi, Vugalei, Lami Village, Lami Police Station, Vetaia Street, Wailada, Valenicina, Qauia, Kalekana, Naivikinikini Settlement, Wailekutu, Namuka-I-Lau and Veisari, Bilo Road, Golden Manufacturers, Communications Fiji Limited, Fletcher Construction, Tug Bellaria, Rubina Medical Clinic, Sharma's Medical Centre, Burerua Street Raiwai, Cautata village in Mokani, Cobert Avenue, Davuilevu, Gaji Settlement, Foods Pacific, Government Barracks in Narere, Jittu Estate, Lakena Hill 2, Lakena Irrigation Road, Lokia, Ming Ting Lane in Raiwaqa, Manoca in Nausori, Nadali, Nausori Police Barrack, Newtown, Nukuvatu in Lami, PRB Flats in Kalabu, Sakoca, Tamavua Village, Tamavuaiwai, Veisari, Vuci Road, Vunivivi, Valenicina and Waila. The quarantine facilities with active cases in Suva are the Grand Pacific Hotel, Holiday Inn, Southern Cross Hotel, James Cook Hotel, Peninsula, Tanoa Hotel and Town House Apartments. There are also cases at the Novotel in Lami. In Nadi, there are cases in Nawaka, Savunawai, DoubleTree Quarantine Facility, Airport Apartments Quarantine Facilities, Mercure Hotel Quarantine Facility, Nasau Resort Villas Quarantine Facility, Nalagi Quarantine Facility, Tanoa Quarantine Facility, Grand West Villas Quarantine Facility, Nadi Hospital Isolation Facility and the Hilton Resort Quarantine Facility.
In Lautoka, there are active cases in Natabua Quarantine Facility in Drasa Vitogo, Lautoka Hospital Isolation Facility, Rifle Range, Vitogo Parade, Paipai and Lovu.
Doctor Fong says the first death is a 93-year-old woman from Matata, Valenicina in Lami.
She died at home.
According to protocol she was swabbed and tested positive for COVID-19.
She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the two other deaths were previously reported as under investigation to determine if the cause of death was COVID-19.
He says the doctors have now concluded that their deaths were caused by COVID-19.
The first was a 60-year-old man from Lami Village who was declared dead on arrival at the Lami Health Centre.
He died at home or on the way to the health facility.
According to protocol he was swabbed and tested positive for COVID-19.
He was not vaccinated.
He says the second was a 56-year-old woman from Qauia in Lami who died at home.
She also tested positive for COVID-19.
She was not vaccinated.
Another death of a COVID-19 positive patient that was previously reported as under investigation to determine if COVID-19 was the cause of death has now been classified as a non-COVID death.
Doctors have determined that the person died from a pre-existing illness and not COVID-19.
There have now been 30 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 28 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
We have also recorded 13 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
There have been 108 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 4,909 active cases in isolation.
Doctor Fong says there have been 6,091 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
6,161 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 1,209 recoveries.
170,431 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 213,292 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 10.4% and continues on an upward trend.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms 3 unvaccinated people have died from COVID-19 and there are 352 new COVID cases for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
The first COVID-19 death is a 54-year-old man from Naikurukuru, Lami. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the CWM Hospital Emergency Department.
This means that he either died at home or on the way to the hospital.
His family reported that the individual had been unwell for at least a week with fever, headache and generalized weakness.
He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the second COVID-19 death was a 62-year-old woman from Davuilevu who died at home.
Her family reported that she had fever, weakness and a reduced appetite for at least three days.
She was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death was a 60-year-old woman from Vatuwaqa.
She presented to the FEMAT Field Hospital in severe respiratory distress and died on the same day.
She was not vaccinated. Doctor Fong says there have been 2 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these 2 deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by doctors as their deaths have been determined to be caused by pre-existing medical conditions.
There have now been 33 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 31 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has also recorded 15 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
There have been 78 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 5,178 active cases in isolation.
There have been 6,443 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 6,513 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 1287 recoveries.
318, 830 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine while 52,592 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 54 percent of the target population has received at least one dose and 9 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Meanwhile Doctor Fong says the 7-day average of new cases per day has increased to 383 cases per day or 433 cases per million population per day.
He says as expected, with the increasing case numbers they are also seeing increasing number of people with severe disease, and more deaths in the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
Doctor Fong says it remains a serious concern that some people with severe disease come to a medical facility only in the late stages of their illness.
He says they are still sadly seeing people with severe disease die at home or on the way to hospital, before the medical teams have a chance to administer what could potentially be life saving treatment.
Doctor Fong says the severe symptoms of COVID-19 include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake; and pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
If you or a loved one have any of these symptoms please go immediately to your nearest medical facility.
Fiji continues to register new daily record number of COVID-19 cases as Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 636 new cases of COVID-19 and 6 COVID-19 deaths for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Doctor Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 74 year old woman from Delainavesi, Lami.
She presented to the FEMAT Field Hospital in respiratory distress and died on the same day.
She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 74 year old woman from Raiwaqa. She was admitted at CWM Hospital for treatment of a serious non-COVID-related medical condition and later tested positive in hospital. After investigation, her doctors have determined that her death was caused by COVID-19 and not the prior medical condition.
She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third COVID-19 death is an 80 year old man from Suva.
He says one of their response teams was called to attend to him at home and he was then transferred to CWM Hospital after being assessed to have severe symptoms including shortness of breath.
The Permanent Secretary says unfortunately he developed severe respiratory distress and died two days later.
He had received the 1st dose of the vaccine in the first week of June.
However, he had not received the 2nd dose and was not fully vaccinated. The fourth COVID-19 death is a 43-year-old woman from Makoi. She was admitted at CWM Hospital for treatment of a serious non-COVID-related medical condition and later tested positive in hospital.
After investigation, her doctors have determined that her death was caused by COVID-19 and not her prior medical condition.
She had received the 1st dose of the vaccine at the end of April.
However, she had not had the 2nd dose and was not fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fifth COVID-19 death is a 70-year-old man from Nausori.
He presented to the FEMAT Field Hospital in severe respiratory distress and died on the same day.
He received his 1st dose of the vaccine in the first week of June.
However, he had not received the 2nd dose and was not fully vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old man from Nailuva Road.
He presented to the FEMAT Field Hospital in severe respiratory distress and died on the same day.
He was not vaccinated.
He says there has been one more death of a COVID-19 positive patient.
However, this death has been classified as non-COVID death by doctors.
Doctors have determined that his death was caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition.
There have now been 39 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 37 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Doctor Fong says they also have recorded 16 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
A full breakdown of areas of interest for active cases has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
There have been 31 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 5,776 active cases in isolation.
Doctor Fong says there have been 7,079 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded 7,149 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 1,318 recoveries.
176,849 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 219,710 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 11.9% and continues on an upward trend.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 324,462 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 54,737 have received their second doses.
This means that 55% of the target population has received at least one dose and 9.3% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Meanwhile, Doctor Fong stresses that steam therapy is not a treatment for severe COVID-19.
He says severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and relying completely on home remedies can delay urgent medical treatment. Doctor Fong says the severe symptoms of COVID-19 include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake; and pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
If you or a loved one have any of these symptoms please go immediately to your nearest medical facility or call 165 if unable to get to a medical facility.
The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day has increased to 429 cases per day or 485 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says as expected with the increasing case numbers we are also seeing increasing numbers of people with severe disease and more deaths in the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone.
He says they continue to see people with severe COVID-19 dying at home or coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness and dying within a day or two.
The Permanent Secretary stresses that severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment may result in a higher risk of death.
He says steam inhalation therapy (kuvui) is commonly used as a home remedy to provide relief from congested nasal passages, and symptoms of cold or inflamed sinuses, or other mild COVID-19 symptoms, not for severe cases.
791 new cases of COVID-19 and 3 COVID-19 deaths have been announced for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 61-year-old man from Qauia Village, Lami.
He was brought to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress.
He had been experiencing severe COVID-19 symptoms, including shortness of breath, for two weeks.
He died one day later.
He was not vaccinated.
The Permanent Secretary says the second COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old man from Raiwaqa.
He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the CWM Hospital Emergency Department.
This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital.
His family reported that he had been unwell, with symptoms including fever and generalized weakness, for at least 5 days at home.
He was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death is a 67-year-old man from Toorak.
A Ministry response team attended to him at home and transferred him to the CWM Hospital after he reported having symptoms of COVID-19 at home for approximately a week.
His condition worsened in hospital and he died 11 days after admission. He received his 1st dose of the vaccine in mid-June.
He had not received the second dose of the vaccine and was not fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says there have been three more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions.
There have now been 42 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 40 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has also recorded 19 COVID-19 positive patients who died from serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
There have been 37 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 6,524 active cases.
Doctor Fong says there have been 7,870 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
We have recorded a total of 7,940 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 1,355 recoveries.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the dashboard link on our website, fijivillage.
181,026 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 223,887 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 12.5 percent and continues on an upward trend.
329,837 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine while 56,974 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 56 percent of the target population has received at least one dose and 9.7 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Meanwhile the 7-day average of new cases per day has increased to 503 cases per day or 569 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says today was another daily record of new cases at 791.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says due to the increasing COVID-19 cases in the Suva-Nausori containment zone, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services advises that home-based screening and swabbing services in Suva-Nausori will no longer be provided until further notice, except in exceptional circumstances.
Doctor Fong says the exceptional circumstances include if an individual has a disability or is otherwise physically unable to leave their home and attend a clinic, and these people should call 158.
He says their response teams in Suva-Nausori will now be redirected to the identification and close monitoring of people with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19.
He also says daily case numbers are expected to continue to increase, along with an increase in people with COVID-19 requiring hospitalisation, and sadly, more deaths.
Doctor Fong says people in Suva-Nausori should visit their nearest screening clinic for testing if they have COVID-19 symptoms (cough, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, fatigue, headache, aches and pains, sore throat, fever, diarrhoea, red eyes, loss of taste or smell); or have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19.
He says any disruptions to screening clinic services, for instance for decontamination, will be communicated to the public.
Doctor Fong says a person in Suva-Nausori with symptoms, or who has been in close contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19, should immediately isolate from others, including other members of your household if possible.
He says where possible, visit the nearest screening clinic for a COVID-19 swab.
Please wear a mask that covers your mouth and nose and keep a safe physical distance of 2 metres from others.
Please avoid using public transport to travel to the screening clinic.
Doctor Fong says if you cannot avoid using public transport, please ensure to wear a mask that covers your mouth and nose at all times and maintain physical distance from others.
In other parts of Fiji, persons with COVID-19 symptoms, or who are contacts of cases, should call 158 to be advised by the respective medical teams in those areas.
He says the FEMAT Field Hospital has begun the transition into a COVID-19 dedicated hospital and they have set up an emergency number 165 for people with severe COVID-19 symptoms to contact if they cannot get to a hospital themselves.
Doctor Fong says sadly they continue to see people with severe COVID-19 dying at home or coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness and dying within a day or two.
He says severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment may result in a higher risk of death.
The severe symptoms of COVID-19 include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake; and pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
If you or a loved one have any of these symptoms please go immediately to your nearest medical facility or call 165 if unable to get to a medical facility.
721 new cases of COVID-19 and 6 COVID-19 deaths have been reported for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says the first COVID-19 death is an 80-year-old woman from Vatuwaqa.
He says a Ministry response team attended to her at home and after assessing that she was severely ill, transferred her to the FEMAT Field Hospital.
Doctor Fong says the woman had reportedly been having symptoms of COVID-19 at home for approximately three weeks.
He says her condition worsened at the FEMAT Field Hospital and she died a few hours later.
She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is an 80-year-old woman from Mead Road.
Doctor Fong says this woman was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the CWM Hospital Emergency Department.
He says this means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital.
Her family reported that she had been unwell for at least three days at home.
She was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death is a 51-year-old woman from Gaji Road.
She was admitted at the CWM Hospital with COVID-19 symptoms like fever, cough and generalized body pain.
Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died 11 days after admission.
She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong adds the fourth COVID-19 death is a 44-year-old man from Laucala Beach Estate.
He presented to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress.
His family reported that he had COVID-19 symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath, weakness and headache for one week.
His condition worsened in the hospital and he died 4 days after admission.
He received his 1st dose of the vaccine in mid-June.
Doctor Fong says this man had not received the second dose of the vaccine and was not fully vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old woman from Delainivesi, Lami.
The Permanent Secretary says the woman's family brought her to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department after she was noted to be unresponsive.
Her family reported that she had been feeling unwell at home two days before.
She died on the same day.
Doctor Fong says this woman was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 52-year-old woman from Raiwai.
She was brought by her family to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department.
Doctor Fong says the woman's family reported that she had been unwell with a cough, shortness of breath, generalized weakness and vomiting, for at least three days.
He says the woman's condition worsened in the hospital and she died one day later.
She was not vaccinated.
There have now been 48 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 46 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has also recorded 19 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
There have been 101 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 7,138 active cases.
Fiji has recorded 8,591 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
We have recorded a total of 8,661 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 1,456 recoveries.
Doctor Fong stresses that sadly, they continue to see people with severe COVID-19 dying at home or coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness and dying within a day or two.
He says severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment may result in a higher risk of death.
The severe symptoms of COVID-19 include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to stay awake; and pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
If you or a loved one have any of these symptoms please go immediately to your nearest medical facility or call 165 if unable to get to a medical facility.
335,305 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine while 59,574 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 57%t of the target population has received at least one dose and 10.2% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Dr Fong says they now have two drive-through vaccination centres within the Suva-Nausori Corridor, one centre is located at Albert Park while the other is located at the Fiji National University Campus in Nasinu.
He says these vaccination centres are open until 5.30pm.
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services is currently working on exploring possible venues across the country to establish more drive-through vaccination sites.
Meanwhile you can check out the interview with the Head of the Vaccination Taskforce, Doctor Rachel Devi on fijivillage Straight Talk with our News Director, Vijay Narayan at 8am today.
You can watch the full interview on our website, facebook page or YouTube channel, fijivillage.
A new daily record of COVID-19 cases has been set as 860 new cases of COVID-19 and 3 COVID deaths have been announced for the 24-hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 56-year-old man from Davuilevu.
He was admitted to the CWM Hospital with COVID-19 symptoms like cough, fever and generalized body pains that he had for two weeks.
His condition worsened in hospital and he died 3 days after admission.
He was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old man from Suva.
He was referred to the CWM Hospital from the Samabula screening clinic.
He was noted to be in severe respiratory distress.
His condition worsened in the hospital and he died one day after admission.
He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third COVID-19 death is a 69-year-old woman from Nabua.
She was referred to the CWM Hospital from the Samabula Health Centre.
She presented in severe respiratory distress.
Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died on the same day.
She was not vaccinated.
He says one more death, a 15-year-old, is currently being investigated by the clinical team to determine the cause of death.
There have now been 51 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 49 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
As of the 9th July, the 7-day average daily deaths in Fiji is 3 deaths per day.
Out of the 49 COVID-19 deaths in this outbreak, 41 which is 84 percent of the individuals, were unvaccinated and 8 or 16 percent of the individuals received only one dose of the vaccine.
None of the individuals that have died from COVID-19 in Fiji have been fully vaccinated.
Fiji has also recorded 19 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
None of these individuals, who died from non-COVID related medical conditions, were fully vaccinated.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can also check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
You will also be able to view the approximate locations of the new cases on the dashboard.
There have been 62 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 7,932 active cases.
There have been 9,451 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 9,521 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 1,518 recoveries.
188,148 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 231,009 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 15.5 percent and continues on an upward trend.
340,334 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 62,445 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says this means that 58 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 10.6 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
He says the two drive-through vaccination centres within the Suva-Nausori Corridor (Albert Park and the Fiji National University- Nasinu Campus at Valelevu) will be open today from 9am to 2pm for vaccination.
The 7-day average of new cases per day has increased to 610 cases per day or 689 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says with daily increases in cases we are also seeing increasing cases of severe COVID-19 and increasing deaths.
He says with increasing daily cases, hospitalisations, and deaths, they are asking all Fijians to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Doctor Fong says getting fully vaccinated, with 2 doses of the vaccine, will decrease your risk of getting infected with the virus but most importantly, getting fully vaccinated will significantly reduce your risk of getting severe COVID-19, even if you do get infected.
He says none of the people who have died from COVID-19 in Fiji have been fully vaccinated and we know from data from the United Kingdom that the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine reduces the risk of hospitalization from the Delta variant by 92 percent.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong confirms that there are 506 new cases of COVID-19 and 1 COVID death for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Doctor Fong says the COVID-19 death is a 55-year-old woman from Nabua.
A Ministry response team attended to her at a medical facility and transferred her to the CWM Hospital after she reported having severe symptoms of COVID-19.
Her condition worsened in hospital and she died 2 days after admission. She was not vaccinated.
There have been two more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions.
There have now been 52 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 50 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
They have also recorded 21 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
1 death of a COVID-19 positive patient remains under investigation.
There have been 179 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 8,256 active cases.
There have been 9,957 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji recorded a total of 10,027 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 1,697 recoveries.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
192,536 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 235,397 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 16.8 percent and continues on an upward trend.
349,396 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine while 65,618 people have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 59.6 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 11.2 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
The 7-day average of new cases per day has increased to 627 cases per day or 708 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says with the daily increases in cases, they are also seeing increasing cases of severe COVID-19 and increasing deaths.
He says getting fully vaccinated, with 2 doses of the vaccine, will decrease your risk of getting infected with the virus.
Doctor Fong says most importantly, getting fully vaccinated will significantly reduce your risk of getting severe COVID-19, even if you do get infected.
He says none of the people who have died from COVID-19 in Fiji have been fully vaccinated and we know from data from the United Kingdom that the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine reduces the risk of hospitalization from the Delta variant by 92 percent.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 485 new cases of COVID-19 and 3 COVID deaths for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Doctor Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 77-year-old woman from Colo-I-Suva who died at home.
Her family reported that she had been feeling unwell for 3 days.
She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old man from Nabua who died at home.
His family reported that he was feeling unwell for 3 days.
He was noted to have a reduced appetite and generalized weakness.
He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third COVID-19 death is a 38-year-old woman from Nakasi.
A Ministry response team attended to her at a medical facility and transferred her to the CWM Hospital after she reported having severe symptoms of COVID-19.
Her condition worsened in hospital and she died 4 days after admission.
She was not vaccinated.
There have now been 55 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 53 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Doctor Fong says they also have recorded 21 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
1 death of a COVID-19 positive patient remains under investigation.
As of the 9th July the 7-day rolling average of deaths per day is 3.
There have been 162 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 8,576 active cases.
There have been 10,442 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 10,512 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 1,859 recoveries.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
195,695 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 238,520 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 17.4% and continues on an upward trend.
There is confirmation that Fiji has 3 new deaths from COVID-19 including the 15-year-old girl whose death was under investigation.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the 15-year-old from Colo-I-Suva was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Raiwaqa Health Centre.
He says this means that she either died at home or on her way to the health facility.
Her family reported that she had been feeling unwell for 2 days. Her symptoms included cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain.
She was not vaccinated as she was not in the target population of people 18 years and over that are eligible to receive the vaccine.
A 56-year-old woman from Vatuwaqa who had COVID-19, died at home.
Her family reported that she had been feeling unwell for 1 week.
She received her 1st dose of the vaccine in early July.
She had not received the second dose of the vaccine and was not fully vaccinated.
An 87-year-old woman from Nasinu presented to the FEMAT Field Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
Her condition worsened at the Field Hospital and she died 2 days after admission.
Her family reported that she was feeling unwell with a cough and fever prior to her presentation.
She was not vaccinated.
There were five more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 58 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 56 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has also recorded 26 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
These are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Doctor Fong says there are 873 new COVID cases for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check the link on our website, fijivillage.
There have been 132 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 9,310 active cases.
There have been 11,315 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
The country has recorded a total of 11,385 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 1,991 recoveries.
353,355 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 66,643 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 60.2 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 11.4 percent are now fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, the 7-day average of new cases per day is 696 cases per day or 787 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says with daily increases in cases, we are also seeing increasing cases of severe COVID-19 and increasing deaths.
He is asking all Fijians to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Doctor Fong says they also urge our fellow citizens to continue taking all COVID-19 safety measures.
Remember to correctly wear your mask, wash or sanitize hands frequently, download and utilize the careFIJI application, visit a screening clinic if you and any of your family members experience the signs and symptoms of COVID-19, and maintain physical distancing measures.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says Fiji has now recorded a total of 12,032 COVID-19 cases and 59 deaths since the first case last year.
647 new cases of COVID-19 and 1 COVID-19 death have been confirmed for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
The COVID-19 death is a 58-year-old man from Delaivalelevu who died at home.
His family reported that he had been feeling unwell for 1 week.
He received his 1st dose of the vaccine in mid-June.
He had not received the second dose of the vaccine and was not fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says there has been one more death of a COVID-19 positive patient.
However, the death has been classified as a non-COVID death by doctors.
Doctors have determined that this death was caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 59 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 57 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
We also have recorded 27 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There have been 230 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 9,725 active cases.
There have been 11,962 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Doctor Fong says we have recorded a total of 12,032 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 2,221 recoveries.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
362,969 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 68,819 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 61.9 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 11.7 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Meanwhile, the 7-day average of new cases per day is 698 cases per day or 788 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says with daily increases in cases we are also seeing increasing cases of severe COVID-19 and increasing deaths.
He says sadly, people with severe COVID-19 are still dying at home or they are coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness.
Doctor Fong stresses that severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease.
He says severe symptoms of COVID-19 include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake; and pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
If you or a loved one have any of these symptoms please go immediately to your nearest medical facility or call 165 if unable to get to a medical facility.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 10 deaths from COVID-19 from 9th to 14th July and 634 new COVID cases for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
The first COVID-19 death is a 65-year-old woman from Naibitu Village who died at home on July 9th.
She received her 1st dose of the vaccine in mid-June.
She had not received the second dose of the vaccine and was not fully vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 62-year-old man from Cautata Village.
He presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress.
His condition worsened at the health facility and he died on the same day on 10th July.
He was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death is an 80-year-old man from Suva who died at home on the 10th July.
His family reported that he was feeling unwell with shortness of breath. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 92-year-old man from Kinoya who died at home on 11th July.
His family reported that he reported of generalized weakness and a reduced appetite 3 days prior.
He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 71-year-old woman from Suva.
She presented to a health centre with severe COVID-19 symptoms and was transferred to the CWM Hospital.
Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died 2 days after her admission on 11th July.
She was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 62-year-old woman from Makoi who died at home on 11th July.
Her family reported that she had a cough, fever and shortness of breath for a few days.
She was not vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death is a 59-year-old man from Nadera who died at home on 12th July.
His family reported that he had a cough, shortness of breath and a reduced appetite.
He was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old woman from Nasinu.
She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress and died one day after admission on 13th July.
She was not vaccinated.
The ninth COVID-19 death is a 58-year-old woman from Nadera.
She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress and died 10 days after admission on 13th July.
She was not vaccinated.
The tenth COVID-19 death is a 42-year-old woman from Tacirua.
A Medical Response team retrieved her from home and transferred her to a medical facility.
She was noted to be in severe respiratory distress.
She died in the medical facility on the same day on 14th July.
She received her 1st dose of the vaccine at the end of June.
She had not received the second dose of the vaccine and was not fully vaccinated.
Please note you only have 92% efficacy of the vaccine 14 days after the second dose and this drastically reduces the risk of severe cases, hospitalisation or death.
Doctor Fong says there have been two more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 69 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 67 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Doctor Fong says they have also recorded 29 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There have been 314 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 10,033 active cases.
There have been 12,596 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 12,666 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 2,535 recoveries.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
The rising number of cases continue as 1,220 new cases of COVID-19 have been announced for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong also confirms that there are 5 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 10th July to 13th July.
The first COVID-19 death is a 61-year-old woman from Kinoya who died at home on 10th July.
Her family reported that she was feeling unwell with generalized body pain, weakness, and a sore throat for 10 days.
She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 62-year-old man from Tacirua.
He presented to the CWM Hospital emergency department in severe respiratory distress.
He died in hospital on the same day on 13th July.
His family reported that he was unwell with fever, cough, and generalized weakness for three days prior.
He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third COVID-19 death is a 66-year-old woman from Nabua who died at home on 13th July.
Her family reported that she was feeling unwell with a cough and shortness of breath for 3 days. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 60-year-old woman from Verata who died at home on 13th July. She was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 78-year-old woman from Nauluvatu Village.
She was retrieved from home by a medical team and transferred to a healthcare facility.
She was noted to be in severe respiratory distress.
She died in the healthcare facility on the same day on 13th July.
She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says there have been two more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
He says there have now been 74 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 72 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has also recorded 31 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There have been 213 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 11,033 active cases.
There have been 13,816 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 13,886 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 2,748 recoveries.
There are eight other deaths currently under investigation.
These will be discussed once investigations (including test results) and classifications are complete.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
A new daily record of 1,405 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday while there have been 6 new COVID-19 deaths for the period of 12th July to 15th July.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr. James Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 58-year-old man from Tacirua.
He presented to a medical facility with severe COVID-19 symptoms including shortness of breath on Wednesday. His condition worsened at the health facility and he died on the same day. He was not vaccinated.
He says the second COVID-19 death to report is an 82 year old man from Waila. He presented to a health facility in severe respiratory distress.
Dr. Fong says he was retrieved by a medical team to the CWM Hospital and his condition worsened in the hospital and he died two days after admission on Monday. His family reported that he had been unwell with symptoms that included fever and cough. He was not vaccinated.
A 34-year-old man from Koronivia is the third COVID-19 death. He presented to a health facility in severe respiratory distress on Monday. His condition worsened at the health facility and he died on the same day. He was also not vaccinated.
Dr Fong adds the fourth COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old man from Valelevu. He presented to the CWM Hospital with COVID-19 symptoms. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died on Wednesday. He was not vaccinated.
He further says the fifth COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old woman from Narere. She presented to a healthcare facility with severe COVID-19 symptoms including shortness of breath. She was retrieved by a medical team to the CWM Hospital. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died on Monday. She was not vaccinated.
A 92-year-old man from Ba is the sixth COVID-19 death. He was retrieved by a medical team from an isolation facility and transferred to the Lautoka Hospital. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died on Thursday. He was not vaccinated.
Dr Fong says there have been three more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
He says doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 80 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 78 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
We have also recorded 34 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There have been 470 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 11,959 active cases.
There have been 15,221 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 15,291 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 3,218 recoveries.
There are six more deaths currently under investigation. These will be discussed once investigations including test results and classifications are complete.
Dr Fong says as of Thursday, 384,480 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 75,448 have received their second doses.
He says this means that 66% of the target population have received at least one dose and 12.9 % are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Dr Fong says the national 7-day average daily test positivity is 19.2% and continues on an upward trend.
312,572 individuals have been screened and 52,386 swabbed to date.
He further says the 7-day average of new cases per day is 824 cases per day or 932 cases per million population per day.
Dr Fong adds average daily case numbers are increasing, together with cases of severe disease and deaths.
Doctor Fong also says severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease.
Severe symptoms of COVID-19 include dfficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake; and pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds.
If you or a loved one have any of these symptoms please go immediately to your nearest hospital or medical facility or call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility.
1,180 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today while 5 new COVID-19 deaths have been announced for the period of 13th July to 16th July.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 47 year old woman from Raiwaqa. She presented to a medical facility with severe COVID-19 symptoms including shortness of breath. Her condition worsened at the health facility and she died on the same day on 14th July. She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 61 year old man from Caubati. He presented to a health facility in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened at the health facility and he died on the same day on 15th July. His family reported that he had been unwell with symptoms that included generalized body pains. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third COVID-19 death is a 67 year old woman from Naiyala Village. She presented to a health facility in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the health facility and she died on the same day on 15th July. Her family reported that she had been unwell with COVID-19 symptoms four days prior. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 61 year old woman from Valelevu. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened in the health facility and she died on the same day on 16th July. She received her 1st dose of the vaccine in early June. She did not receive her 2nd dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 66 year old woman from Lami who died at home on 13th July. Her family reported that she was feeling unwell with generalized muscular weakness and was noted to have a reduced appetite. She was not vaccinated.
There have now been 85 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 83 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Doctor Fong says they have also recorded 34 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There have been 159 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 12,975 active cases.
There have been 16,401 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 16,471 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 3,377 recoveries.
There are seven more deaths currently under investigation. These will be discussed once investigations (including test results) and classifications are complete.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed there are 13 new COVID-19 deaths for the period of 14th July to 17th July while 1,043 new COVID cases have been confirmed for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Doctor Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 77-year-old woman from Toorak. She presented to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died on the same day on 17th July. She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 49-year-old man from Vatuwaqa. He presented to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died on the same day on 15th July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine on 14th June. He had not received the 2nd dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third COVID-19 death is an 88-year-old woman from Nasinu who died at home on 14th July. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old man from Cunningham. He was brought to the FEMAT field hospital on 16th July and declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. His family reported that he had been unwell, with symptoms including fever, cough and shortness of breath for at least 7 days at home. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man from Laucala Beach. He was brought to the FEMAT field hospital and noted to be in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the FEMAT field hospital and he died on the same day on 16th July. His family reported that he had been feeling unwell with a cough at home. He received his 1st dose of the vaccine on 29th June. He had not received the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says the sixth COVID-19 death is a 65-year-old woman from Kinoya.
She presented to the FEMAT field hospital in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened in the FEMAT field hospital and she died on the same day on 17th July. She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early-June. She had not received the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
The seventh COVID-19 death is a 69-year-old woman from Samabula. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. She was retrieved by a medical team to the FEMAT field hospital. Her condition worsened in the FEMAT field hospital and she died on the same day on 17th July. She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early July. She had not received the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 86 year old man from Valelevu who died at home on 17th July. He was not vaccinated.
The ninth COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old woman from Raiwaqa who died at home on 17th July. She was not vaccinated.
The tenth COVID-19 death is a 60-year-old woman from Nausori. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the medical facility and she died on the same day on 17th July. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the eleventh COVID-19 death is a 77-year-old woman from Narere. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the medical facility and she died on the same day on 14th July. Her family reported that she was unwell with COVID-19 symptoms two days before. She was not vaccinated.
The twelfth COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old man from Valelevu who died at home on 15th July. His family reported that he had been unwell with COVID-19 symptoms (cough and shortness of breath). He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early June. He had not received the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
The thirteenth COVID-19 death is a 70-year-old woman from Toorak who died at home on 15th July. She was not vaccinated.
There have been 7 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 98 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 96 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
We also have recorded 41 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There have been 388 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 13,610 active cases.
There have been 17,444 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 17,514 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 3,765 recoveries.
There are 9 more deaths currently under investigation. These will be discussed once investigations (including test results) and classifications are complete.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
393,095 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 78,624 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 67 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 13.4 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Meanwhile the 7-day average of new cases per day is a worrying 1000 cases per day or 1130 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says the average daily case numbers are increasing, together with cases of severe disease and deaths.
A total of 225,366 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 268,227 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 24 percent and continues on an upward trend.
Doctor Fong says in the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone, people with severe COVID-19 are still dying at home, or they are coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness.
He says severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease.
Severe symptoms of COVID-19 include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
Doctor Fong says in the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone, they have identified health facilities specifically designated to receive people with symptoms of severe COVID-19.
If you or a loved one live in the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone and have any of these severe symptoms please go immediately to CWM Hospital, FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena, individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to Nausori Health Centre or Wainibokasi Hospital.
Call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility.
Concerns are being raised by some people who have gone for swabbing for COVID-19 at the Makoi Health Centre today as the COVID protocols are not being followed.
We have been sent photos of people standing next to each other and not following the strict 2 metres physical distancing.
The people who contacted us say they are concerned as the people at the clinic could be or are positive of COVID-19.
Meanwhile the protocols for people turning positive is to isolate for 14 days after their first swab and to then go to a swabbing clinic after day 14 for exit swab for clearance.
The protocols for contacts is to go for a swab and quarantine. If the first test result is negative, you have to go for an exit swab on day 12 and then get the swab result and clearance.
We have raised the issue regarding physical distancing protocols not being followed at Makoi Health Centre with Acting Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu and Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong.
Residents of Pacific Harbour can get themselves screened at the drive-through screening clinic at The Establishment restaurant from today until Wednesday.
The Ministry of Health says people living in Section A can visit the drive-through clinic today, those living in Section B can go tomorrow while people living in Section C can get themselves screened on Wednesday.
The drive-through clinic is also open to residents of Lepanoni, Makosoi, Waidradra Village and the wider Pacific Harbour area.
The Ministry is urging residents accessing the drive-through screening clinic to practice all safe COVID-19 measures such as wearing a mask.
People are also being requested to present to the screening clinic with not more than four people in a vehicle.
The Ministry of Health will begin administering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to pregnant women across Viti Levu from Wednesday.
The Ministry says due to the increasing widespread transmission of COVID-19 disease across Viti Levu, pregnant women are at a higher risk of contracting the virus which may cause severe illness.
They say as a result, these women are prioritised for receiving the Moderna vaccine that provides earlier protection against the disease due to its shorter interval period of 28 days between the first and the second dose.
The Ministry also says that pregnant women who are employed as civil servants and are waiting to receive the COVID-19 vaccine may continue to go to work as they will be temporarily exempted until August 1st 2021.
To get vaccinated, pregnant women must provide their antenatal care clinic card as evidence of pregnancy and booking done with the Ministry of Health.
The Ministry says pregnant women living outside Viti Levu must continue to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.
They also say that Fiji has recorded a high number of deaths of individuals above 60 years old, particularly those with comorbidity issues as a result of severe illness from COVID-19.
The Ministry says to provide earlier protection to the remaining unvaccinated vulnerable group within the Suva-Nausori corridor, the Moderna vaccines will also be administered to individuals above 60 years of age in the area.
This is particularly for those with comorbidities such as chronic lung disease, significant cardiac disease, severe obesity, diabetes, liver disease and HIV.
The government says their distribution teams have delivered one large pack of food rations to eleven crew members of the MV Cagivou who are self-isolating onboard the vessel.
They have been in isolation for 12 days now.
So far, only one large pack of food rations has been delivered to the crew.
A 49 year old man living in Nadonumai in Lami has been charged with five counts of Malicious Acts for allegedly broadcasting live videos that maliciously spread fake news about the COVID-19 vaccine, government, members of the disciplined forces and religious and traditional leaders.
Police say this man allegedly posted five live videos last month where he also declared war in Fiji.
The accused will appear in the Suva Magistrates Court today.
A drive-through vaccination drive will begin at Nadi International Airport from tomorrow till Friday.
Eligible Fijians over the age of 18 can get their first and second jab from 9am to 4pm.
As of yesterday, 393,095 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 78,624 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 67% of the target population have received at least one dose and 13.4% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
The target is to get 587,641 Fijians fully vaccinated.
People who receive the first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine can now receive their second dose after 8 weeks instead of 12 weeks. Head of the Vaccination Taskforce of the Health Ministry, Doctor Rachel Devi says administering the second dose at the 8th week will not affect the effectiveness of the vaccine and will provide the same level of immunity against the Delta variant.
She says because we have a high number of community cases in Viti Levu, especially in the Lami Suva Nausori Containment Zone, it is only appropriate that they move ahead with the second dose after 8 weeks of the first dose.
She says it will provide earlier protection against severe illness, hospitalisation and death from COVID-19. The Health Ministry says individuals who have received their first dose and were scheduled to take their second dose at an interval of 12 weeks will receive a reminder via text message in the 8th week. It stresses that the second dose will be only provided at an interval of 8 weeks and not before.
You can go to your nearest vaccination site for your second dose.
Fiji Rugby Union CEO, John O’Connor has clarified media reports in New Zealand pertaining to the issue of the Flying Fijians’ jerseys, confirming that there has been no loss to FRU by the team not displaying the “Vaccinate Fiji, it’s your choice” message in the second test against the All Blacks.
O’Connor says Fiji Rugby and their partners had a further review of the situation on Friday before the second test, after taking into consideration the rapid increase in COVID 19 cases in Fiji.
He says new cases crossed 1220 and 1405 on Thursday and Friday respectively, with increasing hospitalisations and the tragic loss of lives.
O’Connor says by late Friday, it was increasingly clear that the COVID-crisis in Fiji has reached the stage where adequate vaccination was critically required to save lives, and anything less than a strong vaccination message would be unhelpful in the present situation.
After these extensive consultations with all stakeholders, partners, sponsors and the team, it was determined that the Flying Fijians would play with generic jerseys with sponsor logos only. The CEO also thanked their various sponsors for their understanding and support in this situation and in particular, they thank Swire Shipping for giving up their grass signage and Fiji Airways for their willingness to give up part of their branding on the LED display throughout the match.
These branding assets (the LED and grass banners) clearly displayed the “Vaccinate Fiji” message for those viewing the match at home.
O’Connor says they also sincerely thank the Sky panel of announcers advocating for full vaccination during their panel discussions. He says to be clear, the FRU had never wavered from its support for Fiji’s vaccination programme.
O’Connor says while the initiative to have the strong “Vaccinate Fiji” message on the playing jersey ultimately couldn’t eventuate despite their best intentions, FRU will continue to support the country’s vaccinate campaign at every opportunity.
He says they encourage their rugby players, affiliates and unions to get behind the vaccination efforts to help Fiji emerge from the current COVID-crisis, which will bring rugby back to our communities, schools and stadiums.
O’Connor also thanked the NZ Rugby Union, the sponsors, partners and stakeholedrs incljding the fans for their tremendous support to the team and to Fiji Rugby. He says all eyes now turn to the Olympics, where our Men’s and Women’s 7s lead Team Fiji’s quest for glory in Tokyo.
Fiji Rugby wishes the proud Team Fiji contingent in Japan the very best as they take on the best in the world in a few days.
49-year-old, Tevita Qaqanivalu of Nadonumai in Lami appeared in the Suva Magistrates Court today for allegedly broadcasting live videos that maliciously spread fake news about the COVID-19 vaccine, Government, members of the disciplined forces and religious and traditional leaders.
Qaqanivalu has been charged with five counts of Malicious Acts.
The court was informed that Qaqanivalu was allegedly posting material online from someone else’s Facebook account.
He has been ordered to refrain from posting videos or posts on social media.
Qaqanivalu has been released on bail and the matter has been adjourned to 30th August for plea.
Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja says he is not aware of any plans that they will be providing Fiji and the Pacific with Pfizer vaccines.
Seselja highlighted this when questioned by LegendFM News.
He says at the moment they have committed AstraZeneca doses and another set of doses will be delivered by the end of next week.
Another 60,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Nadi from Australia on Saturday night.
This latest shipment of the vaccine brings the total number donated by Australia to 450,000 doses.
Australia has pledged to donate 1 million doses of the vaccine to Fiji.
There are 15 new COVID-19 deaths from 12th to 19th July and 784 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 65 year old woman from Laucala Beach. She presented to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress. She died 7 days after admission on 18th July. She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early-June. She had not received the 2nd dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 77 year old man from Valelevu who died at home on 18th July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third COVID-19 death is a 47 year old man from Lami who died at home on 12th July. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 67 year old woman from Nasinu who died at home on 17th July. Her family reported that she was unwell with COVID-19 symptoms for one week. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fifth COVID-19 death is a 51 year old man from Colo-I-Suva who died at home on 17th July. He was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 40 year old man from Lami. He presented to the FEMAT field hospital in respiratory distress. He died 6 days after admission on 17th July. He was not vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death is a 72 year old man from Nabua. He presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. He was retrieved by a medical team to the CWM Hospital. He died one day later in hospital 18th July. He was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 65 year old man from Suva who died at home on 18th July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the ninth COVID-19 death is a 81 year old woman from Samabula. She presented to the CWM Hospital emergency department in severe respiratory distress today. She died in hospital on the same day. She was not vaccinated.
The tenth COVID-19 death is a 63 year old man from Delainivesi who died at home on 17th July. He was not vaccinated.
The eleventh COVID-19 death is a 79 year old woman from Cunningham who died at home on 17th July. She was not fully vaccinated.
The twelfth COVID-19 death is a 73 year old woman from Suva. She presented to the FEMAT field hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died in hospital one day later on 18th July. She was not vaccinated.
The thirteenth COVID-19 death is a 83 year old man from Nasese. He presented to the FEMAT field hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died four days after admission on 17th July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fourteenth COVID-19 death is a 65 year old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died in hospital on 18th July. He was not vaccinated.
The fifteenth COVID-19 death is a 50 year old woman from Dakuibeqa. She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress and she died in hospital on 16th July. She was not vaccinated.
There have been 7 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. Doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 113 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 111 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Doctor Fong says they have also recorded 48 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There have been 125 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 14,247 active cases.
He says there have been 18,228 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 18,298 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 3,890 recoveries.
There are 17 more deaths currently under investigation. These will be discussed once investigations (including test results) and classifications are complete.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day is a worrying 988 cases per day or 1116 cases per million population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says with the high numbers of new daily cases, they are also seeing increasing cases of severe disease and deaths.
A total of 229,237 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 272,098 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 26 percent and continues on an upward trend.
393,095 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 78,624 have received their second doses.
This means that 67 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 13.4 percent are fully vaccinated nationwide.
Doctor Fong says COVID-19 infections are widespread across the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
He says this means that if you develop any of the symptoms of COVID-19 you should assume you have COVID-19 and isolate yourself at home.
Doctor Fong says do not wait for a positive test result to self isolate.
Isolating yourself will help to stop the spread of COVID-19 to others.
The symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, fatigue/extreme tiredness, loss of taste or smell, headache, aches and pains, sore throat, fever, diarrhoea, red eyes, skin rash.
If you have any of these symptoms please immediately isolate from others including other members of your household.
Stay at home and, as much as possible, maintain a physical distance of 2 metres between yourself and other members of your household.
Doctor Fong says where possible, visit the nearest screening clinic for a COVID-19 swab and advice.
Ensure to wear a mask that covers your mouth and nose and keep a safe physical distance of 2 metres from others.
Please avoid using public transport to travel to the screening clinic.
He says if you cannot avoid using public transport, please ensure to wear a well fitting mask that covers your mouth and nose at all times and maintain at least 2 metres physical distance from others.
Doctor Fong says severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease.
Severe symptoms include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
He says if you or a loved one live in the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone and have any of these severe symptoms please go immediately to CWM Hospital, FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena, individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to Nausori Health Centre or Wainibokasi Hospital.
Call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility.
There will be no drive-through vaccination available at FNU Nasinu Campus from today.
The Health Ministry says this service has been temporarily deferred at this vaccination site.
Walk-in vaccination will, however, continue at FNU Nasinu Campus.
People wishing to access a drive-through vaccination site can go to Hexagon Plaza Complex along Kings Highway near Koronivia.
The Western Division's first vaccination drive-through kick started this morning at the Nadi International Airport, and people have come out in numbers to get vaccinated.
Fijians living in Nadi or travelling along the area who have not been vaccinated are encouraged to drive through Nadi Airport in order to get their first or second jab of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The drive-through will be open from 9am to 4pm from today until this Friday.
The initiative has been hailed by many including 22-year-old Akanisi Tabua who received her first jab today.
Tabua says it is fast and no one has to get out of their vehicle in order to get their jabs so it's very convenient for them.
She says for those that have not received their jabs, she urges you to do so to protect your loved ones and to move forward.
With the increasing number of new COVID-19 cases, severe cases and hospitalisations, the Ministry of Health continues to ensure that those needing COVID-19 care, medication, rations, and those needing specialist on-call clinics are catered for during these trying times.
CWM Hospital Head of Surgical Department, Doctor Semesa Matanaicake says they are also working with some NGOs to provide critical services through the medical line 165.
Doctor Matanaicake says 165 has lines that deal with ambulance and retrieval service, COVID patients needing top-up of medication or rations, specialist lines like cardiac, diabetic clinics, surgical, pediatric, gynecology and cancer support services.
He says because of physical distancing, it is hard for medical officials to continue the specialist outpatients clinics.
Doctor Matanaicake says through this assistance, they can continue to provide specialist services despite the increasing number of severe and critical COVID patients.
He says if the patient is COVID positive, delivery of the medicine will be arranged.
The in-patient treatment also has to be done with a lot of coordination and the Ministry continues to assess how they can provide specialist services in the urban and rural areas.
Doctor Matanaicake says they are grateful for the provision of more vehicles by some NGOs to assist the patients.
He says they are also grateful for the volunteers assisting in looking after the lines.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms there are 12 new COVID-19 deaths for the period of 13th July to 19th July while there are 1,054 new cases for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Doctor Fong says the first death is a 70-year-old woman from Tamavua. She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. Her family reported that she was feeling unwell with COVID-19 symptoms at home for four days. Her condition worsened at the hospital and she died on the same day on 14th July. She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 53-year-old woman from Nasinu. She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. Her family reported that she was unwell with a fever and cough for one week. She died on the same day in hospital on 13th July. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third death is a 60-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 18th July. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 60-year-old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died 1 day after admission on 19th July. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old woman from Nakasi who died at home on 18th July. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the sixth COVID-19 death is a 69-year-old man from Valelevu who died at home on 18th July. He was not vaccinated.
The seventh death is a 74-year-old woman from Narere. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. She was retrieved by a medical team to the CWM Hospital. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died 5 days after admission on 18th July. She was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 92-year-old man from Wailoku who died at home on 19th July. He was not vaccinated.
The ninth death is an 87-year-old woman from Tacirua who died at home on 19th July. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the tenth COVID-19 death is an 81-year-old man from Waila who died at home on 19th July. He was not vaccinated.
The eleventh COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old man from Nasinu.
He presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress.
He was retrieved by a medical team to the CWM Hospital.
His condition worsened in the hospital and he died 1 day after admission on 19th July. He was not vaccinated.
The twelfth COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old woman from Kinoya who died at home on 19th July. She received her first dose of the vaccine in mid-May. She did not receive the 2nd dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.
There have been 3 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 125 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 123 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The Health Ministry has also recorded 51 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There have been 343 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 14,943 active cases.
There have been 19,282 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 19,352 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 4,233 recoveries.
There are 30 more deaths currently under investigation. These will be discussed once investigations (including test results) and classifications are complete.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
401,404 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 80,894 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 68.4% of the target population have received at least one dose and 13.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Meanwhile the 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day is 1046 cases per day or 1182 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says with the high numbers of new daily cases we are also seeing increasing cases of severe disease and deaths.
232,972 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 275,833 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 26%.
Doctor Fong says COVID-19 infections are widespread across the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
He says this means that if you develop any of the symptoms of COVID-19 you should assume you have COVID-19 and isolate yourself at home.
Do not wait for a positive test result to self isolate.
Isolating yourself will help to stop the spread of COVID-19 to others.
The symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, fatigue/extreme tiredness, loss of taste or smell, headache, aches and pains, sore throat, fever, diarrhoea, red eyes and skin rash.
Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease.
Severe symptoms of COVID-19 include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
If you or a loved one live in the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone and have any of these severe symptoms please go immediately to CWM Hospital, FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena, individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to Nausori Health Centre or Wainibokasi Hospital.
Call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility.
People living in Lautoka can now get vaccinated from the comfort of their vehicles following the set up of a drive-through vaccination centre at the South Seas Club restaurant.
The drive-through centre will run for two weeks beginning today and will be open from 9am to 4pm from Monday to Friday.
This has been made possible by the Lautoka City Council in collaboration with Ministry of Health, South Seas Club, Fiji Police Force, Commissioner Western’s Office, Provincial Administrator Ba and the Divisional Health Inspector West.
401,404 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 80,894 have received their second doses.
This means that 68.4% of the target population have received at least one dose and 13.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
The Ministry of Health will also begin administering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to pregnant women across Viti Levu from today.
To get vaccinated, pregnant women must provide their antenatal care clinic card as evidence of pregnancy and booking done with the Ministry of Health.
The Ministry says pregnant women living outside Viti Levu must continue to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The Moderna vaccine will also be administered to individuals above 60 years of age in the Suva-Nausori containment zone from today.
Another 11,000 Australian manufactured AstraZeneca vaccines have arrived in the country with other medical supplies.
This includes 200 stretcher beds and over $220,000 worth of medical supplies.
The assistance will assist the Health Ministry in its fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.
🇦🇺🇳🇿 #ANZMAT Team Bravo’s efforts on the ground supporting @MOHFiji will be bolstered by last night’s arrival of 11k 🇦🇺-made #AstraZeneca💉, 200 stretcher beds 🛏️ & over FJD$220k worth of medical supplies!👩⚕️Vinaka to the hardworking 🇫🇯🇳🇿🇦🇺 frontline teams. #TogetherWeCan #Vuvale pic.twitter.com/ohiZBVB5oX
— John Feakes (@AusHCFJ) July 20, 2021
They will also be boosted by AUSMAT Team Bravo.
Team Bravo consist of 14 medical personnel from Australia and New Zealand and three liaison officers who arrived in the country last Wednesday.
They are replacing the Alpha Team who arrived in the country last month.
The Australian Government has pledged 1 million vaccines for Fiji.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says there is a need to have a discussion on the benefits of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots and assessments are underway on the actual impact of this.
Israel has said it will begin offering a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine to adults with weak immune systems but it was still weighing whether to make the booster available to the general public.
Reuters reports that the rapid spread of the Delta variant has sent vaccination rates in Israel back up as new infections have risen over the past month from single digits to around 450 a day, and the country has moved to fast-track its next Pfizer shipment.
The Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said that effective immediately, adults with impaired immune systems who had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine could get a booster shot, with a decision pending on wider distribution.
Pfizer and partner BioNTech SE, the main suppliers in a swift Israeli vaccination rollout that began in December, said they will ask U.S. and European regulators within weeks to authorize booster shots.
The two companies cited an increased risk of infection after six months in seeking permission for a third shot.
About half of the 46 patients presently hospitalised in Israel in severe condition are vaccinated, and the majority are from risk groups, according to the health authorities. About 5.7 million out of Israel’s 9.3 population has received at least one dose.
Speaking on the issue of booster shots being discussed, Doctor James Fong says they will need to discuss booster doses but the only thing that works is the same as what Singapore is doing.
He says these measures are vaccinate, test and isolate with stringent enforcement of hands, face and space.
Doctor Fong states the COVID-19 vaccine is for protection against severe disease and hospitalisation.
The Permanent Secretary also says Israel and Seychelles have a breakthrough in illnesses but there is minimal increase in hospitalisation.
Changes in testing strategy for COVID-19 in the Lami to Nausori area have been announced by Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong as those at high risk of severe COVID-19 in this area will now be prioritised for testing and rapid turnaround of their results.
Doctor Fong says if you or someone you are caring for is at high risk of severe COVID - in particular individuals over 50 years, have a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, asthma, are obese, or are pregnant - they need you to get in touch right away and visit one of their screening clinics.
If you test positive, then the Ministry of Health will ensure you are provided immediate care by the health teams.
He says over the past few weeks, the overwhelming majority of COVID-19 deaths have been in our most vulnerable community members.
Doctor Fong says when the health teams first saw these patients, most of them were either in a critical condition or had already passed away.
He says if the health teams were able to see these patients earlier, they may have been able to save them.
Doctor Fong says they know many families are valiantly trying to care for their loved ones at home, but for those who are most at risk of severe COVID-19, home care won’t be enough.
These individuals need their oxygen levels closely monitored, likely need access to supplemental oxygen, as well as clinical teams to rapidly respond if their condition deteriorates.
For people in the Lami to Nausori area who are at lower risk of severe COVID, if you have been in close contact with someone with COVID - for example, you live or work with someone who has COVID-19 - you should assume you also have the virus.
Doctor Fong says this means you should immediately quarantine at home for the next 14 days.
If you develop any COVID-19 symptoms during this 14-day period, such as a cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, loss of taste or smell, body ache, headache - you should most certainly assume you have COVID-19 and self-isolate.
He says most people infected with COVID-19 will have only mild symptoms and fully recover at home.
The Permanent Secretary says for lower risk individuals with COVID, they ask you to please stay at home for 14 days, isolate yourself from other family members and continue to monitor your symptoms for severe COVID-19.
If you develop any signs of severe COVID-19, like difficulty breathing or chest pain, please go to one of the dedicated health facilities.
He says he knows some people have experienced delays in being swabbed and receiving their test results.
Doctor Fong says at the national level their testing is averaging 4.3 tests per 1000 population per day, and in Suva-Nausori 6 per 1000 population per day.
He says at a population level, they are testing at similar rates to developed countries like Australia, and the state of New South Wales, which also has an outbreak, and they are doing so through just six laboratories.
He says they are working on increasing the testing capacity, including establishing a new Fiji CDC lab for Nadi in August.
And they are developing a new web-based system for delivering test results to patients.
But Doctor Fong says as cases have increased in the last two weeks, so has the demand for testing, and for non-urgent samples, this affects the turnaround time.
That has necessitated the important changes for the Ministry, and it requires new action from you as the Ministry of Health needs to target their testing to where the result makes a difference to the outcomes of patients.
That means they need to target testing for those most at risk of developing severe COVID-19.
As COVID-19 infections continue to be widespread across the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone and Fiji having the highest number of new cases per million population per day, Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they are trying their best to provide COVID care to those who have severe symptoms at the allocated health facilities.
As earlier highlighted by fijivillage, our health officials and facilities have been stretched over the past few weeks with cases continuing to rise, and severe cases, hospitalisations and deaths continuing to increase.
A video is now being widely circulated from the COVID Care Tent outside CWM Hospital in Suva showing the conditions that some COVID-19 patients are staying and dying in.
The video done by a woman who is a COVID patient is circulating on social media and starts with a dead body wrapped up on one of the beds. She says her bed is a few metres away from the body.
The COVID-19 positive person is then seen walking outside the tent where a number of people can be seen. She says they are visitors.
The woman also says she is COVID positive and is just walking around like a tourist.
She also shows the unisex portable toilet.
TVNZ is reporting that the video shows clear signs the country’s health system is struggling with the crisis.
Doctor Fong has stressed to fijivillage today that no visitors are allowed into the COVID Care area as they have a sorting area.
He also says COVID positive patients are not supposed to be walking around outside the Care Facility and he is concerned that some of these people are knowingly doing that.
Doctor Fong says during these trying times, they are providing the best possible COVID care they can, which is saving lives.
He says these facilities have oxygen.
The Permanent Secretary says through the airvos and ventilators close to the patients, they are saving lives.
Doctor Fong stresses that everyone needs to continue to follow the COVID protocols everywhere and also ensure that they are fully vaccinated to avoid severe disease, hospitalisation and death.
The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day for Fiji is a worrying 1046 cases per day or 1182 cases per million population per day. This has been rated as the highest in the world.
Doctor Fong says with the high numbers of new daily cases we are also seeing increasing cases of severe disease and deaths.
232,972 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 275,833 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 26%.
Doctor Fong says COVID-19 infections are widespread across the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone.
He says this means that if you develop any of the symptoms of COVID-19 you should assume you have COVID-19 and isolate yourself at home.
Do not wait for a positive test result to self isolate.
Isolating yourself will help to stop the spread of COVID-19 to others.
The symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, fatigue/extreme tiredness, loss of taste or smell, headache, aches and pains, sore throat, fever, diarrhoea, red eyes and skin rash.
Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease.
Severe symptoms of COVID-19 include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
If you or a loved one live in the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone and have any of these severe symptoms please go immediately to CWM Hospital, FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena, individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to Nausori Health Centre or Wainibokasi Hospital.
Call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says there is no question that medical officials and facilities are stretched and they have created extra capacity to be able to save as many lives as possible.
As COVID-19 infections continue to be widespread across the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone and Fiji having the highest number of new cases per million population per day, Doctor Fong says they are trying their best to provide COVID care to those who have severe symptoms at the allocated health facilities.
As earlier highlighted by Legend FM News, our health officials and facilities have been stretched over the past few weeks with cases continuing to rise, and severe cases, hospitalisations and deaths continuing to increase.
Doctor Fong says the tents are created for the purpose of ensuring access to treatment modalities.
He says the conditions described are similar to that which is seen during all our past emergency situations when they have set up evacuation centres.
Doctor Fong told Legend FM News that Fiji is currently recording among the highest rates in the world with our 7 day average of 1182 new COVID-19 cases per million population per day.
He says this rate is on the background of more then 90 percent of cases being from the Central Division and close to 50 percent of Fiji’s population being in the Central Division. Doctor Fong says a key part of their current focus is to delay the spread of infection in the Western Division as far as possible to buy time for vaccinations coverage to increase and to avoid the peak in the West from coinciding with the current one in the Central Division.
He says the other part is to prevent or minimize the spread of disease to the North and Maritime Islands by controlled repatriation and taking stringent measures to ensure that freight supply ships can deliver freight without the crew coming into contact with anyone on the COVID-19 contained areas.
Meanwhile a video is now being widely circulated from the COVID Care Tent outside CWM Hospital in Suva showing the conditions that some COVID-19 patients are staying and dying in.
The video done by a woman who is a COVID patient is circulating on social media and starts with a dead body wrapped up on one of the beds. She says her bed is a few metres away from the body.
The COVID-19 positive person is then seen walking outside the tent where a number of people can be seen. She says they are visitors.
The woman also says she is COVID positive and is just walking around like a tourist.
She also shows the unisex portable toilet.
Doctor Fong has stressed to fijivillage today that no visitors are allowed into the COVID Care area as they have a sorting area.
He also says COVID positive patients are not supposed to be walking around outside the Care Facility and he is concerned that some of these people are knowingly doing that.
Doctor Fong says during these trying times, they are providing the best possible COVID care they can, which is saving lives.
He says these facilities have oxygen.
The Permanent Secretary says through the airvos and ventilators close to the patients, they are saving lives.
Doctor Fong stresses that everyone needs to continue to follow the COVID protocols everywhere and also ensure that they are fully vaccinated to avoid severe disease, hospitalisation and death.
The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day for Fiji is a worrying 1046 cases per day or 1182 cases per million population per day. This has been rated as the highest in the world.
Doctor Fong says with the high numbers of new daily cases we are also seeing increasing cases of severe disease and deaths.
With all this happening, Doctor Fong had already highlighted on April 26th on how things would happen.
232,972 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 275,833 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 26%.
Doctor Fong says COVID-19 infections are widespread across the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone.
He says this means that if you develop any of the symptoms of COVID-19 you should assume you have COVID-19 and isolate yourself at home.
Do not wait for a positive test result to self-isolate.
Isolating yourself will help to stop the spread of COVID-19 to others.
The symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, fatigue/extreme tiredness, loss of taste or smell, headache, aches and pains, sore throat, fever, diarrhoea, red eyes and skin rash.
Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease.
Severe symptoms of COVID-19 include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
If you or a loved one live in the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone and have any of these severe symptoms please go immediately to CWM Hospital, FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena, individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to Nausori Health Centre or Wainibokasi Hospital.
Call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms two pregnant mothers are part if the 21 deaths from COVID-19 for the period of 14th to 20th July.
Doctor Fong says both women had been unwell with COVID symptoms at home before presenting to the health facilities in severe respiratory distress.
He says in both cases, the physicians made the decision to conduct emergency caesarean operations to rescue the newborns and assist with the care of the mothers.
Sadly, despite the best efforts of the attending physicians, both mothers passed away.
However, Doctor Fong says the fast actions of the obstetric team saved both babies.
He says maternal deaths at any time are a tragedy, and maternal deaths due to COVID-19 are a clear indication of the severity of this outbreak.
Doctor Fong says given the rapidly evolving situation, the MOH teams have been working around the clock to reprioritise and focus their efforts to ensure they are protecting those most at risk of severe COVID-19 and dying - our elderly, people with existing medical conditions and pregnant women.
He says these shifts include changes to the testing services, home quarantine guidance, ensuring they are providing life-saving medical care to those people who are most at risk and establishing vaccination for pregnant women.
But he says they need your cooperation because saving lives from COVID-19 depends on your adherence to the rules and your understanding as much as ever.
Doctor Fong also says we have seen week-over-week increases in our 7-day rolling average of cases, with another 1,091 new cases confirmed in the past 24-hour period.
He says while the current outbreak is contained to Viti Levu, and primarily in the Lami-Nausori corridor, over the last week they have also seen increasing cases in the Western Division.
Changes in testing strategy for COVID-19 in the Lami to Nausori area have been announced by Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong as those at high risk of severe COVID-19 in this area will now be prioritised for testing and rapid turnaround of their results.
Doctor Fong says if you or someone you are caring for is at high risk of severe COVID - in particular individuals over 50 years, have a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, asthma, are obese, or are pregnant - they need you to get in touch right away and visit one of their screening clinics.
If you test positive, then the Ministry of Health will ensure you are provided immediate care by the health teams.
He says over the past few weeks, the overwhelming majority of COVID-19 deaths have been in our most vulnerable community members.
Doctor Fong says when the health teams first saw these patients, most of them were either in a critical condition or had already passed away.
He says if the health teams were able to see these patients earlier, they may have been able to save them.
Doctor Fong says they know many families are valiantly trying to care for their loved ones at home, but for those who are most at risk of severe COVID-19, home care won’t be enough.
These individuals need their oxygen levels closely monitored, likely need access to supplemental oxygen, as well as clinical teams to rapidly respond if their condition deteriorates.
For people in the Lami to Nausori area who are at lower risk of severe COVID, if you have been in close contact with someone with COVID - for example, you live or work with someone who has COVID-19 - you should assume you also have the virus.
Doctor Fong says this means you should immediately quarantine at home for the next 14 days.
If you develop any COVID-19 symptoms during this 14-day period, such as a cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, loss of taste or smell, body ache, headache - you should most certainly assume you have COVID-19 and self-isolate.
He says most people infected with COVID-19 will have only mild symptoms and fully recover at home.
The Permanent Secretary says for lower risk individuals with COVID, they ask you to please stay at home for 14 days, isolate yourself from other family members and continue to monitor your symptoms for severe COVID-19.
If you develop any signs of severe COVID-19, like difficulty breathing or chest pain, please go to one of the dedicated health facilities.
He says he knows some people have experienced delays in being swabbed and receiving their test results.
Doctor Fong says at the national level their testing is averaging 4.3 tests per 1000 population per day, and in Suva-Nausori 6 per 1000 population per day.
He says at a population level, they are testing at similar rates to developed countries like Australia, and the state of New South Wales, which also has an outbreak, and they are doing so through just six laboratories.
He says they are working on increasing the testing capacity, including establishing a new Fiji CDC lab for Nadi in August.
And they are developing a new web-based system for delivering test results to patients.
But Doctor Fong says as cases have increased in the last two weeks, so has the demand for testing, and for non-urgent samples, this affects the turnaround time.
That has necessitated the important changes for the Ministry, and it requires new action from you as the Ministry of Health needs to target their testing to where the result makes a difference to the outcomes of patients.
That means they need to target testing for those most at risk of developing severe COVID-19.
410,495 people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 83,732 are fully vaccinated.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means 70 percent of the target population in Fiji have now received their first dose.
Doctor Fong says for those who are fully vaccinated, please remember that while you are offered very strong protection against severe disease and death, you can still get COVID-19 and pass it on to others so please adhere closely to the other COVID-safe measures.
For pregnant women and other high-risk individuals, the Ministry of Health is also providing them access to the Moderna vaccine.
Doctor Fong says a person only needs to wait 28 days between their first and second dose of Moderna vaccine so this means they can protect those who are at high risk, faster.
He says the data from today tells the same sobering story we have seen since early May.
Doctor Fong says we have an outbreak of severe disease and death among unvaccinated Fijians.
Of the 144 lives we have lost to COVID in this outbreak, none were fully vaccinated. 22 were partially vaccinated, having received only one dose, and the rest had no vaccination.
He says there is no stronger evidence pointing to why we must vaccinate all adults, in particular those who are at greatest risk as quickly as humanly possible.
The Permanent Secretary says it is the best available protection against the worst effects of the virus.
He is asking anyone who is yet to be vaccinated, please do so immediately.
To the younger ones, Doctor Fong says get vaccinated yourselves and please help by bringing your parents, grandparents, and older community members to the nearest vaccination centre or drive-through and give them the best possible protection against this virus.
He says to allow workplaces to reopen without crushing the capacity of their healthcare system, employees must be vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says social welfare recipients must be vaccinated as well.
He says even if the government has not mandated it for you, it is a mandate you should make for yourself.
Doctor Fong says it only takes one look at our rising numbers of fatalities to see there simply is no morally or medically acceptable alternative.
He says sadly, many social media companies, like Facebook, provide the platform for lies and misinformation about vaccines to spread far faster than facts.
Doctor Fong says it is up to us to get the truth about vaccines and the proven protection they provide into the public domain and in front of those who need to hear that message most of all.
He further says on the meantime, thet are continuing to target lockdowns in extremely high-risk areas.
Doctor Fong says they are continuing to enforce the wearing of masks and the maintenance of physical distance.
He is urging Fijians to stay home unless they have an essential reason to leave.
Follow the rules, and be vaccinated when you have the chance.
Fiji has a target of fully vaccinating at least 80 percent of all eligible adults by the end of October.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says as an independent civil servant, he finds it very disheartening that some people, including media organisations, have sought to undermine the obvious and essential step at one of the field hospital locations to treat COVID-positive patients.
Doctor Fong says many people’s lives have been saved in those temporary facilities and they will continue to rely on their use until more Fijians are vaccinated and, as a direct result, the risks of severe disease and death due to COVID in Fiji are much lower.
He says there is a video circulating online from within one of the field hospital locations.
Doctor Fong stresses that facility was erected for the purposes of bolstering their treatment capacity, and its conditions are exactly the same as field hospitals they have relied upon in past emergency situations, such as cyclones and other disasters.
He says we are now in the midst of a wave of COVID-19 infections and, like most countries around the world, they have had to rapidly expand the health facilities by using these tents to care for COVID-19 patients and to ensure that all those who need beds and access to ventilators can have it.
Doctor Fong says even in developed countries, similar measures have been taken.
He says we have 317 new recoveries, with over 4,550 recoveries from the virus in total.
Doctor Fong says recovery is possible and in fact, most patients will recover.
He says the sooner those most at-risk are identified and treated, the more likely they will be able to recover as well.
The Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission has commended the Government for securing Moderna vaccines for pregnant women saying that Fiji is indeed one of the privileged countries to have secured this vaccine.
Director Ashwin Raj also says we must not allow discrimination on prohibited grounds such as gender, ethnicity, religious or sexual orientation from discouraging women from making an informed decision to get vaccinated.
Raj says we must not allow men and their pride to override the right to life and the health of our mothers, sisters, and daughters.
He adds this is why awareness campaigns currently underway needs to be intensified and sustained for the duration of the vaccination process to allow members of the public to make an informed choice.
Raj further says we must continue to create a safe and an enabling space that empowers women to report without fear if they have been deprived of their right to access the vaccine by their families, religious or community leaders.
Raj says pregnant women, in the context of this pandemic, face vulnerability and marginalization on two grounds: the absence of a vaccine safe and suitable for their condition and the right to bodily autonomy and integrity and the ability to make an informed decision about their health and their bodies because of prevailing patriarchal prejudices.
The government says there are currently 87 crew members and passengers in isolation on four Goundar Shipping vessels.
It confirms that there are 18 cases on Lomaiviti Princess 1, 4 cases on Lomaiviti Princess 3, 51 cases on the Lomaiviti Princess 5 and 14 cases on Lomaiviti Princess 7.
The government's food ration distribution teams delivered eight household packs which include four large packs to crew members and passengers in isolation on Goundar Shipping vessels yesterday.
They also distributed 108 household packs to families who are in home isolation in areas in Lautoka. So far, the government has distributed 17,003 grocery and essential items packs including 8,180 new household packs to families in targeted lockdown and home isolation.
Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama hopes the number of COVID-19 related deaths in the country will motivate those hesitant to get vaccinated to come forward now and get their jabs.
While speaking at an event where the Fijian Government officially received the 150,080 Moderna vaccines from the US Government, Bainimarama says those not wanting to get vaccinated and those not following the COVID protocols, will get us into a lot of trouble.
Health Minister, Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete says there is no death in Fiji of a person who has been fully vaccinated.
He also says we need to get vaccinated to avoid the emergence of a new variant.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says we have an outbreak of severe disease and death in the country among unvaccinated Fijians.
Of the 144 lives we have lost to COVID in this outbreak, none were fully vaccinated. 22 were partially vaccinated, having received only one dose, and the rest had no vaccination.
He says there is no stronger evidence pointing to why we must vaccinate all adults, in particular those who are at the greatest risk as quickly as humanly possible.
The Permanent Secretary says it is the best available protection against the worst effects of the virus.
He is asking anyone who is yet to be vaccinated, please do so immediately.
To the younger ones, Doctor Fong says get vaccinated yourselves and please help by bringing your parents, grandparents, and older community members to the nearest vaccination centre or drive-through and give them the best possible protection against this virus.
The Health Ministry's Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu says 66 COVID-19 patients are currently on oxygen support and two patients are on ventilators.
Doctor Tudravu says they operate hospital isolation facilities where 279 people are in 6 facilities in the country.
He says 22 percent of these people are either in severe or critical condition.
Doctor Tudravu says the Ministry of Health’s Response has changed to the Mitigation Phase.
He says they remain in the containment phase in the Western, Northern and Eastern Divisions.
Doctor Tudravu says 464 people are currently cared for in 14 community isolation facilities in the Central Division, 583 people in 9 isolation facilities in the West and 4 in a single isolation facility in the North.
He says they continue to undertake screening and contact tracing activities but have stopped mobile screening in the Central Division as it goes into the Mitigation Phase.
Doctor Tudravu says the change in role of the FEMAT Field Hospital is almost complete where the field hospital will operate fully as a COVID hospital.
He says FEMAT currently has 49 admission beds and has recorded 175 admissions since May this year.
Doctor Tudravu says the ministry has also set up a home care support system where positive cases who are at home are regularly followed up through phone calls and interviews.
He says to date 402 calls have been made where 1057 have been attended to through this.
Doctor Tudravu says in the Central Division, they have centralized ambulance services which is based out of the ANZ Stadium.
He says this support patient retrieval system has been established where the services are accessed through the toll-free number 165.
Doctor Tudravu says accessing tests now is a challenging area and their team is currently working on an information system that will allow individuals who are tested to follow up and get results electronically through an internet-based system.
He says in the last 24 hours, majority of the screening was done in the Western Division where they screened a total of 3,659 individuals and swabbed 511 individuals.
Doctor Tudravu says to date 336,685 people have been screened and 30,000 have been swabbed.
He says they continue to operate the containment zones with movement restrictions in the Central Division such as Waila and Qauia Settlement as well as the Western Division such Delaisaweni Settlement, Karavi Settlement in Ba and Vakatora Housing in Lautoka.
Doctor Tudravu says many civil servants are currently engaged in raising awareness in the community where they undertake assessment, address community needs such as water, sanitation, food and psychosocial support.
He says the telehealth services continue in the Western and Central Divisions with the toll-free number 165 allowing access to specialist services for people living with diabetes, chronic disease and also for the supply of medicine and mental health care.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says Fiji has everything we need to contain this virus and get back to normal as we have enough vaccine doses for every Fijian but we need more Fijians to step up and get the jab.
He highlighted this while thanking the American Government and President Joe Biden for making over 150,000 doses of COVID-19 Moderna vaccine available for Fijians.
Bainimarama says President Biden has shown the leadership the world needs and expects from the United States.
He says we need this kind of cooperation from the world's developed countries as well as the advanced developing countries that have the capacity to produce vaccine.
Bainimarama also states the Moderna vaccine has been approved specifically in the US by the WHO for use by pregnant women, which should put some minds at ease.
The US Embassy Charge de Affairs, Tony Gruebel says they are proud to donate 150,080 doses of the vaccine to Fiji and this donation, along with their donation of 30 US made ventilators and other medical equipment last year, demonstrates United States and Fiji's close partnership.
He says they are sharing these vaccines to save lives and have no other motive than to save lives and to bring an end to this pandemic that has devastated Fiji's economy and its way of life.
Gruebel has also highlighted that there are plans to further support the COVID-19 response in Fiji through the American Rescue Plan Act and he will be announcing more details about this assistance in the coming weeks.
He adds we must vaccinate as many people as possible, as soon as possible with high quality vaccines.
Gruebel is encouraging all Fijians to protect themselves, their families and their communities by getting fully vaccinated.
Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama says we should not be criticising the frontliners for the work that they are doing but unfortunately, some people and politicians who are criticising the frontliners do not understand that this is not exclusive to Fiji and it is happening all over the world.
He say frontliners are doing a wonderful job and we should be singing their praises.
Minister for Health, Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete says the frontliners are sons and daughters of Fiji who go back to their families.
He says every frontliner in the hospital is a son and daughter of a Fijian.
The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day is a worrying 1068 cases per day or 1207 cases per million population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says with the high number of new daily cases we are also seeing increasing cases of severe disease and deaths.
A total of 239,996 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 282,857 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 29.7%.
Doctor Fong also says people in the Suva-Nausori area who are symptomatic will no longer be tested for COVID-19, and should stay at home and strictly self-isolate for 14 days.
He says most people infected with COVID-19 will have only mild symptoms like cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, loss of taste or smell, body ache, headache, and can fully recover at home.
For lower-risk individuals with COVID symptoms, the Ministry of Health asks you to please stay at home for 14 days, isolate yourself from other family members, and continue to monitor your symptoms for severe COVID-19.
If you develop any signs of severe COVID-19, like difficulty breathing or chest pain, please go immediately to one of the dedicated health facilities at CWM Hospital, FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena and individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to Nausori Health Centre or Wainibokasi Hospital.
Call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility.
If you or someone you are caring for is at high risk of severe COVID – in particular individuals over 50 years, have a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, asthma, are obese, or are pregnant – they need you to get in touch right away and visit one of the screening clinics.
If you test positive, then they will ensure you are provided immediate care by the health teams.
Doctor Fong says for symptomatic workers who need official leave from work, they are recommended to attend the nearest screening clinic to be checked and to obtain a medical certificate for the 14 days home isolation.
Symptomatic workers can also obtain a medical certificate for the 14 days self-isolation at home from participating General Practitioners.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 15 new COVID-19 deaths for the period of 19th to 21st July and 918 new cases of COVID for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Doctor Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 21st July. She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 49-year-old man of Nadera who died at home on 20th July. He was not vaccinated.
He says the third COVID-19 death is an 83-year-old man from Tovata who died at home on 20th July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fourth COVID-19 death is a 44-year-old man from Cunningham. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day in hospital on 22nd July. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 60-year-old man from Narere who died at home on 21st July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early July. He did not receive the 2nd dose of the vaccine. This means he was not fully vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old man from Nabua who died at home on 20th July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in mid-June. He did not receive the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says the seventh COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old man from Nadera who died at home on 19th July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in late June. He did not receive the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old man from Waimanu Road who died at home on 20th July. He was not vaccinated.
The ninth COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old man from Kalekana who died at home on 20th July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the tenth COVID-19 death is a 53-year-old man from Toorak who died at home on 20th July. He was not vaccinated.
The eleventh COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old woman from Vatuwaqa who died at home on 20th July. She was not vaccinated.
The twelfth COVID-19 death is a 56-year-old man from Makoi who died at home on 20th July. He was not vaccinated.
The thirteenth COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old woman from Narere. She presented to the FEMAT field hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day at the hospital on 21st July. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fourteenth COVID-19 death is a 102-year-old woman from Cunningham who died at home on the 20th of July. She was not vaccinated.
The fifteenth COVID-19 death is an 80-year-old man from Cautata Village who died at home on 21st July. He was not vaccinated.
There have been 7 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 161 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 159 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
They have also recorded 68 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There have been 179 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 16,403 active cases.
There have been 21,291 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has now recorded a total of 21, 361 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 4,729 recoveries.
There is 1 more death currently under investigation. This will be discussed once investigations (including test results) and classifications are complete.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day is a worrying 1068 cases per day or 1207 cases per million population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says with the high number of new daily cases we are also seeing increasing cases of severe disease and deaths.
A total of 239,996 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 282,857 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 29.7%.
Doctor Fong also says people in the Suva-Nausori area who are symptomatic will no longer be tested for COVID-19, and should stay at home and strictly self-isolate for 14 days.
He says most people infected with COVID-19 will have only mild symptoms like cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, loss of taste or smell, body ache, headache, and can fully recover at home.
For lower-risk individuals with COVID symptoms, the Ministry of Health asks you to please stay at home for 14 days, isolate yourself from other family members, and continue to monitor your symptoms for severe COVID-19.
If you develop any signs of severe COVID-19, like difficulty breathing or chest pain, please go immediately to one of the dedicated health facilities at CWM Hospital, FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena and individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to Nausori Health Centre or Wainibokasi Hospital.
Call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility.
If you or someone you are caring for is at high risk of severe COVID – in particular individuals over 50 years, have a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, asthma, are obese, or are pregnant – they need you to get in touch right away and visit one of the screening clinics.
If you test positive, then they will ensure you are provided immediate care by the health teams.
Doctor Fong says for symptomatic workers who need official leave from work, they are recommended to attend the nearest screening clinic to be checked and to obtain a medical certificate for the 14 days home isolation.
Symptomatic workers can also obtain a medical certificate for the 14 days self-isolation at home from participating General Practitioners.
With another 100,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arriving in the country yesterday, Australia has so far provided 560,000 doses to Fiji.
Australian High Commissioner to Fiji, John Feakes they will continue to work together to reach their target of providing 1 million doses to Fiji.
71.5% of the target population have now received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 14.7% of the population are now fully vaccinated.
Kristy Atkinson (Manager Freight 🇦🇺) on the ground in @SydneyAirport overseeing the loading of vaccines on our SYD-NAN flight. ✌️🏿🇫🇯
— Fiji Airways (@FijiAirways) July 22, 2021
Please follow @MOHFiji for all the latest updates on vaccination drives around #Fiji and @NadiAirport for the #drivethru option tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/nAvW9AwgB2
This means that 419,673 people have received the first dose in the country while 86,505 people have received both doses.
Fiji’s target population for vaccination is 586,651 adults.
The Health Ministry says due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the Serua/Namosi Subdivision, the Special Outpatients Department clinic at Navua Hospital has been closed until further notice.
It says SOPD patients who require replenishment of prescriptions can pick up their prescriptions from the entrance of the Navua Hospital.
An individual who is feeling unwell and requires medical attention can go to the Emergency Department or General Outpatients Department at the Navua Hospital.
If you need further information, you can call 9905382 or 9988133.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed 11 new COVID-19 deaths for the period of 19th to 21st July and 468 new COVID cases for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Doctor Fong says the first COVID-19 death is an 82-year-old woman from Samabula who died at home on 22nd July. She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 56-year-old woman from Vatuwaqa who died at home on 22nd July. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third COVID-19 death is a 64-year-old man from Nasinu who died at home on 21st July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in late May. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is an 85-year-old woman from Cunningham who died at home on 22nd July. She was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 51-year-old man from Tacirua who died at home on 22nd July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the sixth COVID-19 death is a 79-year-old woman from Lami who died at home on 22nd July. She was not vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old man from Davuilevu who died at home on 22nd July. He was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 66-year-old man from Nausori. He presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. A medical team retrieved him from a health facility and brought him to the CWM Hospital. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died 2 days later.
He received his 1st dose of the vaccine in early June. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says the ninth COVID-19 death is a 40-year-old man from Kalokolevu Village who died at home on 22nd July. He was not vaccinated.
The tenth COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old man from Caubati who died at home on 22nd July. He received his 1st dose of the vaccine in mid-April. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The eleventh COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old woman from Toorak who died at home. She received her 1st dose of the vaccine in early July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
There have been 7 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 172 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 170 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
We have recorded 75 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There have been 792 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 16,061 active cases.
There have been 21,759 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
21, 829 cases have been recorded in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 5,521 recoveries.
There is 1 more death that remains under investigation. This will be discussed once investigations (including test results) and classifications are complete.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
428,524 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID19 vaccine and 90,531 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 73% of the target population have received at least one dose and 15.4% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
A total of 243,743 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 286,604 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 28.8%.
The 7-day average of new cases per day is 934 cases per day or 1056 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says with the high number of new daily cases we are also seeing increasing cases of severe disease and deaths.
He says people with COVID-19 symptoms in Suva Nausori who are symptomatic will no longer be tested for COVID-19, and should stay at home and strictly self-isolate for 14 days.
Doctor Fong says most people infected with COVID-19 will have only mild symptoms like cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, loss of taste or smell, body ache, headache, and can fully recover at home.
He says for lower-risk individuals with COVID symptoms, they ask you to please stay at home for 14 days, isolate yourself from other family members, and continue to monitor your symptoms for severe COVID-19.
If you develop any signs of severe COVID-19, like difficulty breathing or chest pain, please go immediately to one of the dedicated health facilities: CWM Hospital, FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena and individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to Nausori Health Centre or Wainibokasi Hospital.
Call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility.
If you or someone you are caring for is at high risk of severe COVID – in particular individuals over 50 years, have a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, asthma, are obese, or are pregnant – they need you to get in touch right away and visit one of the screening clinics.
If you test positive, then they will ensure you are provided immediate care by the health teams.
For symptomatic workers who need official leave from work, they are recommended to attend the nearest screening clinic to be checked and to obtain a medical certificate for the 14 days home isolation.
Symptomatic workers can also obtain a medical certificate for the 14 days self-isolation at home from participating General Practitioners.
The Fiji Emergency Medical Assistance Team Field Hospital will be ready to treat COVID patients by the end of this weekend.
Head of FEMAT Doctor Luke Nasedra says the facility will share the load with other facilities in the Central and Eastern Divisions where Fijians can be catered for during their recovery.
He says rows of hospital beds will be used to cater for moderate to severe cases.
Doctor Nasedra adds the National Gymnasium has a capacity of 49 beds with the space for expansion while the FEMAT Hospital will cater for 80 to 90 beds.
Source: Fijian Government
He says the facility which has been operational since the 5th of June has received a good share of COVID cases.
Nasedra adds 60% of COVID-19 cases that they have received into this facility have gone home and another 20% have been referred to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they have discharged a lot of people from the FEMAT Field Hospital even at CWM Hospital.
He says the key to the discharge of patients with severe disease is for them to engage with them early on.
The Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts has confirmed that out of their 13,823 staff, 10,617 have received the first dose of the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine.
A circular released by the Permanent Secretary, Doctor Anjeela Jokhan contained all necessary information on the vaccination program and staff who had not received any dose of the vaccine were sent on leave from 12th July 2021.
Jokhan says since then a number of staff including teachers have received their vaccination.
However she says close to 720 teachers did not meet the pay cycle cut-off date and have missed out on receiving their salaries.
Jokhan says they are currently facilitating manual payments so that these teachers who have been vaccinated receive their pay at the earliest.
The Ministry is advising all its employees who have received their vaccination after 12th July to provide necessary information to the section heads and heads of schools immediately.
This will enable the salary team to facilitate payment of salaries.
The Ministry is also urging section heads and heads of schools to obtain vaccination information from their staff and teachers for facilitation of salaries.
57 people were issued with a Public Health Infringement Notice in the last 24 hours with the Western Division recording the highest number of cases with 22 notices.
Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu says 21 people were issued a notice for failure to wear face masks while one public service vehicle driver was issued an infringement notice for failure to comply with the 50 percent capacity rule.
Tudravu says 13 notices were issued in the Central Division while the Southern Division recorded 9 cases.
In the Eastern Division, 8 notices were issued for failure to wear a mask, two for social gathering and 1 for breaching curfew.
The 7-day average of new cases per day is 863 cases per day or 975 cases per million population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the recent drop in new cases yesterday and today should be viewed with caution as daily case numbers have increased and decreased in the past and will continue to vary.
Doctor Fong says this is influenced by a number of factors including where samples that were tested on a particular day came from - for example the Western Division samples are currently being prioritised as they are still in the containment phase, and quick turnaround of results will help with identifying cases and contacts early and contain transmission.
He says it is more helpful to monitor the 7 day average of cases over a period of time to assess our trend of cases.
A total of 247,846 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 290,707 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day daily test average is 3841 tests per day or 4.3 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 24.4%.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed 5 new COVID-19 deaths from 19th to 23rd July while there are 684 new cases of COVID for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Doctor Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 73-year-old woman from Namoli Village, Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the hospital and she died on the same day on 19th July. She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 96-year-old woman from Nadera who died at home on 22nd July. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third COVID-19 death is a 67-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 22nd July. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 57-year-old woman from Nasinu. She presented to a health facility in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the health facility and she died on the same day on 23rd July. She was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 57-year-old man from Nasinu who died at home on 23rd July. He was not vaccinated.
There have been 12 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 177 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 175 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has also recorded 87 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths. There have been 165 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 16,563 active cases.
There have been 22,443 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
The country has recorded a total of 22,513 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 5,686 recoveries.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
The 7-day average of new cases per day is 863 cases per day or 975 cases per million population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the recent drop in new cases yesterday and today should be viewed with caution as daily case numbers have increased and decreased in the past and will continue to vary.
Doctor Fong says this is influenced by a number of factors including where samples that were tested on a particular day came from - for example the Western Division samples are currently being prioritised as they are still in the containment phase, and quick turnaround of results will help with identifying cases and contacts early and contain transmission.
He says it is more helpful to monitor the 7 day average of cases over a period of time to assess our trend of cases.
A total of 247,846 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 290,707 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day daily test average is 3841 tests per day or 4.3 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 24.4%.
626 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported for the 24 hour period which ended at 8am yesterday while 9 deaths have been recorded from 21st to 25th July.
79 cases are from the Western Division while the rest are from the Central Division.
The Head of Health Protection, Dr Aalisha Sahukhan confirms one of the deaths is a 44-year-old pregnant health care worker from Suva. She arrived at a medical facility with shortness of breath and chest pain. Her baby was delivered by the emergency cesarean team at the CWM Hospital. She was not vaccinated.
The second death is a 72-year-old man from Muanikoso who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The third death is a 50-year-old man from Suva who died at home and was not fully vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 61-year-old woman from Tacirua who died at the CWM Hospital. She was not vaccinated.
The fifth death is a 62-year-old man from Suva who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The sixth death is a 60-year-old woman from Vatuwaqa and was not vaccinated.
The seventh death is a 75-year-old man from Nausori who died at a medical facility and was not vaccinated.
The eighth death is a 74-year-old man from Nasova who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The ninth COVID-19 death is a 53-year-old man from Nausori who died at home and was not vaccinated.
Dr. Sahukhan says there have been seven more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients however their deaths have been classified as non-COVID-19 deaths as their doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions.
There have now been 186 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji with 184 deaths during the outbreak which started this year.
There have been 242 recoveries reported since the last update which means there are now 16,931 active cases.
Dr. Sahukhan says the seven-day average of new cases per day is 804 cases per day.
75.1 % of the target population has now received one dose of AstraZeneca vaccine and 16.4% of adults are now fully vaccinated.
Dr. Sahukhan adds nationally, their testing is averaging over 4 tests per 1,000 population per day and in Suva and Nausori, it is at 6 per 1,000 per day.
She says at a population level, they are still testing at much higher rates than a lot of developing countries and similar rates to high-income countries.
She says there is widespread and uncontrolled community transmission in the Suva-Nausori area and this means there are many more cases in this area which they are not picking in their testing.
Dr. Sahukhan says they are no longer in the containment phase in Suva and Nausori areas.
1,285 new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today while 9 new COVID-19 deaths have been reported for the period from 23rd to 26th July.
1,083 cases are from the Central Division and 202 cases are from the Western Division.
The first COVID-19 death is a 82-year-old woman from Tamavua who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The second death is a 57-year-old man from Nadawa who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The third death is a 34-year-old man from Nadera. He arrived at the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress and died two days after admission. He was not fully vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 52-year-old man from Raiwasa. He died in the CWM Hospital 15 days after admission and was not vaccinated.
The fifth death is a 45-year-old woman from Samabula. She arrived at the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress and died 7 days after admission. She was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 73-year-old woman from Naitasiri. She arrived at a health facility in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day. She was not vaccinated.
The seventh death is a 72-year-old man from Naitasiri who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The eighth death is a 89-year-old woman from Narere. She died at the CWM Hospital and was not vaccinated.
The ninth death is a 74-year-old man from Tacirua who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says there have been 7 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients however, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 195 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 193 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 8.
Dr. Fong says there have been 263 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 17,937 active cases.
The 7-day average of new cases per day is 875 cases per day or 989 cases per million population per day. The daily case number increased today after a drop below the average in recent days, with most cases still being reported from the Central Division.
Dr. Fong says increasing numbers of daily cases are also being reported from the West.
He says day to day changes in case numbers are expected, and a few days of decreased case numbers should not be misinterpreted as an overall decline in cases in the community. He adds with testing remaining high, test positivity remaining high, and increasing cases being reported in the West, they expect average daily case numbers to remain at a high level and possibly increase. Meanwhile, 441,171 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 97,268 have received their second doses.
This means that 75.2% of the target population have received at least one dose and 16.6% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 11 new COVID-19 deaths from 22nd to 27th July and 715 COVID cases for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
97 cases are from the Western Division and 618 cases are from the Central Division.
One of the COVID-19 deaths is a 46-year-old healthcare worker from the CWM Hospital. She presented to the CWM Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress. She reported having a fever and cough for five days. Her condition worsened in hospital and she died 2 days after admission on 26th July. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the second COVID-19 death is a 65-year-old man from Makoi who died at home on 26th July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in mid-July.
The third death is a 74-year-old woman from Lami who died at home on 26th July. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 71-year-old woman from Davuilevu Housing who died at home on 26th July. She was not vaccinated.
The fifth death is a 66-year-old woman from Caubati who died at home on 26th July. She was not vaccinated.
The sixth death is a 79-year-old woman from Lami who died at home on 22nd July. She was not vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old man from Samabula. He presented to the CWM Hospital emergency department in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died on the same day on 25th July. He was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 62-year-old woman from Suva. She presented to the CWM Hospital emergency department in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died 2 days after admission on 26th July. She was not vaccinated.
The ninth death is a 67-year-old man from Korovisilou. He presented to the CWM Hospital emergency department in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died 4 days after admission on 26th July. He was not vaccinated.
The tenth death is a 63-year-old woman from Nausori. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. A medical team retrieved her from the health facility and brought her to the FEMAT field hospital. Her condition worsened at the FEMAT field hospital and she died 6 days after admission today. She was not vaccinated.
The eleventh COVID-19 death is a 69-year-old man from Nadera. He presented to the FEMAT field hospital in severe respiratory distress. A medical team retrieved him from the FEMAT field hospital and brought him to the CWM hospital. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died two days after admission on 26th July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in mid-June. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
There has been 1 more death of COVID-19 positive patient.
However, her death has been classified as non-COVID death by her doctors.
Doctors have determined that her death was caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says there have now been 206 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 204 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.
Fiji has also recorded 102 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There have been 128 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 18,512 active cases.
16,518 active cases are in the Central Division and 1,994 in the West.
Doctor Fong says all cases that were recorded in the Northern and Eastern Divisions (cases that were imported from Viti Levu) have recovered and there are no active cases currently in those divisions.
There have been 25,069 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 25,139 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 6,319 recoveries.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
449,934 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 103,742 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 76.7% of the target population have received at least one dose and 17.7% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Meanwhile Doctor Fong says the 7-day average of new cases per day is 827 cases per day or 934 cases per million population per day.
He says the daily case numbers remain high, and daily test positivity remains high, indicating ongoing widespread community transmission in the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
Doctor Fong says the cases are also increasing in the Western Division.
The Northern and Eastern Divisions currently have no active cases.
The national 7-day daily test average is 3401 tests per day or 3.8 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 26.3%.
For people with COVID-19 symptoms in Suva-Nausori, Doctor Fong says community transmission within the Suva-Nausori containment zone is at a very high level.
This means that anyone who develops symptoms of COVID-19 in Suva-Nausori should assume that they have COVID-19.
He says most people infected with COVID-19 will have mild symptoms like cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, loss of taste or smell, body ache, or headache, and will fully recover at home with no medical intervention necessary.
People who have any of these symptoms and are not within a group that is at higher risk for developing severe COVID-19 will no longer be tested for COVID-19 and should stay at home, strictly self-isolate for 14 days, and continue to monitor your symptoms for severe COVID-19.
If you develop any signs of severe COVID-19, like difficulty breathing or chest pain, please go immediately to CWM Hospital, FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena, and individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to Nausori Health Centre or Wainibokasi Hospital.
Call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility.
However, if you or someone you are caring for has mild symptoms but is at high risk of severe COVID, in particular individuals over 50 years, have a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, asthma, are obese, or are pregnant – the MOH needs you to visit one of the screening clinics and get tested.
If you test positive, then they will ensure you are provided immediate care by the health teams.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 12 new COVID-19 deaths from 24th to 27th July and 1057 COVID cases for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today.
The first COVID-19 death is a 44-year-old woman from Drasa. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital emergency department on 24th July. She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 73-year-old woman from Lovu. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital emergency department on 26th July. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third death is a 52-year-old woman from Lami who died at home on 27th July. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 61-year-old man from Raiwai who died at home on 27th July. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 69 year old man from Naitasiri who died at home on 26th July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the sixth death is a 75 year old man from Togalevu. He presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. A medical team retrieved him from the medical facility to the CWM Hospital. His condition worsened at the hospital and he died 4 days after admission on 27th July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early July.
The seventh death is an 83-year-old man from Nadawa. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened at the hospital and he died 6 days after admission on 25th July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early June. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
The eighth death is a 74-year-old woman from Narere. She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the hospital and she died 8 days after admission on 26th July. She was not vaccinated.
The ninth death is an 87-year-old man from Tacirua Village. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened at the hospital and he died 8 days after admission today. He was not vaccinated.
The tenth death is a 61-year-old woman from Samabula. She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the hospital and she died 8 days after admission on 27th July. She was not vaccinated.
The eleventh death is a 51-year-old man from Samabula. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened at the hospital and he died 7 days after admission on 27th July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The twelfth COVID-19 death is a 70-year-old woman from Tamavua. A medical team retrieved her from the home and brought her to CWM Hospital. She was noted to be in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the CWM hospital and she died 3 days after admission on 27th July. Her family reported that she had a cough and shortness of breath 2 days prior. She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in late May.
There have been 2 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 218 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 216 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 8.
Doctor Fong says they have recorded 104 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 1057 new cases, 144 cases are from the Western Division and 913 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
There have been 387 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 19,168 active cases.
16,272 active cases are in the Central Division and 2,896 in the West.
All cases that were recorded in the Northern and Eastern Divisions (cases that were imported from Viti Levu) have recovered and there are no active cases currently in those divisions.
There have been 26,126 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 26,196 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 6,706 recoveries.
457,752 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 111,541 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 78% of the target population have received at least one dose and 19% are now fully vaccinated nationwide
A total of 259,971 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 302,832 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day daily test average is 3341 tests per day or 3.8 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 25.4 percent.
The 7-day average of new cases per day is 822 cases per day or 929 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says daily cases numbers remain high, and daily test positivity remains high, indicating ongoing widespread community transmission in the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
He says cases are also increasing in the Western Division.
The Northern and Eastern Divisions currently have no active cases.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms that there are 9 new COVID-19 deaths from 26th to 27th July and 1301 new COVID cases for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today.
The first COVID-19 death is an 83 year old man from Lautoka. He presented to the Lautoka Hospital in respiratory distress. He reported having a cough and shortness of breath for five days. His condition worsened at the hospital and he died 3 days after admission on 27th July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the second death is a 72 year old woman from Samabula who died at home on 26th July. She was not vaccinated.
The third death is a 69 year old man from Valelevu. He presented to the CWM Hospital emergency department in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened at the hospital and he died on the same day on 25th July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong confirms the fourth death is a 64 year old man from Suva who died at home on 27th July. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth death is a 84 year old man from Nabua who died at home on 27th July. He was not vaccinated.
The sixth death is a 59 year old man from Nakasi who died at home on 27th July. He was not vaccinated.
The seventh death is a 91 year old woman from Suva who died at home on 27th July. She was not vaccinated.
He says the eighth COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old woman from Wailoku who died at home on 27th July.She was not vaccinated.
The ninth death is a 75-year-old man from Raiwaqa who died at home on 26th July. He was not vaccinated.
There have been 15 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 227 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 225 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 8.
Fiji has also recorded 119 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 1301 cases, 293 cases are from the Western Division and 1008 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
There have been 245 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 20,200 active cases.
17,774 active cases are in the Central Division and 2,426 in the West.
All cases that were recorded in the Northern and Eastern Divisions (cases that were imported from Viti Levu) have recovered and there are no active cases currently in those divisions.
There have been 27,427 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded 27,497 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 6,951 recoveries.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says COVID-19 community transmission within the Suva-Nausori containment zone is at a very high level.
Doctor Fong also says the 7-day average of new cases per day is 877 cases per day or 991 cases per million population per day.
He says daily case numbers remain high, and daily test positivity remains high, indicating ongoing widespread community transmission in the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
Cases are also increasing in the Western Division. The Northern and Eastern Divisions currently have no active cases.
Anyone who develops symptoms of COVID-19 in Suva-Nausori should assume that they have COVID-19.
If you develop any signs of severe COVID-19, like difficulty breathing or chest pain, please go immediately to CWM Hospital, FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena while ndividuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to Nausori Health Centre or Wainibokasi Hospital.
Call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility.
A 11 months old boy is part of the 6 new COVID-19 deaths announced by Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong while there are 1163 new COVID cases.
The 11-month-old infant was from Delaivalalevu.
He was brought to CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress and died on the same day on 19th July.
He had fever and fast breathing for 3 days before he was taken to the hospital.
Doctor Fong says severe disease and death due to COVID among infants are rare, however, the doctors overseeing this baby’s care confirm that he did die because of COVID-19.
He says we know that once a very high level of infections is reached in the community, these rare events do occur.
The Permanent Secretary says this is an absolute tragedy when the most vulnerable in our community, our babies, become victims of this awful disease.
He says this is why the Ministry of Health is following the science and advice of WHO very closely with regards to the vaccination of those below the age of 18, and they are making arrangements to import more vaccines once they know that they are proven to offer safe and effective protection for children against the virus.
Doctor Fong says while we await these vaccines for the younger age group they also remind you that every time you vaccinate, you also help to protect those not eligible for vaccination - including our children.
He also says among the deaths announced this week was a second nurse who was a front-liner. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says in line with government policy, she was on leave at the time she became infected.
He says as previously announced, they have set their personal protective equipment distribution program to ensure that the large stocks they have are always readily available to all health care workers at the frontline, especially those who work in Critical Care Units and Emergency Departments.
Doctor Fong says by ensuring that our Health Care workers are fully vaccinated, well trained in PPE use and are diligent in helping each other to maintain PPE discipline in the workplace, we will be able to maintain health worker numbers in all our health facilities.
To date nobody has died in Fiji from COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has clearly stated that the Rapid Diagnostic tests for COVID-19 used by some should not be conducted for persons with no symptoms (unless they are conducted on the person at regular intervals, for example, daily) and are not to be used to clear a person from isolation.
Doctor Fong says these tests are used to diagnose COVID-19 in a specific environment, and have the advantage of being able to produce a result very quickly (usually within 30 minutes or less), and can be done outside of traditional laboratory setups.
However he says they work best when the limitations of the test are clearly understood by the user.
Doctor Fong says the Ministry of Health has been telling everyone that lives in Suva-Nausori that if you have symptoms of COVID-19 you should assume you have COVID-19 and self isolate for 14 days, keep watch for severe COVID-19 symptoms and immediately seek emergency medical care if they are present.
However, if you are over the age of 50 or have an illness that increases your risk of developing severe COVID-19, you must go to the screening clinics to get tested and put on the appropriate care pathway where you will be monitored by the health teams.
If you test positive on a Rapid diagnostic Test, you can assume that you have COVID-19 and self isolate for 14 days.
However, if you have symptoms and test negative on a rapid diagnostic test you should still assume you have COVID-19 and self isolate for 14 days.
He says they know that these rapid tests have a higher risk of producing a false negative result than the gold standard molecular testing, which is used by the Ministry to confirm all negative rapid tests conducted at the screening clinics.
80 percent of all eligible adults in Fiji have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
473,716 have received the first dose.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this is the halfway mark in our campaign to fully vaccinate 587,651 Fijians by the end of October.
22.5 percent or 131,979 people are now fully vaccinated in Fiji.
He says we have worked hard to get to this point just like in rugby, complacency in the second half spells a whole lot worse than taking silver.
Doctor Fong streses we have to finish strong just like our sevens heroes and win our victory over this virus by vaccinating as many adults in Fiji as we possibly can.
He says lives depend on our success.
Doctor Fong says of you’ve received one dose, come forward for dose number two.
And if you are yet to be vaccinated, please do so.
Doctor Fong also says they at the Ministry are proud of our Sevens heroes for their incredible repeat Gold medal victory in Tokyo.
He says for the length of the final game, the phones were quiet on the 165 emergency line for the first time in weeks.
Doctor Fong says he is sure most of us have seen the videos of their workers stealing a moment of respite to cheer on the boys and celebrate their win.
He knows none of us will ever forget what their win meant for the nation at this time because their success says something very powerful about the value of sacrifice.
The Permanent Secretary says what we didn’t see in the 14 minutes of action that secured us gold was the many months of sacrifices that the team members, coaches, and staff all made to keep themselves healthy and ready to compete at their full strength.
He says he is talking about their diligence to prevent themselves from contracting the virus.
He says many athletes in Tokyo have tested positive and sadly, they have been unable to compete but none of our Sevens players tested positive.
Doctor Fong says they were all fully vaccinated, and they didn’t unnecessarily socialise in ways that put themselves at risk.
He says 5oday, our sevens heroes arrived back from Japan with their gold medals in tow.
Doctor Fong says we are all excited, but he has been watching some of the more irresponsible celebratory gatherings with growing concern.
He says the Fiji Police spent the hours after the match breaking up more than a few victory parties that could easily result in the rampant spread of the virus.
Doctor Fong says this cannot continue.
He says though they are fully vaccinated, the MOH is still entering our 7s team members, coaches and staff into quarantine for a set period.
Doctor Fong says he wishes theg could afford them the proper welcome home celebration they deserve when they exit but they cannot afford to do so at this time.
He says we have to scale things down for the sake of upholding our very important health protection measures.
If you are over the age of 50 and have diseases like diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, asthma or are pregnant or obese and develop symptoms of COVID-19, then you should come to a screening clinic to get tested to receive appropriate care path.
The Head of Health Protection, Dr. Aalisha Sahukhan says because they have targeted their testing in Suva and Nausori to the high risk group, their response teams are now better able to monitor people who are more likely to develop severe disease.
6 people have died from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours ending at 8am today.
The first death is an 11 month old infant from Delaivalelevu who arrived at the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
The second death is a 80 year old woman from from Lami who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The third death is 61 year old man from Suva who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The fourth death is a 53 year old man from Lami who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The fifth death is a 78 year old woman from Sawani Village who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The sixth death is 60 year old man from Wainibuku who died at the CWM Hospital. He was not vaccinated.
There have been four more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients but their deaths have been classified as non COVID-19 deaths.
There have been now 233 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
There have been 244 new recoveries which means there are now 21,109 active cases in Fiji.
All these cases are in Viti Levu as patients in the Northern and the Eastern Divisions have fully recovered.
The 7 day day average of COVID-19 deaths has increased to 9 deaths per day.
There are currently 313 COVID-19 patients admitted in various hospitals. 53 are considered to be in severe condition and 11 patients are in critical condition.
Dr. Sahukhan says community transmission in Suva and Nausori is very high while there is now evidence of community transmission in the Western Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed there are 6 new COVID-19 deaths from July 29th to 30th while there are 1,121 COVID cases for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today.
The first COVID-19 death is a 79-year-old man from Caubati who died at home on 29th July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the second death is a 65-year-old woman from Nasinu. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the CWM Hospital Emergency Department on 29th July. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She was not vaccinated.
The third death is a 58-year-old man from Nausori. He presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. A medical team retrieved him from the medical facility and brought him to CWM Hospital. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died on the same day on 30th July. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth death is a 71-year-old woman from Nabua who died at home on 30th July. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fifth death is a 51-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 30th July. He was not vaccinated.
The sixth death is an 89-year-old man from Tailevu. He presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. A medical team retrieved him from the medical facility and brought him to the CWM Hospital. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died 10 days after admission on 30th July. He was not vaccinated.
There have been 7 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 238 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 236 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 8.
Fiji has recorded 130 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 1121 new cases, 241 cases are from the Western Division and 880 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
There have been 510 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 21,707 active cases.
18,572 active cases are in the Central Division and 3,135 in the West.
All cases that were recorded in the Northern and Eastern Divisions (cases that were imported from Viti Levu) have recovered and there are no active cases currently in those divisions.
There have been 29,711 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 29,781 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 7,705 recoveries.
482,175 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 140,184 people have received their second dose.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 82.2 percentage of the target population have received at least one dose and 23.9 percent are now fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile the 7-day average of new cases per day is a worrying 1038 cases per day or 1173 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says the daily case numbers remain high, and daily test positivity remains high, indicating ongoing widespread community transmission in the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
The cases are also increasing in the West with evidence of community transmission in that division.
The Northern and Eastern Divisions currently have no active cases.
There are currently 294 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital - 56 patients are in severe condition and 11 in critical condition.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 28 patients are admitted at Lautoka hospital.
In Suva, 81 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 185 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
A total of 270,052 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 312,913 tested since testing began in March 2020.
Based on available data the national 7-day daily test average is 3172 tests per day or 3.6 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 30.9%.
Doctor Fong says community transmission within the Suva-Nausori containment zone is at a very high level.
This means that anyone who develops symptoms of COVID-19 in Suva-Nausori should assume that they have COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says most people infected with COVID-19 will have mild symptoms like cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, loss of taste or smell, body ache, or headache, and will fully recover at home with no medical intervention necessary.
People who have any of these symptoms and are not within a group that is at higher risk for developing severe COVID-19 will no longer be tested for COVID-19, and should stay at home, strictly self-isolate for 14 days, and continue to monitor your symptoms for severe COVID-19.
If you develop any signs of severe COVID-19, like difficulty breathing or chest pain, please go immediately to CWM Hospital, FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena, and individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to Nausori Health Centre or Wainibokasi Hospital
Call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility.
However, if you or someone you are caring for has mild symptoms but is at high risk of severe COVID – in particular individuals over 50 years, have a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, asthma, are obese, or are pregnant – the MOH needs you to visit one of the screening clinics and get tested.
If you test positive, then they will ensure you are provided immediate care by the health teams.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed 2 new COVID-19 deaths for 31st July and 632 new cases.
The first COVID-19 death is a 35-year-old man from Newtown who died at home on 31st July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the second death is a 55-year-old man from Ba.
He presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress.
A medical team retrieved him from the medical facility and took him to the Lautoka Hospital. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died 4 days after admission.
His family reported that he had generalized body pain, a cough and shortness of breath four days prior to his presentation.
He received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says there was an error in yesterday’s daily statement where 238 total deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji were reported, when it should have been 239 deaths, with 237 during the outbreak that started in April this year.
This has been corrected.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 241 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 239 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID deaths per day is 8.
The MOH has also recorded 130 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 632 new cases reported, 62 cases are from the Western Division and 570 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
Meanwhile there have been 237 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 22,100 active cases.
18,906 active cases are in the Central Division and 3,194 in the West.
All cases that were recorded in the Northern and Eastern Divisions (cases that were imported from Viti Levu) have recovered and there are no active cases currently in those divisions.
There have been 30,343 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded 30,413 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 7,942 recoveries.
The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day for Fiji is a worrying 1039 cases per day or 1174 cases per million population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says daily case numbers remain high, and daily test positivity remains high, indicating ongoing widespread community transmission in the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone.
He says cases are also increasing in the West with evidence of community transmission in that division.
The Northern and Eastern Divisions currently have no active cases.
Meanwhile there are currently 307 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
28 patients are admitted at Lautoka hospital.
In Suva, 79 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 200 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
59 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 9 are in critical condition.
A total of 273,497 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 316,358 tested since testing began in March 2020.
Based on available data the national 7-day daily test average is 3235 tests per day or 3.7 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 32.3 percent.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed 13 new COVID-19 deaths from 29th July to 1st August and 1100 new COVID cases.
7 of the deaths were in the Central Division and 6 were in the West.
Doctor Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 79 year old man from Rewa who died at home on 1st August. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in mid-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The second death is a 48 year old man from Nepani. He presented to the CWM Hospital emergency department in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened at the hospital and he died on the same day on 31st July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early June. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The third COVID-19 death is a 67 year old man from Lami who died at home on 31st July. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth death is a 69 year old man from Suva who died at home on 30th July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fifth death is a 44 year old woman from Lami. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. A medical team retrieved her from the medical facility and brought her to the CWM Hospital. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died 2 days after admission on 30th July. She was not vaccinated.
The sixth death is a 55 year old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died 6 days after admission on 1st August. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the seventh death is a 39 year old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died 8 days after admission on 1st August. She was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 53-year-old woman from Nadi. She presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died 1 day after admission on 1st August. She was not vaccinated.
The ninth death is a 55-year-old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died 2 days after admission on 1st August. She was not vaccinated.
The tenth COVID-19 death is an 81-year-old woman from Sigatoka. She presented to the Sigatoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died 3 days after admission on 31st July. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the eleventh death is a 90-year-old man from Sigatoka who died at home on 29th July. He was not vaccinated.
The twelfth COVID-19 death is a 77-year-old woman from Tamavua. She presented to the FEMAT Field Hospital in severe respiratory distress. A medical team retrieved her from the field hospital and brought her to the CWM Hospital. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died 12 days after admission on 29th July. She was not vaccinated.
The thirteenth death is an 87-year-old woman from Nakasi. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. A medical team retrieved her from the medical facility and brought her to the CWM Hospital. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died 14 days after admission on 2nd August. She was not vaccinated.
There have been 6 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 254 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 252 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.
Fiji has also recorded 136 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 1100 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today, 386 cases are from the Western Division and 714 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
There have been 589 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 22,592 active cases.
18,887 active cases are in the Central Division and 3,705 in the West.
There have been 31,443 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 31,513 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 8,531 recoveries.
The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day is a worrying 1013 cases per day or 1145 cases per million population per day, and the Western Division is now seeing an increasing number of severe cases and deaths.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says daily case numbers remain high, and daily test positivity remains high, indicating ongoing widespread community transmission in the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
He says cases are also increasing in the West with evidence of community transmission in that division.
Doctor Fong says they are recording increasing number of people with severe disease, and deaths in the West.
The Northern and Eastern Divisions currently have no active cases.
There are currently 302 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
23 patients are admitted at Lautoka Hospital.
In Suva, 80 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 199 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
50 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 13 are in critical condition.
A total of 277,016 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 319,877 tested since testing began in March 2020.
Based on available data the national 7-day daily test average is 3296 tests per day or 3.7 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 31.8 percent.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 7 new COVID-19 deaths from 31st July to 2nd August and 1220 new COVID cases for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today.
6 of the deaths were in the Central Division and 1 death was from the Western Division.
Doctor Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 24 year old man from Tailevu. He presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. A medical team retrieved him from the facility and on the way to the CWM Hospital, his condition worsened. He sadly died before reaching the CWM Hospital on 1st August. His family reported that he was experiencing shortness of breath one week prior to his presentation. He was not vaccinated.
The second COVID death is a 78 year old man from Kalabu who died at home on 1st August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third death is an 85 year old woman from Nasinu who died at home on 2nd August. She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early August. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The fourth death is a 67 year old woman from Nabua who died at home on 1st August. She received her 1st dose of the vaccine in mid-July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says the fifth COVID-19 death is a 65 year old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Sub-Divisional Hospital. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He was not vaccinated.
The sixth death is a 48 year old woman from Nabena Village who died at home on 2nd August. Her family reported that she had a cough, fever, shortness of breath and chest pain for one week prior. She was not vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death is a 54 year old man from Cunningham who died at home on 31st July. He was not vaccinated.
There have been 3 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 261 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 259 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 8.
Fiji has recorded 139 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 1220 new cases, 464 cases are from the Western Division and 756 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
There have been 1113 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 22,689 active cases.
18,506 active cases are in the Central Division and 4,183 in the West.
There have been 32,663 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 32,733 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 9,644 recoveries.
The 7-day average of new COVID cases per day is 1085 cases per day or 1226 cases per million population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong maintains the daily case numbers remain high, and daily test positivity remains high, indicating ongoing widespread community transmission in the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
He says cases are also increasing in the West with evidence of community transmission in the division.
Doctor Fong says they are also recording increasing number of people with severe disease, and deaths in the West.
The Northern and Eastern Divisions currently have no active cases.
Meanwhile there are currently 295 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
23 patients are admitted at Lautoka Hospital.
In Suva, 80 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 191 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
50 patients are considered to be in severe condition and 12 are in critical condition.
A total of 280,381 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 323,242 tested since testing began in March 2020.
Based on available data the national 7-day daily test average is 3372 tests per day or 3.8 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 30 percent.
491,056 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID vaccine and 151,866 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 83.7 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 25.9 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Please ensure you get your second dose when it falls due.
The second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine should be taken 8 weeks after the first dose and the second dose of the Moderna vaccine should be taken 28 days after the first dose.
There are 11 new COVID-19 deaths from 31st July to 4th August while 1187 new cases have been confirmed.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 9 of the deaths were in the Central Division and 2 deaths were from the Western Division.
The first COVID-19 death is a 65-year-old man from Nasinu who died at home on 3rd August. He was not vaccinated.
The second death is a 75-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 2nd August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old woman from Kinoya who died at home on 31st July. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth death is a 78-year-old woman from Tailevu. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the medical facility and she died on the same day on 3rd August. She was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 71-year-old man from Tailevu who died at home on 31st July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the sixth death is a 50-year-old woman from Lautoka. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She was not vaccinated.
He says the seventh COVID-19 death is a 21-year-old man from Malake Island. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Rakiraki Sub-Divisional Hospital. His family reported that he had shortness of breath one day prior to the presentation. He received his first dose of the vaccine in early May. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The eighth death is a 53-year-old woman from Nasinu. She presented to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the hospital and she died one day after admission on 3rd August. She was not vaccinated.
The ninth death is a 44-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 4th August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the tenth COVID-19 death is a 60-year woman from Caubati who died at home on 4th August. She was not vaccinated.
The eleventh death is a 61-year woman from Makoi who died at home on 4th August. She was not vaccinated.
There have been 3 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With the newly reported deaths, there have now been 272 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 270 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.
Fiji also has recorded 142 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 1187 new cases, 387 cases are from the Western Division and 800 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
There have been 1204 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 22,658 active cases.
18,318 active cases are in the Central Division and 4,340 in the West.
There have been 33,850 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
The country has recorded a total of 33,920 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 10,848 recoveries.
People who have recovered recently from COVID-19 or presumed COVID-19 are eligible for vaccination once they have completed 14 days of isolation and recovered from acute illness.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the Ministry of Health, with assistance from the World Health Organisation, has reviewed the current advice that recommends a waiting period of 90 days before a person previously infected with COVID-19 should receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
He says this is based on updated evidence, and advice from WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, an established practice in other countries.
Doctor Fong says the evidence is that the vaccine is safe for people with prior COVID-19 infection, including within 90 days of recent recovery.
He says while there is evidence that previous infection confers immunity for at least 6 months; immunity from the previous infection will have limited protection from other variants of concern.
He says they are also aware that the previous advice was partly promoted when vaccine supply was limited to ensure priority is given to those without any immunity.
The Permanent Secretary says given the high level of vaccine supply, the safety data, the need for broader protection, and the highly transmissible nature of the Delta variant, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services advice is that all those who have recovered recently from COVID-19 or presumed COVID-19 are eligible for vaccination once they have completed 14 days of isolation and recovered from acute illness.
494, 855 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID vaccine and 158,271 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 84.4 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 27 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Fiji's 7-day average of new cases per day remains a major concern as it is 1103 cases per day or 1247 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says the daily case numbers remain high, and daily test positivity remains high, indicating ongoing widespread community transmission in the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
Cases are also increasing in the West with evidence of community transmission in that division.
There are currently 254 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital in the Central Division.
79 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 175 were admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
46 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 10 are in critical condition.
Hospital admission data for the Western Division is awaiting an update.
283,885 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 326,746 tested since testing began in March 2020.
Based on available data the national 7 day daily test average is 3388 tests per day or 3.8 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7 day average daily test positivity is 32 percent.
A 15-year-old Tavua girl is among the 11 new COVID-19 deaths announced for the period of 2nd to 5th August while 968 new COVID cases have been confirmed.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 8 of the deaths were in the Central Division and 3 deaths were from the Western Division.
Doctor Fong says the 15-year-old girl from Tavua presented to a medical facility in respiratory distress and she was transferred to Lautoka Hospital. Her family reported that she had a fever, cough and shortness of breath two days prior to presentation. Clinical investigations revealed that she was positive for both Leptospirosis and COVID-19.
He says sadly, her condition worsened at the hospital and she died one day after admission on 3rd August. Her doctors have determined that she died from severe COVID-19 with Leptospirosis. Both diseases contributed to her death.
The second COVID-19 death is a 60-year-old man from Lami who died at home on 4th August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third death is a 51-year-old woman from Raiwaqa who died at home on 4th August. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth death is an 85-year-old man from Lautoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital Emergency Department. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is an 88-year-old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Sub Divisional Hospital. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the sixth death is an 86 year old man from Toorak who presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died on the same day 4th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early June. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The seventh death is an 85-year-old woman from Tailevu who died at home on 2nd August. She was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 55-year-old man from Tailevu who died at home on 2nd August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the ninth death is a 70-year-old woman from Tailevu who died at home on 2nd August. She was not vaccinated.
The tenth COVID-19 death is a 90-year-old man from Raiwai who died at home on 5th August. He was not vaccinated.
The eleventh death is an 85-year-old man from Naitasiri who died at home on 4th August. He was not vaccinated.
There have been 4 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 283 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 281 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 6.
We also have recorded 146 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 968 new COVID cases, 292 cases are from the Western Division and 676 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
There have been 385 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 23,226 active cases.
18,589 active cases are in the Central Division and 4,637 in the West.
There have been 34,818 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded 34,888 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 11,233 recoveries.
With the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the Western Division, the health teams will no longer carry out contact tracing.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the health response teams in the Western Division will now be redirected to the identification and close monitoring of people with COVID-19 symptoms who are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19.
He says members of the public who return positive COVID-19 test results will be provided advice and resources to aid their self-isolation at home.
COVID-19 positive cases are encouraged to take responsibility and share information and advice with their known primary contacts.
Doctor Fong says clearance testing will no longer be required for primary contacts in the Western Division.
Primary contacts are required to self-isolate at home for 14-days from the day the known COVID-19 case they had close contact with, tested positive or 14 days from the day of the last contact with a known COVID-19 case.
He says workers requiring official leave from work can attend the nearest screening clinic or Health Care Facility to be checked and obtain a medical certificate for 14 days of self-isolation at home.
Residents for the whole of the Western Division from the Nadroga medical subdivision to the Ra medical subdivision are requested to note that the Ministry of Health and Medical Services will, in the coming days, be varying its public advisories and guidelines to reflect the evolving COVID-19 situation
Individuals experiencing COVID-19 symptoms: cough, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, fatigue/extreme tiredness, headache, aches and pains, sore throat, fever, diarrhoea, red eyes (conjunctivitis), loss of taste or smell, and a rash on the skin should visit the nearest screening clinic for testing.
Pregnant women who test positive will also be provided immediate advice and care by the health teams at the screening facility.
Families and caregivers of the vulnerable including the elderly, are urged to monitor the health of their loved ones.
If they develop COVID-19 symptoms, please take them to the nearest screening clinic.
If an individual has a disability or is otherwise physically unable to leave their home and attend a screening clinic, in these exceptional circumstances, individuals can call 158 and request a home swabbing service.
The public is advised to please take responsibility to stop community transmission by continuing to practice the following: wear a mask, wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use a hand sanitiser, practice safe physical distancing of 2 metres apart, cover your cough and sneeze, wipe frequently touched surfaces and objects with disinfectant.
Get vaccinated and encourage your family members to vaccinate too.
Stay in your bubble and avoid close contact with people who do not live with you.
Businesses are also asked to take responsibility for the decontamination of their premises.
Doctor Fong says all major health facilities will continue to remain fully functional in all subdivisions in the West, providing emergency services, admissions, and inpatient care for COVID and non-COVID diseases.
Individuals who return positive test results for COVID-19 and are immediately asked to self-isolate will have food ration requests facilitated by the sub-divisional health teams in your area.
Fiji's 7-day average of new COVID cases per day is 1156 cases per day or 1193 cases per million population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the daily case numbers remain high, and daily test positivity remains high, indicating ongoing widespread community transmission in the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
Cases continue to increase in the West with evidence of community transmission in the division.
Doctor Fong says they are also recording increasing number of people with severe disease, and deaths in the West.
He says there are currently 311 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
63 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital.
In Suva, 78 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 170 were admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
48 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 6 are in critical condition.
A total of 287,237 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 330,098 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day daily test average is 3401 tests per day or 3.8 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 32.4%.
There are 7 new COVID-19 deaths from 10th July to 5th August and 752 new COVID cases.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 6 of the deaths were in the Central Division and 1 death was from the Western Division.
The first COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old man from Tailevu. He presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened at the medical facility and he died on the same day on 5th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says the second death is a 53-year-old man from Nausori who died at home on 4th August. He was not vaccinated.
The third death is a 58-year-old man from Vatuwaqa who died at home on 5th August. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 52-year-old man from Naitasiri. He presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened at the medical facility and he died on the same day on 5th August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fifth death is a 48-year-old man from Narere who died at home on 5th August. He was not vaccinated.
The sixth death is a 49-year-old woman from Nadi who presented to the Nadi Sub-Divisional Hospital with an altered level of consciousness. Her family reported that she was noted to be unwell one day prior to her presentation. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died on the same day on 4th August. She was not vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death is a 78-year-old man from Cunningham. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened at the hospital and he died 14 days after admission on 10th July. He was not vaccinated.
There have been 7 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 290 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 288 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 6.
Fiji has also recorded 153 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 752 new cases, 88 cases are from the Western Division and 664 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
There have been 268 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 23,696 active cases.
18,967 active cases are in the Central Division and 4,729 in the West.
There have been 35,570 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
The country has recorded a total of 35,640 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 11,501 recoveries.
504,695 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 170,901 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 86 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 29.1 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
The 7-day average of new COVID cases per day is a concerning 997 cases per day or 1127 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says daily case numbers remain high, and daily test positivity remains high, indicating ongoing widespread community transmission in the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
Cases also continue to increase in the West with evidence of community transmission in the division.
Doctor Fong says they are also recording increasing number of people with severe disease and deaths in the West.
Meanwhile there are currently 295 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
52 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital.
In Suva, 77 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 166 are admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
51 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 10 are in critical condition.
289,980 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 332,841 tested since testing began in March 2020.
2743 tests have been reported for August 4th.
The national 7-day daily test average is 3300 tests per day or 3.7 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 32.1 percent.
6 new COVID-19 deaths have been confirmed from 5th to 6th August while there are 682 new COVID cases.
3 of the deaths were in the Central Division and 3 deaths were from the Western Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the first COVID-19 death is an 18 year old woman from Suva who died at home on 5th August. Her family reported that she had a cough five days prior to her presentation. She was not vaccinated.
The second death is a 75 year old man from Nausori. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died on the same day on 5th August. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says the third death is a 77 year old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died six days after admission on 7th August. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 50 year old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the hospital and she died 7 days after admission on 5th August. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fifth COVID-19 death is an 85 year old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in respiratory distress. Her family reported that she had a fever and cough two days prior to the presentation. Her condition worsened at the hospital and she died 2 days after admission on 6th August. She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in late July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 59 year old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in respiratory distress. Her family reported that she had a fever, cough and shortness of breath one week prior to presentation. Her condition worsened at the hospital and she died 2 days after admission on 6th August.
There have been 5 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 296 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 294 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 6.
Fiji has also recorded 158 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 682 new cases of COVID, 193 cases are from the Western Division and 489 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
There have been 297 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 24,070 active cases.
19,154 active cases are in the Central Division and 4,916 in the West.
There have been 36,252 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 36,322 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 11,798 recoveries.
508,796 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID vaccine and 175,570 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 86.7% of the target population have received at least one dose and 29.9% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
The 7-day average of new COVID cases per day is 934 cases per day or 1056 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says the daily case numbers remain high, and daily test positivity remains high, indicating ongoing widespread community transmission in the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
Cases also continue to increase in the West with evidence of community transmission in that division.
Doctor Fong says they are also recording increasing numbers of people with severe disease and deaths in the West.
There are currently 292 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
58 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital.
In Suva, 72 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 162 are admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
66 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 10 are in critical condition.
292,879 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 335,740 tested since testing began in March 2020.
2899 tests have been reported for August 5th.
The national 7-day daily test average is 3234 tests per day or 3.7 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 30.8 %.
512, 282 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID vaccine and 178,606 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 87.3% of the target population have received at least one dose and 30.4% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Doctor Fong also confirms 3 new COVID-19 deaths from 6th to 7th August.
All three deaths were reported from the Central Division.
The first COVID-19 death is an 86 year old woman from Newtown who died at home on 6th August. She was not vaccinated.
The second death is a 73-year-old woman from Kinoya who died at home on 6th August. She was not vaccinated.
The third death is a 71-year-old man from Cunningham who died at home on 7th August. He was not vaccinated.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 299 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 297 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 6.
Fiji has also recorded 158 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Fiji's 7-day average of new COVID cases per day is a worrying 938 cases per day or 1060 cases per million population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the daily case numbers remain high, and daily test positivity remains high, indicating ongoing widespread community transmission in the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
He says cases are also increasing in the West with evidence of community transmission in the division.
Doctor Fong says the West is also recording an increasing number of people with severe disease, and deaths in the West.
657 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today.
256 cases are from the Western Division and 401 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
There have been 586 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 24,138 active cases.
19,005 active cases are in the Central Division and 5,133 in the West.
There have been 36,909 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 36,979 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 12,384 recoveries.
There are currently 240 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
69 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 171 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
50 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 5 are in critical condition.
The hospitalisation data update is pending from the Western Division.
294,860 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 337,721 tested since testing began in March 2020.
1981 tests have been reported for August 6th.
Based on available data the national 7-day daily test average is 3010 tests per day or 3.4 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 31.3 %.
12 of the 18 new COVID-19 deaths from 4th to 9th August are from the Western Division and 6 deaths have been reported from the Central Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the first COVID-19 death is an 83-year-old man from Lautoka. He presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died four days after admission to the hospital on 6th August. He was not vaccinated.
The second death is a 79 year old woman from Sigatoka. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Sub-Divisional Hospital on 6th August. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third COVID-19 death is an 86 year old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Sub-Divisional Hospital on 5th August. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 70 year old man from Nadi. He presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the medical facility and he died on the same day on 7th August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fifth COVID-19 death is a 75 year old man from Lautoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital on 6th August. He was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death is an 83 year old woman from Lautoka. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital on 6th August. She was not vaccinated.
The seventh death is an 80 year old man from Lautoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital on 6th August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the eighth death is an 88 year old man from Ba. He presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in respiratory distress. He died two days after admission at the hospital on 7th August. He was not vaccinated.
The ninth COVID-19 death is a 49 year old man from Nadi. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Nadi Hospital on 8th August. He was not vaccinated.
The tenth death is a 37 year old woman from Nadi. She presented to Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She was reported to have had symptoms of cough and shortness of breath for 5 days, and she had recently given birth. A medical team retrieved her and took her to the Lautoka Hospital. She died five days after admission to the hospital on 7th August. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the eleventh COVID-19 death is a 48 year old man from Lautoka. He presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died two days after admission on 8th August. He was not vaccinated.
The twelfth death is a 60 year old woman from Dawasamu. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day at the medical facility on 6th August. She was not vaccinated.
The thirteenth COVID-19 death is a 63 year old man from Nakasi who died at home on 7th August. He was not vaccinated.
The fourteenth death is a 70 year old woman from Nakasi. She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died 5 days after admission on 8th August. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fifteenth death is a 68 year old man from Nasinu who died at home on 9th August. He was not vaccinated.
The sixteenth COVID-19 death is a 72 year old woman from Nausori who died at home on 7th August. She was not vaccinated.
The seventeenth death is an 88 year old woman from Naitasiri who died at home on 8th August. She was not vaccinated.
The eighteenth COVID-19 death is an 81 year old woman from Naitasiri who died at home on 8th August. She was not vaccinated.
There have been 10 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 317 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 315 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.
Fiji also has recorded 168 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 603 new cases of COVID, 223 cases are from the Western Division and 380 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
There have been 293 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 24,420 active cases.
19,088 active cases are in the Central Division and 5,332 in the West.
There have been 37,512 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
We have recorded a total of 37, 582 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 12,677 recoveries.
512, 282 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID vaccine and 178,606 have received their second doses.
This means that 87.3% of the target population have received at least one dose and 30.4% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong also reveals the 7-day average of new COVID cases per day is 867 cases per day or 980 cases per million population per day.
He maintains the daily case numbers remain high, and daily test positivity remains high, indicating ongoing widespread community transmission in the Suva-Nausori containment zone.
Cases also continue to increase in the West with evidence of widespread community transmission in the division.
Doctor Fong says they are also recording increasing numbers of people with severe disease and deaths in the West.
There are currently 289 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
58 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 68 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 163 were admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
66 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 6 are in critical condition.
296,716 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 339,577 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The 7-day daily test average is 2795 tests per day or 3.2 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 34.1%.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed 10 new COVID-19 deaths from 30th July to 10th August.
All deaths are reported from the Central Division.
The first COVID-19 death is an 82 year old man from Nausori who died at home on 8th August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the second death is a 69 year old woman from Suva who died at home on 7th August. She was not vaccinated.
The third death is a 64 year old woman from Wailea who died at home on 8th August. She received the first dose of the vaccine in late May. She did not receive the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 64 year old man from Suva who died at home on 9th August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fifth death is a 47 year old man from Kinoya who died at home on 9th August. He was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 44 year old woman from Lami. She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died ten days after admission at the CWM Hospital on 30th July. She was not vaccinated.
The seventh death is a 72 year old man from Kalabu. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died one day after admission at the CWM Hospital on 9th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early June. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says the eighth death is a 52 year old woman from Nabua. She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died 12 days after admission on 9th August. She was not vaccinated.
The ninth death is a 63 year old man from Lami. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died 2 days after admission on 9th August. He was not vaccinated.
The tenth COVID-19 death is a 51 year old woman from Suva. She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died 17 days after admission on 10th August. She was not vaccinated.
There have been 3 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 327 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 325 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.
Fiji has also recorded 171 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 264 new cases of COVID, 131 cases are from the Western Division and 133 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
There have been 257 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 24,414 active cases.
18,948 active cases are in the Central Division and 5,446 active cases in the Western Division.
There have been 37,776 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 37, 846 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 12,934 recoveries.
Fiji's 7-day average of new COVID cases per day is 730 cases per day or 825 cases per million population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently however, the daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori.
As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori.
He says this was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.
Doctor Fong says we are likely seeing the effect of this testing policy change now in Suva-Nausori with the drop in daily reported cases.
He says this does not mean that the outbreak is on a downward trend in the Suva-Nausori community.
As previously announced by Doctor Fong, the daily case numbers in Suva-Nausori are currently not being used as an indicator to monitor progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori.
The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori.
He says test positivity in Suva-Nausori was between 40-50% before the change in testing policy and has remained at this high level, which is above the national average.
Doctor Fong says this is one indicator of the continuing high level of community transmission in this area.
Testing levels in the Western Division remain consistently high with 3.8 to 4 tests per 1000 population per day at a 7 day average.
He says we are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in that division.
There are currently 300 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
62 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 67 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 171 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
41 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 9 are in critical condition.
Meanwhile 513, 535 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID vaccine and 180,722 have received their second doses.
This means that 87.5% of the target population have received at least one dose and 30.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says three of the 13 people who have died from COVID-19 had received the second dose of the vaccine before they died however two of these individuals were infected with the virus before they got the second dose of the vaccine and one died within two weeks of the second dose.
Doctor Fong says we must understand that there is a difference between cure and prevention.
He says the vaccine is not a cure for COVID-19, which means it will not help if you get vaccinated when you are already infected and sick with the virus.
Doctor Fong stresses the vaccine helps to prevent you from getting COVID-19 and dying from it.
Two doses of the vaccine help to lower your risk of getting infected with the virus, and greatly reduces your risk of severe disease and death.
You also must have two doses of the vaccine and wait at least two weeks after the second dose to be considered fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says this is because your immune system needs at least two weeks to react to the vaccine and form a protective response.
So, to be considered fully-vaccinated, you need to receive both doses and wait two weeks after the second dose for the full protection to take effect.
He says no one in Fiji has died from COVID-19 after they have been fully-vaccinated against COVID-19. Over the past 24 hour period, Fiji had 568 new cases of COVID-19.
Of this, 262 cases are from the Western Division and 306 cases are from the Central Division.
He says this should not be misinterpreted as a true reduction of COVID-19 cases in these two divisions.
Doctor Fong says over the last few weeks they have had to shift and re-strategize the COVID-19 testing strategy to address the significant pressure on the laboratories and health services.
He says this includes being more targeted with the testing so they can provide rapid turnaround of results for those most at risk of severe COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says they can anticipate that these shifts have an impact on the daily reported case numbers and this is why it is critical that we use various data to inform our understanding of the current situation in these divisions.
He says they do know that the risk of exposure to the virus in both Central and Western divisions remains extremely high with significant community transmission of the virus.
The Ministry of Health is considering a revision of curfew hours and lifting of containment borders in Viti Levu based on vaccine coverage.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they established the border of the Lami-Nausori Containment Zone because of the high number of clusters within that specific containment area.
He says since this time they have seen increasing cases on both sides of the border, meaning that they now will be considering the benefits of keeping these measures in place.
Doctor Fong says with the rise of cases in the West, as well as increasing vaccination coverage, they are now reviewing the purpose and utility of the containment zone border entirely.
He says any adjustments to this containment zone will depend on the number of vaccines provided to the communities, in addition to vaccination coverage for specific locations.
Doctor Fong says they know there are communities that will see higher flows of traffic once the containment zone border is lifted, particularly places along the Coral Coast highway that are stopover areas for people commuting between Suva and Lautoka.
He says the health teams will be imminently surveying these areas to confirm what percentage of these communities have been vaccinated before they consider lifting the border.
Where they do not see sufficient vaccine coverage, they are deploying the stock of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, which has a shorter timeline for full immunisation.
They are also considering a revision to the curfew hours however the decision hinges on vaccine coverage.
Doctor Fong says the fact that they are considering these changes should not equate to complacency.
He stresses this outbreak is far from over as every technical factor shows the risk of transmission is extremely high across Viti Levu.
Doctor Fong says they do not have a specific date for you as to when the border will be lifted or when the curfew hours will change but they know when those actions are taken they will be accompanied by more stringent enforcement of the existing health measures, particularly the blanket restriction on social gatherings.
Travel from Viti Levu to the North and to the maritime islands remains highly regulated with pre-departure and quarantine protocols in place.
There are no near-term plans to change the protocols around inter-island travel.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says if we reach our goal of at least 80% vaccination of our target population for COVID-19, while we may still see individuals infected with the virus, we will not see nearly as many people becoming seriously ill, needing hospitalisation or dying from COVID-19.
He says their ultimate goal remains for us to protect our friends, family and colleagues from becoming seriously ill or dying from this virus, and the vaccines are the best way to do that.
Doctor Fong says recent global studies have also shown that these COVID vaccines reduce the risk of the virus spreading to other household members.
He says these vaccines will protect those who take them but also, to some extent, those that the vaccinated person comes into contact with.
The Permanent Secretary stresses that we should all be vaccinated, not only for our health, but for the health of those around us, our families, friends, co-workers, and customers.
He says the clear message that is reverberating from renowned health institutions such as US CDC, and others, and the experience of many nations around the world that are facing the same challenge as we are, is that widespread immunity through vaccines is the only sustainable way out of this pandemic.
The Permanent Secretary further says we must continue to apply all of the public health measures in our toolbox that we know are effective also against these variants - like wearing masks, washing hands frequently and maintaining physical distance from others outside our immediate household.
He says we are still a long way from having at least 80% of the population fully vaccinated, so these are prudent measures despite our improving vaccine coverage.
For those in our community who have yet to be vaccinated, Doctor James Fong reminds you to listen to the facts and not be misguided by the misinformation and rumours spreading within our community.
He says the decisions you make not only affect you, but those in your family, broader community and as a country.
Doctor Fong also reminds everyone, vaccinated or not, we all need to stay alert to our own health and immediately self-isolate if you have symptoms of COVID-19.
He says over the past few weeks, we have also seen a spike in dangerous misinformation and individuals posing as experts providing incorrect facts about COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says they are concerned that people who are inclined to resist the vaccine will cling to that misinformation or even misconstrue facts that are reported correctly, threatening the efforts of the teams trying to provide the best protection possible for our communities.
He says here in Fiji, the science and evidence also shows us that we are on the right track with responding to the Delta strain.
He further says the latest global data tells us the vaccine does reduce the risk of symptomatic disease from the virus and while some people may still be infected with the virus when fully vaccinated, COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at reducing a person's risk of becoming seriously ill, needing hospitalisation or dying from COVID-19.
After one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, a person is provided 71% protection from being severely ill or hospitalised; and this goes up to 92% protection 14 days after their second dose.
A fully vaccinated person may still get infected with the virus, however they will likely experience only mild or no symptoms because of the protection provided by these vaccines.
For instance, in the UK where they have a high vaccination coverage rate, they are now seeing surges of cases due to Delta variant, however their daily hospitalisations and deaths have been less than previous COVID-19 outbreaks.
For the US, we can see a similar picture where they are reporting significant spikes of COVID-19 cases and deaths in areas with high unvaccinated communities. Their hospitals and intensive care units are full of the unvaccinated.
Ministry of Health’s Head of Health Protection, Dr Aalisha Sahukhan says out of the 13 COVID-19 deaths recorded, 6 were reported in the Central Division and 7 were reported in the Western Division.
She says the first death is a 41-year-old man from Sigatoka. He arrived at the Sigatoka Hospital with severe respiratory distress. He died four days after admission at the Lautoka Hospital. He was infected with COVID-19 before receiving the second dose of the vaccine and was not fully vaccinated when he became infected.
The second death is a 86 year old woman from Tamavua who died at the CWM Hospital. She was infected with COVID-19 before receiving the second dose of the vaccine and was not fully vaccinated when she became infected.
The third death is a 25-year-old woman from Lautoka. She was also infected with COVID-19 before receiving the second dose of the vaccine and was not fully vaccinated when she became infected.
The fourth death is a 39-year-old man from Lami. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth death is a 88-year-old woman from Lami who died at home. She was not fully vaccinated.
The sixth death is a 88 year old man from Ba who died at the Ba Mission Hospital. He was not vaccinated.
The seventh death is a 86 year old woman from Ba. She was declared dead on arrival at the Ba Mission Hospital. She was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 60-year-old woman from Ba. She was also declared dead on arrival at the Ba Mission Hospital. She was not vaccinated.
The ninth death is a 82-year-old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival at the Sigatoka Hospital. He was not vaccinated.
The 10th COVID-19 death is a 84-year-old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival at the Sigatoka Hospital. He was not vaccinated.
The 11th death is a 56-year-old man from Nasinu who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The 12th death is a 57-year-old man from Nasinu who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The 13th death is a 77-year-old man from Nausori who died at the CWM Hospital. He was not vaccinated.
Dr. Sahukhan says there have been six more deaths of COVID-19 patients however these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
There have now been 340 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji. The Ministry has also recorded 177 COVID-19 positive patients who died from pre-existing serious conditions.
The Health Ministry's Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu says 386 COVID patients are currently admitted in hospital facilities of which 74 are in severe or critical condition.
Dr Tudravu says 41% of these patients are on oxygen and 4 are on ventilators.
He says 19,905 individuals in the Central Division are under home isolation while 3,383 in the West are in home isolation.
Dr Tudravu says all major health services are operational in all the divisions.
He says their Telehealth services also operational in the Westeen and Central Divisions.
There are 5 new COVID-19 deaths from August 10th to 12th while 398 new COVID cases have been announced.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says three deaths were reported from the Central Division and two deaths were from the Western Division.
The first COVID-19 death is a 91-year-old woman from Navua who died at home on 10th August. She was not vaccinated.
The second death is an 86 year old woman from Rakiraki. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Rakiraki Hospital on 10th August. She was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death is a 30-year-old man from Ba. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Ba Mission Hospital on 10th August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fourth death is a 71-year-old man from Naitasiri who died at home on 11th August..His family reported that he had a cough and fever two days prior. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man from Naitaisiri who died at home on 12th August. He was not vaccinated.
There have been 8 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 345 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 343 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 9.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 6 deaths and the Western Division is 3 deaths.
We also have recorded 185 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
To date, no one in Fiji has died due to COVID-19 after they have been fully vaccinated.
Of the 398 new cases, 254 cases are from the Western Division and 144 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
There have been 703 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 23,981 active cases.
17,999 active cases are in the Central Division and 5,982 active cases in the Western Division.
There have been 38,742 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
We have recorded a total of 38,812 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 14,301 recoveries.
The 7-day average of new COVID cases per day is 561 cases per day or 634 cases per million population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently however, their daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori.
As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori.
This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.
There are currently 291 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
72 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 60 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 159 are admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
67 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 14 are in critical condition.
301,011 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 343,872 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 34.5%.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 15 new COVID-19 deaths from August 9th to 12th and 644 new COVID cases.
One death is reported from the Central Division and fourteen deaths are from the Western Division.
The first COVID-19 death is a 67 year old man from Tailevu. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died one day after admission on 11th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in late-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The second death is a 49 year old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died five days after admission on 11th August. She received the first dose of the vaccine in early-April. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The third COVID-19 death is a 60 year old man from Lautoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital on 9th August. He received his first dose of the vaccine in early July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The fourth death is an 81 year old woman from Lautoka. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital on 10th August. She received the first dose of the vaccine in late July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says the fifth death is a 69 year old man from Lautoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital on 10th August. He was not vaccinated.
The sixth death is a 65 year old woman from Ba. She presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day on 9th August. She was not vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death is an 85 year old woman from Nadi. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Nadi Hospital on 11th August. She was not vaccinated.
The eighth death is a 60 year old man from Tavua. He presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day on 12th August. He was not vaccinated.
The ninth death is an 80 year old man from Rakiraki. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Rakiraki Hospital on 10th August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the tenth death is a 56 year old woman from Sigatoka. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Hospital on 9th August. She was not vaccinated.
The eleventh COVID-19 death is a 58 year old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Hospital on 10th August. He was not vaccinated.
The twelfth death is a 69 year old woman from Nadi. She presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day on 12th August. She received the first dose of the vaccine in early June. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The thirteenth death is a 61 year old woman from Nadi. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died one day after admission on 12th August. She received one dose of the vaccine in late July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says the fourteenth death is a 56 year old woman from Rakiraki. She presented to the Rakiraki Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She was transferred by a medical team from the Rakiraki Hospital to the Lautoka Hospital. She died on the same day on 12th August. She received the first dose in late July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The fifteenth death is a 51 year old woman from Ba. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Ba Mission Hospital on the 10th August. She received the first dose of the vaccine in early June. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
There have been 7 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 360 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 358 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 4 deaths and the Western Division is 3 deaths.
We also have recorded 192 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
To date no one in Fiji has died due to COVID-19 after they have been fully-vaccinated.
A fully vaccinated person has had 2 doses of the vaccine and at least two weeks have passed after the second dose.
If a person becomes infected with the virus within those 2 weeks after the final dose, they will likely not have the full protective effect of the vaccine.
Of the 644 new cases, 87 cases are from the Western Division and 557 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard
There have been 322 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 24,281 active cases.
18,210 active cases are in the Central Division and 6071 active cases in the Western Division.
There have been 39,386 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 39,456 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 14,623 recoveries.
There are currently 291 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
72 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 62 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 157 are admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 58 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 9 are in critical condition.
303,951 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 346,812 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The 7-day daily test average is 1562 tests per day or 1.8 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 36.4%.
Meanwhile 531,546 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 206,670 have received their second doses.
This means that 90.6% of the target population have received at least one dose and 35.2% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
The 7-day average of new cases per day is 545 cases per day or 616 cases per million population per day.
We continue to see widespread community transmission in the Central and Western Divisions.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed one new COVID-19 cases in the Northern Division, 314 new cases in total and eight COVID deaths.
Of the 314 new cases, 259 are from the Western Division, 54 cases are from the Central Division and 1 case from the Northern Division.
The case from the Northern Division is a person working at the Nabouwalu Wharf.
Doctor Fong says investigations into how this person got infected are still in the very early stages. However, it appears the exposure to the virus happened onboard a ship unloading cargo from Suva earlier this week.
He says this person tested positive during routine swabbing of wharf workers yesterday.
The positive person has been securely moved to the Malau isolation facility and the household members have been quarantined.
So far, the person’s household members have tested negative for the virus.
With the help of the careFiji app the Ministry’s COVID-19 response team in the Northern Division have identified other primary contacts, including workplace contacts, and they have been quarantined, with test results pending.
Doctor Fong says the team are continuing to trace other people that the person may have come into contact with during the infectious period.
The Ministry wishes to assure the people of the North that the health team is working very closely with other local agencies and communities to prevent any further spread of the virus.
The Permanent Secretary will be briefed by the Northern team on the progress of investigations and the response tomorrow, and decisions will be made about any further measures that may be required to quickly halt transmission.
There have been 987 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 23,598 active cases.
17,269 active cases are in the Central Division, 6328 active cases in the Western Division and 1 active case in the Northern Division.
There have been 39,770 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
We have recorded a total of 39,770 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 15,610 recoveries.
All new COVID deaths are reported from the Central Division.
The first death is a 64-year-old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died five days after admission on 13th August. He was not vaccinated.
The second death is an 85-year-old man from Naitasiri who died at home on 14th August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old man from Naitasiri who died at home on 13th August. His family reported that he had a cough and fever for two weeks prior to his presentation. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man from Naitasiri. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Naqali Health Centre on 12th August. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth death is a 56-year-old man from Lami who died at home on 13th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 77-year-old man from Nausori who died at home on the 11th August. His family reported that he had generalized body weakness and a cough for one week prior. He was not vaccinated.
The seventh death is a 66-year-old man from Caubati. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died eight days after admission on 14th August. He was not vaccinated.
The eighth death is a 40-year-old man from Nakasi. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died sixteen days after admission on 13th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early June. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
There have been 2 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 368 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 366 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 9.
We have also recorded 194 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says people in the North are reminded that although the COVID-19 case was identified at Nabouwalu Wharf, it is important the members of the public throughout Vanua Levu listen to advice and continue to practice COVID-19 safety measures.
The public is requested to practice COVID-19 safety measures of wearing a mask when leaving your home, wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use a hand sanitiser, practice safe physical distancing of 2 metres, ensure that the careFIJI app is downloaded on your phone and enabled and remember to get vaccinated.
There are currently 274 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
70 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 56 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 148 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
66 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 8 are in critical condition.
305,870 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 348,731 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The 7-day daily test average is 1529 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 33.3%.
The 7-day average of new cases per day is 493 cases per day or 557 cases per million population per day.
Community transmission remains a concern in the Central and Western Divisions.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed 3 new COVID-19 deaths in the Central Division from August 11th to 13th and 467 new COVID cases. The first COVID-19 death is a 62 year old woman from Nakasi who died at home on 13th August. She was not vaccinated.
The second death is a 79 year old man from Tailevu who died at home on 11th August. He was also not vaccinated. The third COVID-19 death is an 80 year old woman from Suva who died at home on 14th August. She was not vaccinated. Doctor Fong says there have now been 371 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 369 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.
Fiji has also recorded 194 COVID positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 467 new cases, 258 cases are from the Western Division and 209 cases are from the Central Division.
There have been 231 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 23,831 active cases.
17,226 active cases are in the Central Division, 6,604 active cases in the Western Division and 1 active case in the Northern Division.
There have been 40,167 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded 40,237 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 15,841 recoveries.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says whilst the COVID-19 positive person in Nabouwalu Wharf in Vanua Levu does not represent a community transmission case, the risk of community transmission is high.
He says this case was picked in a routine screening program and another 51 persons screened as part of this program had tested negative.
Doctor Fong says the positive person has been securely moved to the Malau isolation facility and household members have been quarantined.
The person’s 6 household members have tested negative for the virus and a further 8 workplace contacts are negative.
He says they are awaiting 3 more primary contact results.
Doctor Fong says the contact tracing and community surveillance efforts will continue.
He says an area of restricted movement will be announced to facilitate heightened Community Surveillance, conduct more contact tracing, escalate the COVID Safe community engagement program and plan and implement a program of targeted heightened vaccination coverage throughout the Nabouwalu Containment Zone.
533,705 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 211,496 have received their second doses.
This means that 91 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 36.1 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Meanwhile Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says there are currently 264 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
73 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 47 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 144 were admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
54 patients are considered to be in severe condition and 12 are in critical condition.
A total of 307,048 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 349,909 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The 7-day daily test average is 1476 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 32.9 percent.
Furthermore, the 7-day average of new cases per day is 465 cases per day or 526 cases per million population per day.
The daily testing numbers have been dropping due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori.
Doctor Fong says this does not mean that the outbreak is on a downward trend in the Suva-Nausori community.
Testing levels in the Western Division remain consistently high with 3.8 to 4 tests per 1000 population per day at a 7-day average.
He says they are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in the division.
Doctor Fong says they are also noting an increasing trend of deaths in the Western Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed 3 new COVID-19 deaths in the Central Division from August 11th to 13th and 467 new COVID cases. The first COVID-19 death is a 62 year old woman from Nakasi who died at home on 13th August. She was not vaccinated.
The second death is a 79 year old man from Tailevu who died at home on 11th August. He was also not vaccinated. The third COVID-19 death is an 80 year old woman from Suva who died at home on 14th August. She was not vaccinated. Doctor Fong says there have now been 371 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 369 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.
Fiji has also recorded 194 COVID positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 467 new cases, 258 cases are from the Western Division and 209 cases are from the Central Division.
There have been 231 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 23,831 active cases.
17,226 active cases are in the Central Division, 6,604 active cases in the Western Division and 1 active case in the Northern Division.
There have been 40,167 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded 40,237 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 15,841 recoveries.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says whilst the COVID-19 positive person in Nabouwalu Wharf in Vanua Levu does not represent a community transmission case, the risk of community transmission is high.
He says this case was picked in a routine screening program and another 51 persons screened as part of this program had tested negative.
Doctor Fong says the positive person has been securely moved to the Malau isolation facility and household members have been quarantined.
The person’s 6 household members have tested negative for the virus and a further 8 workplace contacts are negative.
He says they are awaiting 3 more primary contact results.
Doctor Fong says the contact tracing and community surveillance efforts will continue.
He says an area of restricted movement will be announced to facilitate heightened Community Surveillance, conduct more contact tracing, escalate the COVID Safe community engagement program and plan and implement a program of targeted heightened vaccination coverage throughout the Nabouwalu Containment Zone.
533,705 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 211,496 have received their second doses.
This means that 91 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 36.1 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Meanwhile Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says there are currently 264 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
73 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 47 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 144 were admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
54 patients are considered to be in severe condition and 12 are in critical condition.
A total of 307,048 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 349,909 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The 7-day daily test average is 1476 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 32.9 percent.
Furthermore, the 7-day average of new cases per day is 465 cases per day or 526 cases per million population per day.
The daily testing numbers have been dropping due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori.
Doctor Fong says this does not mean that the outbreak is on a downward trend in the Suva-Nausori community.
Testing levels in the Western Division remain consistently high with 3.8 to 4 tests per 1000 population per day at a 7-day average.
He says they are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in the division.
Doctor Fong says they are also noting an increasing trend of deaths in the Western Division.
There are 11 new COVID-19 deaths from August 13th to August 15th.
Five deaths are from the Central Division and 6 deaths are from the Western Division.
The first COVID-19 death is an 85-year-old man from Naitasiri who died at home on 13th August. He was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is an 83-year-old woman from Naitasiri who died at home on 13th August. She was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death is an 82-year-old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Hospital.
This means that he died on his way to the hospital or at home on 15th August. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old man from Suva.
He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress and died one day after admission on 15th August. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 57-year-old woman from Tailevu who died at home on 15th August. She was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death s a 68-year-old woman from Tailevu who died at home on 15th August.
She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death is a 79-year-old man from Rakiraki who died at home on 15th August. He was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old woman from Tavua.
She presented to the Tavua Sub-Divisional Hospital on Sunday 15th August with a fever, cough and shortness of breath.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says sadly, this woman died a few hours later in the early hours of Monday 16th August.
He says the woman received the first dose of the vaccine in early June and she received the second dose of the vaccine on 5th August.
Doctor Fong says this woman got sick with COVID-19 less than 2 weeks after receiving the second dose therefore she was not fully vaccinated when she got infected with the virus.
A person must have two doses of the vaccine and wait at least two weeks after the second dose to be considered fully vaccinated and to get the full protective effect of the vaccine.
The ninth COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old man from Tavua. He presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day on 14th August. He was not vaccinated.
The tenth COVID-19 death is an 86 year old man from Tavua. He presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day on 13th August and was not vaccinated.
The eleventh COVID-19 death is an 88-year-old man from Lautoka who died at home on the same day on 15th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in late July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
With these newly reported deaths, there have now been 405 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
403 of these deaths have been recorded during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 9.
The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths in the Central Division is 4 and in the Western Division is 5.
Fiji has recorded 223 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
These are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
590 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
420 cases are from the Western Division and 170 cases are from the Central Division.
A full breakdown of areas of interest is on the Health Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
There have been 1,304 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 21,754 active cases.
14,554 active cases are in the Central Division, 7,199 active cases in the Western Division and 1 active case in the Northern Division.
There have been 41,107 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded 41,177 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 18,795 recoveries.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they are currently doing a mop-up exercise of the first dose campaign to target specific communities with low vaccination coverage.
Doctor Fong says this will also correct and update the total eligible population for the current vaccination program.
As of 16th August – 536,123 adults in Fiji have received the first dose of a vaccine and 216,012 have been fully vaccinated.
This means that 91.4% of the target population have received the first dose while 36.8% are now fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says there are currently 320 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
115 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 43 patients are admitted at the FE-MAT Field Hospital, and 162 were admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles and Makoi.
39 patients are considered to be in severe condition and 13 are in critical condition.
A total of 309,940 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 352,801 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The 7-day daily test average is 1507 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 32.8%.
8 new COVID-19 deaths have been recorded from August 14th to 18th while there are 653 new COVID cases.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 5 deaths have been reported from the Central Division and 3 deaths are from the Western Division.
The first death is a 54-year-old woman from Tailevu. She presented to the Korovou Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
She died on the same day on 16th August.
She received the first dose of the vaccine in early August. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The second COVID-19 death is a 54-year-old man from Lautoka. He presented to the Lautoka Hospital on 15th August in severe respiratory distress and tested positive for COVID-19.
He had a history of a cough and fever for three days prior from 12th August.
Sadly, he died one day after admission on 16th August he received the first dose of the vaccine in early June.
He received the second dose of the vaccine on 2nd August However, as he got sick with COVID-19 less than 2 weeks after receiving the second dose, he was not fully vaccinated when he got infected with the virus.
The third death is an 86 year old woman from Sigatoka who died at home on 16th August. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 40-year-old man from Nausori. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died sixteen days after admission on 18th August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fifth COVID-19 death is a 78-year-old man from Tailevu who died at home on 14th August. He was not vaccinated.
The sixth death is a 72-year-old man from Sigatoka who died at home on 17th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early August. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The seventh COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old man from Navua who died at home on 15th August. He was not vaccinated.
The eighth death is a 75-year-old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died two days after admission on 18th August. He received the first dose in late July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
There have been 7 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 413 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 411 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 10.
The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 4 and in the Western Division is 6 .
We also have recorded 230 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 653 new COVID cases, 462 cases are from the Western Division and 191 cases are from the Central Division.
There have been 1,088 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 21,304 active cases.
13,652 active cases are in the Central Division, 7,651 active cases in the Western Division and 1 active case in the Northern Division.
There have been 41,760 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 41,830 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 19,883 recoveries.
537,704 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID vaccine and 220,034 have received their second doses.
This means that 91.7% of the target population have received at least one dose and 37.5% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says thet are currently doing a mop up exercise of the first dose campaign, which will allow them to specifically target specific communities with low coverage, and subsequently also correct and update the total eligible population for the current vaccination program.
Meanwhile there are currently 327 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
124 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 44 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 159 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
54 patients are considered to be in severe condition and 15 are in critical condition.
311,742 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 354,603 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The 7 day average of new cases per day is 488 cases per day or 552 cases per million population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says COVID-19 deaths per day at a 7 day average in the Western Division now surpass the Central Division.
As of August 15th, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 11.
The 7 day rolling average for COVID deaths per day in the Central Division is 5 and is now 6 in the Western Division.
There have been 8 new COVID-19 deaths from August 15th to 19th while 781 new COVID cases have been announced.
6 deaths were reported from the Central Division and 2 deaths were reported from the Western Division.
The first death is a 77-year-old man from Nakasi who died at home on 17th August. He was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old man from Vatuwaqa who died at home on 17th August. He was not vaccinated.
The third death is an 88-year-old man from Ba. He presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. His family reported that he had a history of fever, cough and shortness of breath one week prior to presentation. He died one day after admission on 18th August. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 54-year-old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died eleven days after admission on 19th August. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth death is a 60-year-old woman from Navua who died at home on 15th August. She was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 58-year-old woman from Naitasiri who died at home on 16th August. She was not vaccinated.
The seventh death is a 78-year-old woman from Sigatoka who died at home on 18th August. She was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID-19 death is an 89-year-old man from Suva. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the CWM Hospital emergency department on 19th July. The announcement of this death was delayed as it was under investigation by the forensic unit of the Fiji Police Force.
One death from the Eastern Division is currently under investigation. This is a 63-year-old woman from Rakiraki Village, in Yale, Kadavu who was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Vunisea Hospital in Kadavu on 17th August.
Her family reported that she had symptoms of cough, fever and shortness of breath.
She was swabbed as per protocol and tested positive for COVID-19. She was not vaccinated.
This death is currently classified as under investigation while awaiting investigation and issuance of a death certificate by the medical team.
Early investigations have indicated that she had contact with individuals who travelled unauthorized from Suva to Kadavu. A response team is currently onsite investigating the case and conducting public health investigations with testing and quarantine of contacts.
There have been 3 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 421 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 419 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
We have also recorded 233 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Of the 781 new COVID cases, 626 cases are from the Western Division, 154 cases are from the Central Division and 1 case is from the Eastern Division.
There have been 862 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 21,211 active cases.
12,940 active cases are in the Central Division, 8270 active cases in the Western Division and 1 active case in the Northern Division.
Doctor Fong also confirms the 2 repatriation cases from Suva who tested positive in a repatriation quarantine facility in the Northern Division, and announced yesterday, are not active cases, as they had previously tested positive in Suva, were counted in Central cases, and recovered, before travelling to the North.
There have been 42,541 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 42,611 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 20,677 recoveries.
539,555 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID vaccine and 223,987 have received their second doses.
This means that 92% of the target population have received at least one dose and 38.2% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they are currently doing a mop-up exercise of the first dose campaign, which will allow them to specifically target specific communities with low coverage, and subsequently also correct and update the total eligible population for the current vaccination program.
Meanwhile there are currently 314 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 119 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 37 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 158 are admitted at the CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
45 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 9 are in critical condition.
313,142 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 356,003 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The 7-day daily test average is 1462 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 38%.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says day 4 tests for all except 2 primary contacts of the COVID-19 case reported from Nabouwalu in Vanua Levu have returned negative.
He says results of the remaining 2 primary contacts are pending.
Doctor Fong says the health service set up at the Immaculate Junior Secondary School is working well.
Health teams from Labasa Hospital are travelling daily to Bua Nursing Station and Lekutu Health Centre to provide health services to the community outside the Nabouwalu Containment Zone.
He says border controls at Nabouwalu and all other Northern ports have been reinforced.
Doctor Fong says activities that will be carried out inside the Nabouwalu Containment Zone include 3 phases of screening and swabbing for the containment zone population.
In the first phase of screening, 367 persons were swabbed. All have tested negative. A second round of swabbing for 217 people has been conducted with results pending.
House to house COVID-19 safe awareness programs and vaccination for the target population in the containment zone area are also underway.
Over 1000 swabs have been collected for people outside the containment zone in the villages of Nasavu, Naviqiri and Nawailevu.
Doctor Fong says in regard to the case reported from Rakiraki Village in Yale, Kadavu, given the clinical details of the case, and link to persons known to have illegally travelled between Suva and Kadavu, they have to assume there is community transmission on the island of Kadavu.
He says to help with the public health containment measures they are suspending shipping services to Kadavu for a week starting today to the 26th of August 2021.
There will also be a 14 day containment zone established for the Gasele Nursing Zone in Kadavu.
Doctor Fong says this is to localize the disease to the nursing zone area for one incubation period of 14 days and to monitor incidence and disease trends in the lockdown area within this period.
Movement between the 7 villages in the containment zone is to be restricted to reduce further spread, home quarantine of the primary contacts will be enforced, contact tracing of primary contacts and secondary contacts will continue, the identification and monitoring of vulnerable persons will be initiated and strengthened, the community engagement program will be escalated to foster COVID safe behaviour with a specific focus on protecting the vulnerable persons and vaccination rollout will be escalated and targeted to vulnerable persons.
A clinical scouting team will also be deployed this weekend to Vunisea to map out a plan to escalate clinical care capability and strengthen care access, especially to the identified vulnerable persons.
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services reiterates its call for maritime islanders to not engage in unauthorised travel to and from Viti Levu.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed 11 new COVID-19 deaths from August 13th to 18th and 485 new COVID cases.
All the 11 deaths are reported from the Western Division.
The first COVID-19 death is a 68 year old man from Sigatoka. He presented to the Sigatoka Sub-Divisional Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He was transferred from Sigatoka Sub-Divisional Hospital to Lautoka Hospital. Sadly, he died seven days after admission on 17th August. He was not vaccinated.
The second death is a 68 year old man from Lautoka. He presented to the Lautoka Hospital in respiratory distress. His family reported that he had cough and shortness of breath three days prior to presentation. He died three days after admission on 18th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early-August. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The third death is a 73 year old man from Lautoka. He presented to the Lautoka Hospital in respiratory distress. He died two days after admission on 13th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in late July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says the fourth COVID-19 death is an 84 year old man from Rakiraki who died at home on 17th August. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth death is a 72 year old woman from Sigatoka who died at home on 17th August. She was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 59 year old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Sub-Divisional Hospital on 18th August. He was not vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death is a 64 year old man from Nadi. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Nadi Hospital on 18th August. He was not vaccinated.
The eighth death is a 52 year old man from Nadi. He was transferred from an Isolation facility in Nadi on 15th August to the Lautoka Hospital. He was noted to be in severe respiratory distress. Sadly, he died three days after admission on 18th August at the Lautoka Hospital. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The ninth death is a 95 year old woman from Sigatoka who died at home on 17th August. She was not vaccinated.
The tenth death is a 57 year old woman from Nadi. She presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died five days after admission on 17th August. She received the first dose of the vaccine in late July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The eleventh COVID-19 death is an 86 year old man from Lautoka who died at home on 17th August. He was not vaccinated.
There have been 14 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there are now 432 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 430 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
As of August 16th, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 11.
The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 5 and in the Western Division is 6.
We also have recorded 247 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
A death announced yesterday from Kadavu is still under investigation.
[Kadavu Island]
Of the 485 new cases, 251 cases are from the Western Division, 188 cases are from the Central Division and 46 cases are from the Eastern Division.
The 46 new cases reported from the Eastern Division are all contacts of the index case from Rakiraki Village, Yale, Kadavu.
Doctor Fong says 45 of these new cases are from the same village, while one case is from Naioti Village. All of these cases have been isolated.
There have been 1,080 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 20,591 active cases.
12,050 active cases are in the Central Division, 8,494 active cases in the Western Division, 1 active case in the Northern Division and 46 active cases in the Eastern Division.
There have been 43,026 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
We have recorded a total of 43,096 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 21,825 recoveries
541,611 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID vaccine and 228,799 have received their second doses.
This means that 92.3% of the target population have received at least one dose and 39% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they are continuing with their mop-up exercise of the first dose campaign, which will allow them to specifically target communities with low coverage, and subsequently also correct and update the total eligible population for the current vaccination program.
Meanwhile the 7-day average of new cases per day is 520 cases per day or 588 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says they have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently however, the daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori.
As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori.
Doctor Fong says this was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.
He says we are likely seeing the effect of this testing policy change now in Suva-Nausori with the drop in daily reported cases.
Doctor Fong says this does not mean that the outbreak is on a downward trend in the Suva-Nausori community.
As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, daily case numbers in Suva-Nausori are currently not being used as an indicator to monitor the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori.
The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori.
He says they are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in the division.
310 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital - 31 patients in severe condition and 15 are in critical condition
There are currently 310 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
114 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 38 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 158 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
31 patients are considered to be in severe condition and 15 are in critical condition.
Meanwhile 314,945 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 357,806 tested since testing began in March 2020.
1,626 tests have been reported for August 19th.
The 7-day daily test average is 1,466 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 36.2%.
One COVID-19 death has been announced for the 16th of August while 37 COVID patients admitted to the hospital are considered to be in severe condition and 14 are in critical condition.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the death which was previously under investigation in the Eastern Division has now been classified as a COVID-19 death.
She was a 63 year old woman from Rakiraki Village, in Yale, Kadavu. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Vunisea Hospital in Kadavu on 16th August. Her family reported that she had symptoms of cough, fever and shortness of breath. She was swabbed as per protocol and tested positive for COVID-19 on 17th August. She was not vaccinated.
There have been 2 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there are now 433 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 431 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
As of August 17th, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 9.
The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 2 and in the Western Division is 7.
Fiji has also recorded 249 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There are currently 322 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
118 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 38 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 166 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
198 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today.
52 cases are from the Western Division and 146 cases are from the Central Division.
There have been 516 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 20,271 active cases.
11,684 active cases are in the Central Division, 8,540 active cases in the Western Division, 1 active case in Nabouwalu in the Northern Division and 46 active cases in the Eastern Division (Kadavu).
There have been 43,224 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
We have recorded a total of 43,294 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 22,341 recoveries.
316,402 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 359,263 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1,392 tests have been reported for August 20th.
The 7-day daily test average is 1,423 tests per day or 1.6 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 35.5%.
The 7-day average of new cases per day is 503 cases per day or 569 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says they have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently.
However, the daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori.
As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori.
He says this was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.
Doctor Fong says we are likely seeing the effect of this testing policy change now in Suva-Nausori with the drop in daily reported cases.
This does not mean that the outbreak is on a downward trend in the Suva-Nausori community.
As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, daily case numbers in Suva-Nausori are currently not being used as an indicator to monitor progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori.
The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori.
We are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in that division.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the situation in Kadavu Island remains a major concern.
There are 46 confirmed COVID cases in Kadavu so far and 1 COVID-19 death.
He says the clinical scoping team in Kadavu have begun to put together a clinical response plan that will help to efficiently escalate their response to the expected wave of severe disease and deaths in Kadavu however they do anticipate this to be a challenging exercise.
Doctor Fong says the public health team is continuing with screening and isolation protocols.
A key part of the response will be to identify persons vulnerable to severe COVID and to pre-emptively engage them in a care plan that allows early identification of danger symptoms and signs and access to clinical care in a timely manner.
Another important part of the response to mitigate severe disease will be community wide engagement to establish specific plans that help maintain oversight over vulnerable persons, and facilitate their timely transfer to a health care facility when required.
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services reiterates its call for maritime islanders not to engage in unauthorized travel to and from Viti Levu.
Doctor Fong says people with severe COVID-19 are still dying at home, or are coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness.
Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease.
You are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 if you are over the age of 50 or have a non-communicable disease or chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease or if you are obese or pregnant.
If you are at high risk of severe disease and have any symptoms of COVID-19 such as a cough, runny nose, fever, sore throat, body ache, headache, loss of taste/smell - please go to your nearest screening clinic to be checked and tested by our medical teams.
Severe symptoms of COVID-19 include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
In Suva-Nausori there are health facilities specifically designated to receive people with symptoms of severe COVID-19.
If you or a loved one live in Suva-Nausori and have any of these severe symptoms please go immediately to CWM Hospital, FEMAT Hospital or Vodafone Arena and individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to Nausori Health Centre or Wainibokasi Hospital.
In the Western Division, please go to your nearest healthcare facility if you have any symptoms of COVID-19.
Call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility.
The public in the North are being reminded that with one active case identified in Nabouwalu, it is important that people throughout Vanua Levu listen to advice and continue to practice COVID-19 safety measures.
The public is requested to practice COVID-19 safety measures of wearing a mask when leaving your home, wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use a hand sanitiser, practice safe physical distancing of 2 metres, ensure that the careFIJI app is downloaded on your phone and enabled and please get vaccinated.
From today, the curfew hours will be from 7pm until 4am for all of Viti Levu.
This has been confirmed by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama in a statement.
He says now that we have fully vaccinated 40% of our target population, we can move the start time of the curfew from 6pm to 7pm.
Bainimarama says once we fully vaccinate 50% of our target population, the curfew start time will be 8pm.
He further says fully vaccinating 60% of our target population will allow us to start the curfew at 9pm and lift the containment area borders in Viti Levu.
Bainimarama adds at the 70% threshold, the curfew will start at 10pm and once we fully vaccinate 80%of our target population, the curfew will start at 11pm.
The Prime Minister says throughout this gradual rollback, the end time of the curfew will remain 4am.
Bainimarama says he knows that a curfew no matter what time it begins is not normal.
He stresses these are not normal times.
The Prime Minister has assured Fijians their goal is to fully restore freedom of movement and association.
He stresses the decision to lift the curfew altogether can only be taken when we have sustained time periods with very few deaths due to the virus.
Bainimarama adds just the same, other relaxations, including the re-opening of certain businesses and allowances for social gatherings, will be announced in step with the best available science.
There are 303 new cases of COVID-19 in Fiji.
185 cases are from the Western Division, 33 cases are from the Central Division and 85 cases from the Eastern Division.
All new cases from the Eastern Division are in Kadavu.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Health Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
There have been 1,468 new recoveries reported since the last update.
This means there are now 19,097 active cases.
10,252 active cases are in the Central Division, 8,713 active cases in the Western Division, 1 active case in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu) and 131 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they are currently reviewing and reconciling their active case database with recoveries and as a result, they expect the recovery numbers to increase in the coming weeks.
There have been 43,527 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 43,597 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 23,809 recoveries.
Five new COVID-19 deaths have been reported for the period of 19th to 22nd August.
This has been confirmed by Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong.
One death was reported from the Central Division and 4 deaths were reported from the Western Division.
The first COVID-19 death to report is an 84 year old man from Nakasi who died at home on 19th August. He was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death to report is a 61 year old woman from Tavua. She presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She reported to have shortness of breath two days prior to her presentation. She died 5 days after admission on 21 August. This woman received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.
A 56 year old woman from Lautoka is the third COVID-19 death. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She reportedly had a cough and shortness of breath for two days prior to her presentation. She died 7 days after admission on 21 August. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 56 year old man from Ba. He presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He was reported to have a fever, cough and shortness of breath two days prior to his presentation. He died 1 day after admission on 22 August. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 50 year old man from Nadi. He presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He was transferred by a medical team from the Nadi Hospital to the Lautoka Hospital.
Sadly, he died 3 days after admission on 22nd August.
His family reported that he had a cough, shortness of breath and generalized weakness one week prior to his presentation. He received the first dose of the vaccine in late-May. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 438 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 436 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
There have been 4 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
These deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There are 303 new cases of COVID-19 in Fiji.
185 cases are from the Western Division, 33 cases are from the Central Division and 85 cases from the Eastern Division.
All new cases from the Eastern Division are in Kadavu.
A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Health Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
There have been 1,468 new recoveries reported since the last update.
This means there are now 19,097 active cases.
10,252 active cases are in the Central Division, 8,713 active cases in the Western Division, 1 active case in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu) and 131 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they are currently reviewing and reconciling their active case database with recoveries and as a result, they expect the recovery numbers to increase in the coming weeks.
There have been 43,527 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 43,597 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 23,809 recoveries.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 6 new COVID-19 deaths from the 16th to the 22nd of August, and this includes a 20-year-old woman.
Three deaths were reported from the Central Division and three deaths were reported from the Western Division.
Doctor Fong says the 20-year-old woman from Rakiraki died at home on 16th August. She received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The second COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old man from Tailevu who died at home on 21st August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The third death is a 44-year-old man from Tailevu. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died 3 days after admission on 22nd August. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 50-year-old woman from Tailevu who died at home on 20th August. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She was not vaccinated.
The fifth death is a 72-year-old woman from Rakiraki who died at home on 21st August. She received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-August. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 71-year-old man from Rakiraki who died at home on 22nd August. He was not vaccinated.
There have been 4 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 444 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 442 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
As of August 18th, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 8.
The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day is 2 in the Central Division 6 in the Western Division.
We also have recorded 257 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There are currently 279 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
110 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 39 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 130 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
26 patients are considered to be in severe condition and 14 are in critical condition.
4 new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Kadavu from Namalata Village bringing the total number of confirmed cases on the island to 135.
591 new cases of COVID-19 have been announced. 498 cases are from the Western Division, 89 cases are from the Central Division and 4 cases from the Eastern Division (Kadavu).
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the situation in Kadavu continues to remain a major concern.
Doctor Fong says the clinical scoping team has put together a clinical response plan that will help to efficiently escalate their response to the expected wave of severe disease and deaths in Kadavu however they do anticipate this to be a challenging exercise.
The team is expected to depart for Kadavu over the next 2 days.
FEMAT response to Kadavu will involve both public health and clinical teams.
The clinical team will include doctors and nurses from the clinical specialized fields of medicine.
Doctor Fong says upon arrival in Kadavu the clinical team will boost up the public health response on case identification through rapid diagnostic tests, risk assessment and stratification, COVID awareness, vaccination coverage and clinical case management based on the clinical care flow pathway.
The aim will be to identify the extent of transmission, instituting containment strategies, early detection and retrieval of sick cases and minimizing deaths.
They will also work very closely with the teams from other ministries under Provincial Administrator Kadavu on community engagement.
Doctor Fong says the main goal is also to minimize severe and critical cases given the expected challenges in medical evacuation.
While they commit towards community response and engagement the logistic teams will be setting up the COVID wards and the intermediate care facilities in readiness for patients with severe COVID-19 disease.
Meanwhile there have been 616 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 19,062 active cases.
9723 active COVID cases are in the Central Division, 9203 active cases in the Western Division, 1 active case in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu) and 135 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
There have been 44,118 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
We have recorded a total of 44,188 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 24,425 recoveries.
320,029 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 362,890 tested since testing began in March 2020.
1,759 tests have been reported for August 22nd.
The 7-day daily test average is 1637 tests per day or 1.8 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 31.5%.
The 7-day average of new cases per day is 514 cases per day or 581 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says the daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time as the drop in numbers, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori.
Since July 21st, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori.
This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.
Doctor Fong says they will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.
The Ministry is closely monitoring indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori.
Doctor Fong says they are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in that division.
The Northern Division remains with one active case, with all contacts in quarantine so far testing negative, and swabbing results from within the containment area, and nearby communities also returning negative.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong is urging all Fijians not to engage in unauthorized travel to and from Viti Levu after two individuals tested positive for COVID-19 in Cubi Settlement, Malolo Island.
Doctor Fong says early investigations reveal that these two individuals travelled to Malolo Island from Viti Levu without proper authorization.
They are currently isolated.
Further details will be provided once investigations are complete.
Doctor Fong says their current protocols to regulate domestic movements must be followed to prevent the spread of the virus beyond Viti Levu.
He says the remoteness of the maritime islands, and their limited resources, mean that any outbreak with severe cases will be very challenging to manage.
Doctor Fong says we need the people in the maritime islands fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to help protect them from severe disease and death before any movement occurs beyond the currently controlled repatriation.
They also repeat the call to all village leaders and elders to support the current efforts to protect our maritime islands and to immediately report any suspicious movements into your community.
302 new cases of COVID-19 have been announced for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today.
148 cases are from the Western Division and 154 cases are from the Central Division.
There have been 430 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 18,916 active cases.
9,653 active cases are in the Central Division, 9,127 active cases in the Western Division, 1 active case in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu) and 135 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
There have been 44,420 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
We have recorded a total of 44,490 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 24,855 recoveries.
322,144 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 365,005 tested since testing began in March 2020.
1,533 tests have been reported for August 23rd.
The 7-day daily test average is 1724 tests per day or 1.9 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 27.9%.
There are 9 new COVID-19 deaths from the 18th to the 23rd of August.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says four deaths were reported from the Central Division and five deaths were reported from the Western Division.
The first COVID-19 death is a 60 year old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in respiratory distress. She reported having a fever, cough and shortness of breath for one week prior to presentation. She died 11 days after admission on 21st August. She was not vaccinated.
The second death is a 67 year old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day on 20th August. She was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death is a 66 year old woman from Navua who died at home on 18th August. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth death is a 66 year old man from Naitasiri. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died 10 days after admission on 23rd August. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is an 84 year old woman from Navua who died at home on 21st August. She was not vaccinated.
The sixth death is a 57 year old man from Nadi. He presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day 23rd August. He was not vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death is an 80 year old man from Nadi. He presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. His family reported that he had shortness of breath for one week prior to the presentation. He died on the same day on 23rd August. He was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 72 year old woman from Suva. She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died 16 days after admission on 23rd August. She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in late July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The ninth death is a 49 year old man from Ba who died at home on 20th August. He was not vaccinated.
There have been 9 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 453 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 451 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
As of August 19th, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 10.
Doctor Fong says the 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day is 4 in the Central Division and 6 in the Western Division.
Fiji has also recorded 266 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There are currently 264 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
111 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 38 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 115 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
24 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 10 are in critical condition.
545,459 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID vaccine and 241,027 have received their second doses.
This means that 93% of the target population have received at least one dose and 41.1% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Meanwhile Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the 7-day average of new cases per day is 473 cases per day or 535 cases per million population per day.
He says they have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, the daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori.
Since July 21st, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori.
This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.
Doctor Fong says they will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.
He says they are likely seeing the effect of this testing policy change now in Suva-Nausori with the drop in daily reported cases.
Doctor Fong says this does not mean that the outbreak is on a downward trend in the Suva-Nausori community.
As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, daily case numbers in Suva-Nausori are currently not being used as an indicator to monitor the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori.
The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori.
They are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in the division.
The Northern Division has one active case, with all contacts in quarantine so far testing negative, and swabbing results from within the containment area, and nearby communities also returning negative.
Doctor Fong says the situation in Kadavu in the Eastern Division continues to remain a concern.
Six new COVID-19 deaths have been confirmed for the period of 22nd to 24th August, which brings the total number of COVID deaths in Fiji to 459.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says three deaths were reported from the Central Division and three deaths were reported from the Western Division.
The first COVID-19 death is a 47 year old man from Naitasiri who died at home on 23rd August. He was not vaccinated.
The second death is a 74 year old man from Ba. He presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died three days after admission on 22nd August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in late July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The third COVID-19 death is an 80 year old man from Sigatoka who died at home on 22nd August. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth death is an 80 year old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died 7 days after admission on 24th August. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is an 85 year old man from Tailevu who died at home on 24th August. He was not vaccinated.
The sixth death is a 65 year old woman from Ba who died at home on 23rd August. She was not vaccinated.
There have been 5 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
As of August 20th, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 8.
The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 3 and in the Western Division is 5.
We also have recorded 271 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 3 new COVID-19 cases in Labasa and 1 death in Naviti Island in Yasawa.
Of the 423 new cases of COVID, 328 cases are from the Western Division, 92 cases are from the Central Division and 3 cases from the Northern Division.
The 3 new cases in Vanua Levu were detected in Namara Tiri Settlement in the Macuata Subdivision.
Doctor Fong says the index case is a freight vehicle driver who works at the Nabouwalu Wharf and was tested as part of the routine surveillance program for those working within the Nabouwalu Wharf operations.
He tested positive on the 24th of August and subsequently 2 household contacts have also turned positive.
Doctor Fong says his previous negative swabs on 14th July, 3rd August and 12th August were negative, suggesting recent exposure and infection.
In response to the cases reported today, the Namara Tiri Settlement has been declared a lockdown area.
Checkpoints will be set up at the 2 road entry points into the settlement.
Doctor Fong says most families in the lockdown area are low income earners.
Food and supplies will be supplied through the police checkpoints to individual families with strict COVID measures.
Based on the movements of the index case, a restricted movement zone is also declared for the greater Labasa Town area.
The objective will be to limit the risk of mass community transmission, and to better screen the local population.
Curfew hours will be brought forward to 8pm to 4am for Labasa Town area.
Doctor Fong says curfew hours will be reviewed, if more cases are identified.
Any person in a public place within the Province of Bua and Macuata, must, except with reasonable excuse, wear a face covering in the proper manner, with effect from 27th August, 2021.
Children under the age of 5 are exempt from this requirement.
Supermarkets and shops selling food can open so that people can buy food. Ensure strict COVID 19 protocols are followed.
Banks can open so that people can get money with strict COVID measures.
Pharmacies can open so that people can get medicine with strict COVID measures.
FNPF can open so that people can access funds with strict COVID measures.
Within the Labasa Town Area, higher-risk businesses, such as gyms, movie theatres, video gaming shops, cyber cafes, taverns, bars, billiard shops and amusement arcades cannot open for at least the next 14 days.
Restaurants may not open for in-person dining, but may offer delivery and take-away services.
Other businesses, such as factories and shops, can open as well. However, it is vital that vendors and businesses ensure strict physical distancing before opening their doors. Make sure customers in queues are spaced out by two metres and manage crowding.
Customer-facing businesses should limit customer capacity to 50%.
Businesses that do not manage these risks with COVID-safe plans will be shut down.
Doctor Fong says they are strengthening their network of screening clinics to keep those with COVID-like symptoms away from vulnerable people who visit Health Centres and into separate, dedicated spaces specially designed to effectively identify possible COVID-19 cases.
Please visit one of the clinics immediately to get tested if you live in the Northern Division and have a runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever, body ache, headache, loss of taste or smell, difficulty breathing.
Meanwhile there has also been a COVID-19 death in Somosomo Village, on Naviti island, in the Yasawas.
This is a 94 year old woman who died at home in Somosomo on 23rd August.
Investigations are underway into how this person became infected, and the Ministry’s response team in the West are conducting contact tracing and testing of contacts to identify more cases on the island.
More information will be provided to the public as investigations progress.
There are 6 more individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Malolo Island.
Malolo now has 23 active cases.
A medical team from Lautoka has travelled to Malolo Island to assist the onsite medical team with the necessary response, including isolation of cases, contact tracing, and quarantine of contacts.
There have been 230 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 19,280 active cases.
9,568 active cases are in the Central Division, 9,573 active cases in the Western Division, 4 active cases in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu and Macuata) and 135 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
There have been 45,098 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
We have recorded a total of 45,168 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 25,138 recoveries.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 8 deaths have been reported from the Western Division and 1 death from the Central Division from 19th to 25th August.
The first COVID-19 death is an 84 year old woman from Ba. She presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day on 24th August. She was not vaccinated.
The second death is a 75 year old woman from Lautoka who died at home on 19th August. She was not vaccinated.
The third death is an 80 year old woman from Nadi who died at home on 25th August. She received the first dose of the vaccine in early-April. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 55 year old woman from Naitasiri who died at home on 25th August. She received the first dose of the vaccine in early July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The fifth death is a 71 year old woman from Lautoka who died at home on 23rd August. She was not vaccinated.
The sixth death is a 59 year old man from Tavua. He presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He was transferred by a medical team from the Tavua Hospital to the Lautoka Hospital. Sadly, he died on the same day on 25th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in late July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The seventh COVID-19 death is a 65 year old woman from Rakiraki. She presented to the Rakiraki Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day on 25th August. She was not vaccinated.
The eighth death is a 94 year old woman from Somosomo Village, Naviti, Yasawa Islands who died at home on 23rd August. She was not vaccinated.
The ninth COVID-19 death is a 75 year old woman from Sigatoka. She presented to the Sigatoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day on 20th August. She received the first dose of the vaccine in mid July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
There have been 11 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 468 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 466 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
As of August 21st, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.
The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day is 3 in the Central Division and 4 in the Western Division.
We also have recorded 282 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There are currently 233 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
102 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 36 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 95 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
39 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 11 are in critical condition.
553,399 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID vaccine and 251,396 have received their second doses.
This means that 94.3% of the target population have received at least one dose and 42.9% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong also says the 7-day average of new COVID cases per day is 365 cases per day or 413 cases per million population per day.
He sags they have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently however, the daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori.
Since July 21st, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori.
This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.
Doctor Fong says we are likely seeing the effect of this testing policy change now in Suva-Nausori with the drop in daily reported cases.
He says this does not mean that the outbreak is on a downward trend in the Suva-Nausori community.
As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, daily case numbers in Suva-Nausori are currently not being used as an indicator to monitor progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori.
The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori.
However, even with the decrease in testing numbers, testing remains above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1000 population per week (or approximately 3500 tests per week).
Doctor Fong says they will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.
He says we are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in the division.
Deaths per day at a 7 day average in the Western Division now surpass the Central Division.
The outlook for the cases found in the North indicate a persistent risk of a community outbreak.
Further tracing and testing results are needed to clearly understand the level of community transmission.
All contacts of the first case identified are in quarantine and so far testing negative. The swabbing results from within the Nabouwalu containment area, and nearby communities are also returning negative.
He says the situation in Kadavu and Malolo Island is extremely concerning as there is clear evidence of community transmission on both islands.
They expect the case numbers to escalate together with the risk of severe disease and death.
The death reported today from Naviti Island in the Yasawas is also of concern as it also suggests there is transmission occurring on the island.
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.
If you have severe flu-like symptoms, like difficulty breathing or chest pain, you need to call 165.
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.
Fiji has recorded 258 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
152 cases are from the Western Division and 106 cases are from the Central Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says 1 new COVID-19 case has been confirmed from Somosomo on Naviti Island in the Yasawa Group.
Dr Fong says the person developed severe COVID-19 symptoms and was medically evacuated to Lautoka Hospital.
Fiji currently has 19,130 active cases. 9,175 active cases are in the Central Division, 9,786 active cases in the Western Division, 5 active cases in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu and Macuata) and 164 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
Dr Fong says there were not any new COVID-19 deaths to report yesterday.
However he says there have been 3 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients and these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 479 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 477 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
As of August 23rd, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7. The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 2 and in the Western Division is 5.
Dr Fong says that due to the time required by clinical teams to investigate, classify and report deaths, a 4-day interval is given to calculate the 7 day rolling average of deaths, based on date of death, in order to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says they are still seeing a high number of cases and high test positivity of 33.5% in the Western Division indicating a very high level of community transmission.
Dr Fong says the test positivity in the Central Division is on a downward trend but still indicating a very high level of community transmission at 20.5%.
He says deaths have also been decreasing in Suva-Nausori over the last 4 weeks, while deaths in the West are still at a high level, with deaths per day at a 7 day average in the Western Division now surpassing the Central Division.
Dr Fong says the 7-day average of new cases per day is 334 cases per day or 377 cases per million population per day.
He adds as previously announced daily case numbers in Suva-Nausori are currently not being used as the sole indicator to monitor progress of the outbreak.
Dr Fong further says the Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak.
He also says with the decrease in testing numbers, testing remains above the World Health Organization’s recommended rate of 4 per 1000 population per week or about 3500 tests per week.
Dr Fong adds they will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.
Dr Fong says the outlook for the cases found in the North indicate a persistent risk of a community outbreak and further tracing and testing results are needed to clearly understand the level of community transmission.
He says all contacts of the first case identified are in quarantine and so far testing negative.
Dr Fong further says the swabbing results from within the Nabouwalu containment area, and nearby communities are also returning negative.
The Nabouwalu index case (wharf worker) is in stable condition and the members of his family have continued to test negative for the virus.
Dr Fong says all primary contacts’ exit swabs have also returned negative.
He further says in regards to the three positive cases in Namara Tiri Labasa, they have established 60 primary contacts so far, adding that all have been swabbed and have returned negative results.
Dr Fong highlighted that the situation in Kadavu and Malolo Island is extremely concerning as there is clear evidence of community transmission on both islands.
He says they expect the case numbers to escalate together with the risk of severe disease and death.
Dr Fong adds the death reported from Naviti Island in the Yasawas is also of concern as it also suggests there is transmission occurring on the island.
Fiji has recorded 396 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am yesterday with 6 new COVID-19 cases confirmed on Malolo Island.
All these individuals have been isolated. There are now 29 active cases on Malolo Island.
Of the 396 cases reported yesterday 303 cases are from the Western Division and 93 cases are from the Central Division.
There were no new COVID-19 deaths to report yesterday.
There have now been 479 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 477 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
There have been 226 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 19,300 active cases. 9,041 active cases are in the Central Division, 10,090 active cases in the Western Division, 5 active cases in Nabouwalu and Macuata, and 164 active cases in Kadavu.
The Ministry of Health says it is currently reviewing and reconciling the active case database with recoveries and as a result, expects the recovery numbers to increase in the coming weeks.
There are currently 236 COVID-19 patients admitted in hospital. 24 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 9 are in critical condition.
As of the 28th of August, 558,894 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 266,598 have received their second doses. This means that 95.3% of the target population have received at least one dose and 45.4% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
The Ministry says they are currently doing a mop-up exercise of their first dose campaign, which will allow them to specifically target communities with low coverage, and subsequently also correct and update the total eligible population for the current vaccination program.
The Ministry of Health says the situation in Kadavu and Malolo Island is extremely concerning as there is clear evidence of community transmission on both islands.
It says they expect the case numbers to escalate together with the risk of severe disease and death.
It further says the death reported from Naviti Island in the Yasawas is also of concern as it also suggests there is transmission occurring on the island.
The Ministry adds the outlook for the cases found in the North indicates a persistent risk of a community outbreak and all contacts of the first case identified are in quarantine and so far tested negative.
It says the swabbing results from within the Nabouwalu containment area, and nearby communities are also returning negative.
The Ministry says in regards to the three positive cases in Namara Tiri Labasa so far, they have established 60 primary contacts. All have been swabbed and have returned negative results.
The Ministry of Health further says that they are still seeing a high number of cases and high test positivity of 33.5% in the Western Division indicating a very high level of community transmission.
Test positivity in the Central Division is on a downward trend but still indicating a very high level of community transmission at 20.5%. Deaths have also been decreasing in Suva-Nausori over the last 4 weeks.
The Ministry says while deaths in the Western Division are still at a high level, with deaths per day at a 7 day average in the West now surpassing the Central Division.
The Health Ministry has confirmed 10 new COVID-19 deaths for the period from the 26th to 30th of August 2021. Seven deaths were reported from the Western Division and three deaths were reported from the Central Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says as of August 25th, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 6. The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 2 and in the Western Division is 4.
The first COVID-19 death is a 44-year-old woman from Tavua. She presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. A medical team from the Tavua Hospital transferred her to the Lautoka Hospital. She had a history of shortness of breath 2 days prior to presentation. She died 4 days after admission. She received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-August. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death to report is a 57-year-old man from Nadi who died at home on 29th August. He was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death to report is a 77-year-old woman from Nadi who died at home on 29th August. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 92-year-old woman from Sigatoka who died at home on 27th August. She was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 48-year-old woman from Lautoka who died at home on 30th August. She was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death to report is a 65-year-old man from Tavua who died at home on 26th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death to report is a 44-year-old woman from Nadi. She presented to the Nadi Hospital on the 29th of August in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day. She was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID-19 death to report is an 84-year-old woman from Navua who died at home on 28th August. She was not vaccinated.
The ninth COVID-19 death to report is a 75-year-old woman from Suva. She presented to the CWM Hospital in respiratory distress. She died on the 29th of August 3 days after admission. She was not vaccinated.
The tenth COVID-19 death to report is an 88-year-old man from Sakoca. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the 27th of August, 12 days after admission. He was not vaccinated.
Dr Fong has also confirmed there have been 10 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Dr Fong says doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 489 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 487 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says Fiji has 184 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am yesterday.
133 cases are from the Western Division, 40 cases are from the Central Division and 11 cases are from Kadavu.
Dr.Fong says there are now 175 active cases of COVID-19 in Kadavu. All these individuals have been isolated.
There are currently 19,463 active cases. 9,058 active cases are in the Central Division, 10,225 active cases in the Western Division, 5 active cases in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu and Macuata) and 175 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
Fiji has had 46,141 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 46,211 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 25,951 recoveries.
There are currently 244 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
113 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 22 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 109 are admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 19 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 13 are in critical condition.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says a 55-year-old fully vaccinated woman with underlying medical conditions passed away on the 28th of August after she went to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress on the same day.
Dr Fong says her family reported that she was feeling unwell with generalized weakness, a cough, shortness of breath and a reduced appetite two weeks prior to her presentation.
He says she received the first dose of the vaccine in late May and she received the second dose of the vaccine on the 23rd of July.
Dr Fong adds although she was fully vaccinated she had underlying medical conditions and background of poor general health.
He says these pre-existing conditions would have toned down her ability to mount a good vaccine-induced immune response and thus impair her ability to fully benefit from the protective effects of the vaccine.
Dr Fong further says their advice is that we all need to continue practicing strict COVID-19 safety measures to protect our vulnerable family members, irrespective of the vaccination status.
The Health Ministry announced 7 new COVID-19 deaths for the period from the 27th to 30th August 2021.
All 7 deaths reported yesterday were from the Western Division.
The second COVID-19 death to report is a 76-year-old woman from Ba who died at home on the 29th of August. She was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death to report is a 72-year-old man from Rakiraki. He presented to the Rakiraki Hospital in severe respiratory distress on the 27th of August and passed away on the same day. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death to report is an 83-year-old woman from Rakiraki. She presented to the Rakiraki Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 74-year-old woman from Rakiraki who died at home on the 29th of August. She was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death to report is a 53-year-old man from Nadi. He presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. A medical team from Nadi transferred him to the Lautoka Hospital. He died 12 days after admission on 30th August. He was not vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death is a 56-year-old woman from Tavua. She presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. A medical team from Tavua transferred her to the Lautoka Hospital. She died 7 days after admission on 29th August. She was not vaccinated.
There has been one death of a COVID-19 positive patient. However, this death has been classified as a non-COVID death by the doctors. The doctors have determined that the death was caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 496 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 494 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
As of August 26th, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 6. The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 2 and in the Western Division is 4.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says Fiji has had 505 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday. 343 cases are from the Western Division, 105 cases are from the Central Division and 57 cases are from the Eastern Division.
Dr Fong says there are 57 new COVID-19 positive cases in Kadavu.
This means there are now 232 active cases of COVID-19 in Kadavu.
All these individuals have been isolated.
There have been 810 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 19,151 active cases.
8,352 active cases are in the Central Division, 10,562 active cases in the Western Division, 5 active cases in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu and Macuata) and 232 active cases in Kadavu.
There have been 46,646 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 46,716 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 26,761 recoveries.
Dr Fong says 9 health screening teams have been deployed to systematically undertake outbreak assessment for the 75 villages and 15 settlements of Kadavu Island.
Seven villages have been completed so far and the initial assessment is anticipated to be completed by the end of this first week of deployment.
The teams are doing swabbing and screening, contact tracing, checking immunization status and doing vaccination, as well as training the Community Health Workers in each community on monitoring positive patients in their own homes with pulse oximeters machine.
Patients who show low readings in oximetry are referred to the zone nurses and to Vunisea Hospital or Kavala Health Centre for further assessment and care.
Dr Fong further says the Vunisea Hospital has been set up as the main COVID admission hospital in Kadavu with 20 bed capacity, and sections of the hospital designated as triage area, COVID admission wards and Non-COVID admission wards.
He adds additional surge admission capacity has been established at admission block of the hospital, and the Vunisea Secondary School has been identified as the possible Intermediate Care facility if patient numbers continue to increase.
To date, 3 COVID patients are admitted at the hospital and in stable condition.
He adds the community engagement team led by the Provincial Administrator Kadavu are assisting with community awareness, home quarantine of cases in their villages, and transfer of cases for admission to Vunisea Hospital.
Dr Fong says movement restriction at Vunisea wharf has been enforced to ensure minimal contact between people when freight and supplies are delivered at the wharf adding that the village headman in each village in Kadavu have voluntarily lockdown their villages, and villagers who are positive are strictly home isolated for 14 days and visited daily by village health workers or zone nurses for monitoring and assessment.
Fiji has recorded 290 new cases of COVID-19.
128 cases are from the Western Division, 137 cases are from the Central Division and 25 cases are from Kadavu.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says this means there are now 257 active cases of COVID-19 in Kadavu. All these individuals have been isolated.
Dr Fong says the health team with the support of the community engagement teams are continuing their work in accessing all villages and communities in Kadavu.
Dr Fong further says given the clear evidence of community transmission on the island, they anticipate that the number of cases will escalate further, together with the risk of severe disease and death.
He adds the ongoing surveillance and testing on Naviti Island have identified ten more cases of COVID-19 with positive cases now noted in Somosomo Village, Nasoqo Settlement, Kese Village, and Muaira Village.
Dr Fong also says Gunu Village has also been identified as high risk and as such with the facilitation of the Assistant Roko for Yasawa, a health team will visit Gunu Village today and conduct assessment and testing for contacts and symptomatic cases.
He adds the tests will need to be run at Lautoka Hospital to confirm the number of cases of COVID-19 in the village.
Dr Fong highlighted that in the coming days, a whole-of-Government community engagement and response team is also planned to visit the villages and settlements in Naviti and Viwa Island to conduct surveillance and testing, awareness sessions, and attend to immediate health and social needs that will be identified during the visit.
Dr Fong says while the two index cases at Cobi Village in Malolo Island have recovered and cleared by the Health team, there are still 22 active cases in Vunibaka and 5 active cases in Solevu Village.
He says surveillance and testing continue at Vunibaka Settlement and Solevu village and movement restriction remains in force for the whole island.
There are now 27 active cases in Malolo, all of whom are linked to the 2 index cases.
There have been 2,306 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 17,124 active cases. 6,182 active cases are in the Central Division, 10,680 active cases in the Western Division, 5 active cases in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu and Macuata) and 257 active cases in Kadavu.
There have been 46,936 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 47,006 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 29,067 recoveries.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says Fiji has 8 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period from the 27th August - 1st September 2021.
7 deaths were reported from the Western Division and 1 death was reported from the Central Division.
The first COVID-19 death to report is an 87-year-old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died 9 days after admission on 30th August. He was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death to report is a 56-year-old man from Tavua.
He presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
He died 8 days after admission on 30th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death to report is a 71-year-old woman from Lautoka.
She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
She died 11 days after admission on 31st August. She received the first dose of the vaccine in early June.
She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 67-year-old man from Tavua.
He presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
A medical team from Tavua transferred him to the Lautoka Hospital. He died on 30th August. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 76-year-old woman from Nadi who died at home yesterday. She was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death to report is a 65-year-old man from Nadi who died at home on 30th August.
He received the first dose of the vaccine in late July.
He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death to report is a 78-year-old man from Ba who died at home on 30th August. He was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID-19 death to report is a 46-year-old woman from Sigatoka.
She presented to the Korolevu Health Center in severe respiratory distress.
She passed away on the 27th of August. She received the first dose of the vaccine in late July.
She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.
There have been 3 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 504 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 502 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
As of August 27th, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 6.
The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 2 and in the Western Division is 4.
We have also recorded 311 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
A 71-year-old woman from Nausori has passed away due to COVID-19.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says she presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
Dr Fong says she passed away on Wednesday. She was not vaccinated.
There have been 4 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
Fiji has now had 505 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 503 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Dr Fong says as of August 28th, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 5.
The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 1 and in the Western Division is 4.
There are currently 241 COVID-19 patients admitted in the hospital.
Dr Fong says 15 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 14 are in critical condition.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says Fiji has 250 new cases of COVID-19 with 186 cases from the Western Division, 51 cases are from the Central Division and 13 cases from Kadavu.
Dr Fong says there are now 270 active cases of COVID-19 in Kadavu. All these individuals have been isolated.
He further says the health team in Kadavu with the support of the community engagement team are continuing their work in accessing all villages and communities.
Dr Fong adds new cases continue to be diagnosed over the last 24 hours.
He also says rapid diagnostic tests are also being used in Kadavu and as such, the total number of cases under follow up in Kadavu is 273; 3 more than what is confirmed from Fiji CDC Data alluded to above.
Dr Fong says of these 142 cases have recovered from the disease, and 131 active cases remain under isolation.
Dr Fong also highlighted that the health risk assessment done on the active cases show that 83 cases were considered low risk, while 48 cases were in the moderate and high-risk categories, and are under close observation by the health team.
He says surveillance and testing continue at Vunibaka Settlement and Solevu Village on Malolo Island and movement restriction remains in force for the whole island.
2 new cases were identified in Solevu village bringing a total of 32 active cases on the island.
A 54 year old man was airlifted to Lautoka Hospital yesterday afternoon and assessed to have severe COVID. He is currently in stable condition.
Dr Fong says a 43 year old woman has tested positive for COVID-19 in Kese Village, Naviti Island in the last 24 hours.
Investigations suggest that the case is linked to the cases in Somosomo village.
There have been 1,102 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 16,267 active cases. 5130 active cases are in the Central Division, 10,862 active cases in the Western Division, 5 active cases in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu and Macuata) and 270 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
There have been 47,186 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 47,256 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 30,169 recoveries.
253 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says 163 cases are from the Western Division, 59 cases are from the Central Division and 31 cases are from the Eastern Division.
There are 31 new COVID-19 positive cases in Kadavu, 2 new COVID-19 positive cases in Solevu Village in Malolo Island and 21 new COVID-19 positive cases in the Yasawa Islands. All these individuals have been isolated.
There are now 16,352 active cases.
5,021 active cases are in the Central Division, 11,025 active cases in the Western Division, 5 active cases in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu and Macuata) and 301 active cases in the Eastern Division.
Meanwhile, 565,239 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 291,647 have received their second doses. This means that 96.4% of the target population have received at least one dose and 49.7% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Three non-vaccinated people have died from COVID-19 between 31st August and 2nd September.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr James Fong says two deaths were reported from the Western Division and one was reported from the Central Division.
All three were declared dead on arrival at the hospital. Their ages were between 43 years and 84 years.
The first COVID-19 death is a 43-year-old man from Nadi. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Nadi Hospital.
The second COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Hospital.
The third COVID-19 death is a 71-year-old man from Suva. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the CWM Hospital Emergency Department.
There have been 2 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients, however these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
There have now been 508 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
He says they have also recorded 317 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
Dr. Fong says there are 221 COVID-19 patients admitted in the hospital. 98 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 18 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 105 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
16 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 10 are in critical condition.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong confirms Fiji has 200 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday with 131 cases from the Western Division, 67 from the Central Division, 2 cases in Kadavu, 7 cases on Malolo Island and 29 cases in Naviti, Yasawa Islands.
Dr Fong also confirmed there were no COVID-19 deaths to report yesterday.
There have been 2 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have been 13 new recoveries which means that there are now 16,537 active cases. 5,077 active cases are in the Central Division, 11,154 active cases in the Western Division, 4 active cases in the Northern Division and 302 active cases in Kadavu.
Dr Fong says as of midday yesterday 50.9% of the target population are now fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.
Dr Fong adds because of this, the curfew will now start from 8pm – 4am as per the Prime Minister’s statement on the achievement of 50% full vaccination on the 22nd of August.
He also says they are announcing that funeral gathering restrictions have been increased to 20 persons.
Dr Fong highlighted that the change of the curfew hours and the increase of funeral gatherings to 20 persons must not make us complacent with COVID safe measures.
He says while we have more time for shopping and carrying out other essential activities, they advise the public that other health protection measures remain.
Dr Fong further says they are reviewing some of our restrictions however please restrict movement out of your homes.
Dr Fong adds when leaving home, please continue to practice COVID-19 safe measures of wearing a mask, regularly washing your hands with soap and water or a hand sanitiser, practise safe physical distancing of two meters and cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing; these are still critical for protection against COVID-19.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says there were no COVID deaths to report yesterday, however, there are 2 deaths currently under investigation.
Dr Fong says as of August 31st, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 4. The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 1 and in the Western Division is 3.
He says there have now been 508 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 506 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Dr Fong also confirmed 156 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am yesterday.
79 cases are from the Western Division, 73 cases are from the Central Division and 4 cases are from the Eastern Division.
Dr Fong says there are 4 new COVID-19 positive cases in Kadavu and 13 new COVID-19 positive cases in Naviti, Yasawa Islands. All these individuals have been isolated.
There are now 15,997 active cases. 4,522 active cases are in the Central Division, 11,164 active cases in the Western Division, 4 active cases in the Northern Division (Macuata), and 307 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
566,285 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 300,039 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says this means that 96.5% of the target population have received at least one dose and 51.1% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Dr Fong says they are currently doing a mop up exercise of their first dose campaign, which will allow them to specifically target communities with low coverage, and re-look at certain subdivisions that are generating coverage rates beyond 100%.
He adds this will allow them to correct and update the total eligible population for their current vaccination program.
12 new COVID-19 deaths have been reported between 27th July and 5th September. All these individuals were not vaccinated.
The Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says four deaths were reported from the Western Division and eight deaths were reported from the Central Division.
The 1st COVID-19 death is a 90-year-old man from Navua who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The 2nd COVID-19 death is a 28-year-old woman from Lautoka. She was not vaccinated.
The 3rd COVID-19 death to report is a 90-year-old woman from Nadi who died at home on 03/09/2021. She was not vaccinated.
The 4th death is a 58-year-old man from Nausori who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The 5th COVID-19 death is a 56-year-old man from Suva. He was not vaccinated.
The 6th COVID-19 death is a 62-year-old woman from Suva who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The 7th death is a 69-year-old woman from Suva who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The 8th death is a 57-year-old man from Suva who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The 9th death is a 69-year-old man from Suva who was not vaccinated.
The 10th COVID-19 death is a 43-year-old man from Rakiraki who was not vaccinated.
The 11th death is a 74-year-old man from Suva who died at home and was not vaccinated.
The 12th COVID-19 death is a 93-year-old man from Tavua who died at home and was not vaccinated.
There have been 19 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients however, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
There have now been 520 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
128 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
78 cases are from the Western Division, 45 cases are from the Central Division and 5 cases are from the Eastern Division.
The Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says there are 5 new COVID-19 positive cases in Kadavu and 1 new COVID-19 positive case in Naviti, Yasawa Islands. All these individuals have been isolated.
There are now 14,404 active cases.
Dr. Fong says there are currently 195 COVID-19 patients admitted in hospitals around the country.
82 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 14 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 99 are admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
24 patients are in severe condition, and 6 are in critical condition.
Dr. Fong adds as of the 4th September, 566,210 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 299,943 have received their second doses.
This means that 96.5% of the target population have received at least one dose and 51.1% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
The Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says the drowning of a COVID-19 positive individual at Yaqeta Village has alerted the Nacula Health Centre team in the Yasawa Group on the possible presence of the disease within their medical area.
He says while Police are investigating this death, the health team is working in close collaboration with the Mata ni Tikina and villagers for the necessary assessment and contact tracing work for the village and the island.
Dr. Fong says no other cases have been identified on the island to date.
Meanwhile, no new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the Namara Tiri settlement in Labasa in the last 24 hours.
Of the total of 9 cases to date, 5 patients have fully recovered and there are now 4 active cases.
Movement restriction remains in force for the containment zone and for the whole of Labasa town.
There are now 3,238 active cases of COVID-19 in the Central Division, 10,748 cases in the Western Division, 4 active cases in Macuata in the Northern Division and 125 active cases in Kadavu.
The Health Ministry has also confirmed that 5 unvaccinated people have died due to COVID-19 in the Central Division from 21st July to 6th August 2021.
The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day is 1 in the Central Division and 3 in the Western Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says these deaths were being reported yesterday as there was a delay in the issuance of the official death certificates.
The first COVID-19 death is an 85-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 22nd July. She was not vaccinated.
The second death is a 58-year-old man from Nadera who died at home on 30th July. He was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death is a 61-year-old woman from Makoi who died at home on 4th August. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth death is a 73-year-old woman from Kinoya who died at home on 6th August. She was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 70-year-old man from Nausori who died at home on 21st July. He was not vaccinated.
There have been 7 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 525 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 523 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
We also have recorded 345 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
There are currently 180 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
75 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 12 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 93 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles and Makoi.
20 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 7 are in critical condition.
160 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 88 cases are from the Western Division and 72 cases are from the Central Division.
There are 4 new COVID-19 positive cases in Naviti, Yasawa Islands. All these individuals have been isolated.
There have been 440 new recoveries, which means that there are now 14,115 active cases.
There have been 48,083 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
We have recorded a total of 48,153 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 33,168 recoveries.
A 4-month old baby is among the 3 COVID-19 deaths that were recorded between 30th August to 7th September.
All three deaths were from the Central Division.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says the 4-month old baby presented to a health centre in mild respiratory distress on 1st September.
Dr Fong says he was medically assessed and stabilized by the attending medical officer and was then transferred to the CWM Hospital for specialist care.
He further says as per protocol upon admission, he was tested for COVID-19 and was noted to be positive.
Dr Fong adds his mother reported that he had a cough and was noted to be irritable two days prior to their presentation and developed a fever on the night prior to his presentation.
Dr Fong says sadly, he died five days after admission on 6th September.
The second COVID-19 death is a 66-year-old man from Naitasiri who died at home on 7th September. He received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-June. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man from Naitasiri. He presented to the Vunidawa Hospital in severe respiratory distress and passed away on 30th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
There have been 8 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 528 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 526 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 1 and in the Western Division is 3.
Fiji has also recorded 353 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
240 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday with 159 cases on Kadavu, 49 cases from the Western Division, 32 from the Central Division and 4 new cases on Malolo Island.
All these individuals have been isolated.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says there are now 13,597 active cases.
2,516 active cases are in the Central Division, 10,793 active cases in the Western Division, 4 active cases in the Northern Division (Macuata) and 284 active cases in Kadavu
He says there have been 48,323 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 48,393 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 33,915 recoveries.
Dr Fong says there are currently 169 COVID-19 patients admitted in hospital. 80 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 12 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 77 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
20 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 7 are in critical condition.
5 unvaccinated people have died due to COVID-19 between 16th July to 8th September 2021. One death was reported from the Western Division and four deaths were reported from the Central Division.
Their ages were between 62 to 83 years.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says the death for the month of July, was being reported yesterday due to the delay in the issuance of the official death certificate.
The first COVID-19 death is an 80-year-old man from Sigatoka. He presented to the Sigatoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress on the 6th of September and passed away on the same day. He was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 70-year-old man from Beqa Island who died at home on 8th September. He was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death is a 62 year old man from Navua. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Navua Hospital on 4th September. This means that he died on his way to the hospital or at home. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 79-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 16th July. He was not vaccinated. This was being reported yesterday due to a delay in the issuance of the original death certificate.
The fifth COVID-19 death is an 83-year-old man from Navua who died at home on 7th September. He was not vaccinated.
Dr Fong also says they have two further adjustments to previously reported deaths.
He says the age of the baby whose death was reported on Wednesday was actually 2 and a half months old which makes him the youngest victim.
Dr Fong further says the reported death of the case who drowned in Yaqeta is considered to have been a historical case, however out of an abundance of caution, they will be sending a team to conduct some community surveillance tests in Yaqeta.
There have been 6 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 533 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 531 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 1 and in the Western Division is 3.
179 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed for the period that ended at 8am yesterday. 87 cases are from the Western Division, 90 cases are from the Central Division, 1 case is from the Eastern Division and 1 case is from the Northern Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says the new case of COVID-19 in the Northern Division travelled from the Western Division as part of the ongoing repatriation program on 8th September.
He says as per protocol the man was tested whilst in the Government designated quarantine facility in Labasa and tested positive. The case is stable and has been transferred to the Malau Isolation Facility.
Dr Fong says there is a possibility that this is a historical case and this is currently being investigated. There are currently five active cases in the Northern Division.
Dr Fong further says 5 new cases were diagnosed on Malolo Island bringing the total number of cases on the island to 50.
Of these, 25 individuals have recovered and have been discharged from follow up, while 25 remain active and all are in the village of Solevu. The active cases are stable, and under ongoing daily assessment by the health team. Movement restriction remains in force for the island.
Three new cases were identified in the last 24 hours on Naviti Island. This brings the total number of cases to 110 of which 109 remain active. Contact tracing continues with daily assessment and screening of symptomatic individuals done in the villages.
Three patients on Waya Island have been referred to Lautoka Hospital for further assessment. The intermediate team visited the villages on the island and undertook the assessment for possible new cases. The district nurses on the island continue to provide awareness sessions on COVID-19 prevention in the villages and settlements.
Kadavu recorded three new cases in the last 24 hours bringing the total number of cases to 455. Of these, 311 have recovered and 142 remain active.
There were no COVID-19 deaths reported for the last 24 hours however, the Health Ministry confirmed a 36-year-old partially vaccinated man from Lautoka has passed away due to COVID-19 on 24th August.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says he presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
Dr Fong says he received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early-July and he did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
Dr Fong adds 4 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients were recorded however, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 534 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 532 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 1 and in the Western Division is 2.
Dr Fong further says there are currently 142 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
60 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 7 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 75 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 13 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 5 are in critical condition.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong has confirmed that Fiji has recorded 143 new cases of COVID-19 of which 76 are from the Western Division, 59 are from the Central Division and 8 from the Eastern Division.
Dr Fong says Kadavu recorded 8 new cases bringing the total number of cases to 463.
He says all villages remain on movement restrictions enforced by the Police and the Vanua, while the village of Tawava and the seven villages of Yale Tikina are on strict lockdown.
Dr Fong adds the outreach teams continue to visit the villages and communities undertaking to follow up of primary contacts, monitoring of positive patients and clearance, roll out of COVID-19 vaccination, maternal and child health clinic and vaccination, and consultation with medicine replenishment.
Dr Fong further says no new cases were recorded on Malolo Island in the last 24 hours and the 25 active cases remain stable. Daily surveillance and screening are ongoing for the villages, and movement restrictions remain in force for the island.
He also confirmed that Naviti Island also did not record any new cases in the last 24 hours. The 109 active cases remain under daily assessment while surveillance continues for the contacts and villagers in the seven settlements and villages. Movement restriction remains in force for the villages in the island.
Dr Fong says there have been 93 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 13,407 active cases.
2,238 active cases are in the Central Division, 10,871 active cases in the Western Division, 5 active cases in the Northern Division and 293 active cases in Kadavu.
There have been 48,645 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 48,715 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 34,411 recoveries.
96.9% of the target population have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine while 56.2% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
This means that 568,246 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 329,849 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says there are currently 142 COVID-19 patients admitted in hospital.
60 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 7 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 75 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
13 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 5 are in critical condition.
A 34 year old woman from Nadi has passed away due to COVID-19.
She was not fully vaccinated as she did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
There have now been 535 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
The Ministry of Health has also recorded 363 COVID-19 positive patients who died from serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
Meanwhile, 143 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today.
86 cases are from the Western Division, 55 cases are from the Central Division and 2 cases are from the Eastern Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says there are now 12,861 active cases. 1,605 active cases are in the Central Division, 10,956 active cases in the Western Division, 5 active cases in the Northern Division and 295 active cases are in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
There are currently 130 COVID-19 patients admitted in hospital. 18 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 5 are in critical condition.
Dr. Fong adds 568,998 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 338,251 have received their second doses.
He says this means that 97% of the target population have received at least one dose and 57.7% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
The Ministry of Health has noted the downturn in COVID-19 case numbers and positivity rate although they are limiting the testing to high-risk groups and places of concern.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says this coupled with the decreasing numbers of admissions, severe disease, and deaths are all consistently indicating that they are on the tail end of the epidemic.
He says the hospital COVID bed occupancy is getting less with increased critical care bed reserves which are now increasingly deployed for non-COVID clinical care and their oxygen therapy intervention reserves are at 80%.
Dr. Fong says these gains will support their national endeavor to get people back to their homes and facilitate their return to greater social and economic stability.
He says despite these gains, the Ministry of Health remains guarded in its outlook on the future.
Dr. Fong adds they are concerned that there remain too many pockets of unvaccinated communities with high numbers of vulnerable persons living among them.
He says the Ministry has put in place processes to identify these groups.
Meanwhile, 569,931 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 341,679 have received their second doses. This means that 97.1% of the target population have received at least one dose and 58.2% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
128 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today while no new deaths have been recorded due to this virus.
90 cases are from the Western Division and 38 cases are from the Central Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says there are now 12,814 active cases.
1,474 active cases are in the Central Division, 11,043 active cases in the Western Division, 2 active cases in the Northern Division (Macuata) and 295 active cases are in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
There have been 2 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients however, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths.
There have now been 535 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
The Ministry of Health has also recorded 365 COVID-19 positive patients who died from serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
There are currently 127 COVID-19 patients admitted in hospital.
17 patients are in severe condition, and 4 are in critical condition.
37 COVID-19 cases have now been identified in Dakuni village on Beqa island, while 11 more cases have been diagnosed in Dakuibeqa village in the last 24 hours.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says this brings the total number of cases on the island to 48.
Three patients have been transferred to CWM Hospital including a 70-year-old patient with severe COVID-19 disease.
He says health teams continue to provide education and awareness to the villagers to assist in their acceptance of the much-needed testing and intervention on the island.
Movement restrictions remain in force for the whole island.
Meanwhile, no new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Kadavu in the last 24 hours.
11 patients are admitted in Vunisea Hospital. 5 are COVID-19 positive and currently in stable condition while 6 have tested negative for the virus.
Dr. Fong says movement restrictions and targeted village lockdowns for Tawava Village and the villages in Yawe tikina remain in force.
He says Malolo island did not record any new case in the last 24 hours. Dr. Fong says movement restrictions remain in force for all villages on the island.
He also confirms surveillance and testing conducted in Gunu village and Nasoqo village on Naviti island revealed 9 new cases who are now in isolation in their villages.
As of 12th September, 97.2% of the target population in Fiji have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 58.3% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
This means 569,958 adults have received their first dose and 342,191 have received their second doses.
Fiji’s target population for vaccination is 586,651 adults.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry says there are currently 117 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
44 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 8 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 65 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
12 patients are considered to be in severe condition and 3 are in critical condition.
There are 127 new cases of COVID-19 in Fiji while 3 new COVID-19 deaths have been reported for the period of 10th to 12th September 2021.
Two deaths were reported for the Central Division and one death was reported from the Western Division.
The first COVID-19 death to report is a 60-year-old woman from Waya Island.
She presented to the Yalobi Nursing Station in severe respiratory distress.
Her family reported that she had a fever, sore throat and a cough one week prior to her presentation.
She was retrieved by a medical team and transferred to the Lautoka Hospital.
Sadly, she died 5 days after admission on Sunday.
She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death to report is an 81-year-old woman from Tailevu who died at home last Friday.
She was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death to report is an 80-year-old man from Navua who died at home on Sunday.
He was not vaccinated.
There are 12,925 active cases of COVID-19.
1,503 active cases are in the Central Division, 11,117 active cases in the Western Division, 2 active cases in the Northern Division (Macuata) and 303 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
There has been 1 more death of a COVID-19 positive patient.
However, this death has been classified as a non-COVID death by their doctors.
The doctors have determined that this death was caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 538 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 536 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services is sending a team of 20 healthcare and allied healthcare workers to Yanuca and Beqa Island this morning for 3 days.
A total of 37 positive cases have now been identified in Dakuni village on Beqa island, while 11 more cases have been diagnosed in Dakuibeqa village in the last 24 hours.
This brings the total number of cases on the island to 48.
Three positive cases have been transferred to CWM Hospital including a 70 year old patient with severe COVID-19 disease.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says the team is planned to conduct mass swabbing of the 10 villages, conduct assessments of individuals considered high risk and vulnerable and conduct awareness of COVID-19 in these communities.
He says they are truly thankful to the village elders and leaders who have helped in their quest to contain or mitigate the outbreak in the affected maritime islands.
Doctor Fong has repeated their call to the maritime islanders; please do not engage in unauthorized travel to and from Viti Levu.
He stresses that all their current protocols to regulate domestic movements have been working in removing the risk of viral leakage into your communities.
The Permanent Secretary says for those islands yet to be affected, they repeat the call to all village leaders and elders to support our current efforts to protect our maritime islands by immediately reporting any suspicious movements into your community and having in place quarantine/isolation measures to deal with all travellers into their respective community.
He is also appealing for community support for vaccination.
Kadavu recorded 8 new cases in the last 24 hours bringing the total number of cases on the island to 473.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says nine cases are admitted at Vunisea hospital; 4 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition and 5 are negative for COVID-19.
He says mobile outreach teams continue their visits to villages and settlements carrying out follow up of primary contacts, monitoring of positive patients and roll out of COVID-19 Vaccination.
Doctor Fong adds movement restrictions and targeted village lockdowns for Tawava village and the villages in Yawe tikina remain in force.
59.6% of Fiji’’s target population are now fully vaccinated.
It was earlier announced by the government that the curfew would move from 9pm to 4am and the containment areas in Viti Levu would be lifted when 60% of Fiji’s target population is fully vaccinated.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says as of 13th September, 573,247 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 350,007 have received their second doses.
This means that 97.3% of the target population have received at least one dose and 59.6% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Doctor Fong says as the second dose coverage increases, it is expected that internal borders within Viti Levu will be lifted soon.
He stresses that unfortunately, villages and settlements in our rural areas continue to record low vaccination coverage.
Doctor Fong adds as such the public needs to remain cautious about how they engage in the greater freedom of movement that they will be enjoying.
He says whilst they understand that increased public movement is needed to facilitate livelihood and to get more families together they will be outlining further measures to reduce the risk that travelers will place on these villages and communities.
There are 131 new cases of COVID-19 and one new COVID-19 death.
The one death reported is from the Central Division.
He is a 63-year-old man who presented to the Navua Hospital in severe respiratory distress and died on the same day on Sunday.
He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in mid-August.
This man did not receive the second dose of the vaccine which means that he was not fully vaccinated.
63 of the new cases are from the Western Division, 66 new cases are from the Central Division and 2 new cases are from the Eastern Division.
There are now 12,951 active cases.
1,480 active cases are in the Central Division, 11,164 active cases in the Western Division, 2 active cases in the Northern Division (Macuata), and 305 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
There have been 49,174 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 49,244 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There have now been 539 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 537 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has also recorded 366 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
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26 new COVID-19 cases have been reported on Waya Island in Yasawa while Beqa Island has recorded 10 new cases in the last 24 hours.
There are now 58 cases in total on Beqa.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says positive cases on Waya Island are spread over the six villages on the island.
25 cases remain active and under home isolation in their villages with a daily assessment conducted by the Yalobi nursing station health team.
Meanwhile, one new case has been recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 474.
12 patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, 5 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition while 7 are negative for COVID-19.
23 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed on Nacula Island where the cases are split between the two villages of Nacula and Naisisili.
The positive cases are under isolation in their respective villages and monitored daily by the health team from Nacula Health Center.
No new cases have been reported for Malolo and Naviti Island in the last 24 hours.
Of the total 56 cases diagnosed to date on Malolo, 30 people have recovered and 26 active cases remain.
There are 142 active cases on Naviti Island. The island has had a total of 146 cases so far.
All islands remain under strict movement restrictions.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says as of 14th of September 577,005 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 363,420 have received their second doses.
This means that 97.5% of the target population have received at least one dose and 61.9% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Dr Fong says over the last two weeks, the team has been validating its data to ensure that the level of protection across Viti Levu is equitably distributed.
He further says they are currently validating areas of concern and will be outlining further measures to reduce the risk that travellers will place on these areas of concern.
Dr Fong adds they will also be reviewing other restrictions currently in place and a formal announcement will be made today on the lifting of borders and other measures.
Dr Fong says until this announcement is made all current measures remain in force.
The Health Ministry says the eligible children’s 1st dose vaccination is planned for rollout from Monday 20th September 2021 and the 2nd dose from Monday 18th October 2021.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says working with the Ministry of Education, they will begin with children in the age group of 15 to 17 years.
Dr Fong says a stringent process is in place to ensure that parental or guardian consent is secured and online registration is encouraged before vaccination.
Dr Fong reiterates that no vaccine will be given without the consent of parents or guardians.
The Ministry has set aside the required number of vials of vaccine to ensure that the target population between 15 to 17-year-old can receive both doses of the vaccine.
Dr Fong says vaccination for children aged 12 to 17 years is safe and similar to adults, children can also experience the side effects of COVID-19 vaccination such as pain at the jab site, swelling, fever, and body aches.
He also says these symptoms should subside over a few days.
Dr Fong adds severe side effects are rare and the risk of getting a severe infection and succumbing to COVID-19 is still higher than the risk of adverse events from vaccination.
He says therefore, parents and guardians are encouraged to agree for their children to be vaccinated to protect them from COVID-19.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Fiji has recorded 146 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today with 69 cases from the Western Division, 68 cases are from the Central Division and 9 cases are from the Eastern Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says there are now 12,870 active cases.
1,328 active cases are in the Central Division, 11,226 active cases in the Western Division, 2 active cases in the Northern Division (Macuata), and 314 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
There were no COVID-19 deaths to report for the last 24 hours however the Health Ministry has confirmed that a 93-year-old man from Suva died at home on 16th July. He was not vaccinated.
Dr Fong says this death is being reported today due to the delay in the issuance of the death certificate.
There have been 8 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 540 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 538 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Kadavu now has a total of 483 cases after 9 new cases were recorded in the last 24 hours.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says nine patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, of which 4 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition, and 5 are negative for COVID-19.
He says mobile outreach teams continue with their visits to villages and settlements carrying out the follow-up of primary contacts, monitoring of positive patients and clearance, roll out of COVID-19 vaccination, MCH clinic and immunization of babies, GOPD consultation, and SOPD clinic with medicine replenishment.
Doctor Fong says the Kavala health team is continuing with 2nd dose vaccinations as well as 1st dose jabs as part of the mop-up campaign.
He adds a clinical outreach team from Vunisea conducted specialist obstetrics, paediatric, internal medicine, and ultrasound scan clinics at Kavala health centre yesterday.
Movement restrictions and targeted village lockdowns for Tawava village and the villages in Yawe tikina remain in force.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has announced that from 4am today, 17th September 2021, the containment area borders will lift everywhere on Viti Levu, the curfew hours for Viti Levu will be from 9pm until 4am and everywhere in Fiji, social gatherings of up to 20 people will be permitted indoors in people’s homes.
Bainimarama says domestic travel will be open everywhere on Viti Levu from today however inter-island travel will remain highly controlled, including to Vanua Levu, until we achieve higher vaccination coverage in Vanua Levu and our outer islands.
He says with domestic travel open, public service vehicles will be able to operate at 70% capacity, and employers who were required under COVID-safe measures to transport staff to and from work will no longer need to do so.
The Prime Minister says for outdoor venues, gatherings will be allowed up to 30 people.
From October 4th, all workplaces, tertiary institutions, houses of worship, hotels, restaurants, cafés, cinemas, gyms, pools, tattoo parlours will be able to open at 70% capacity, but only to fully vaccinated persons.
Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama says as part of the Vaccination Authentication Exercise, they will be rolling out a VAX-Check tool that allows for real-time digital verification of vaccine status that venues can use to confirm the vaccine status of their patrons.
He says when the doors of these venues open, all other COVID-safe measures must be strictly enforced.
The Prime Minister says this means masks must be worn, two metres of physical distance should be maintained where possible, and careFIJI must be installed on everyone’s phones, with Bluetooth switched on.
Bainimarama says these relaxations are not for anyone to tread carelessly.
He says they are introducing new regulations that allow for spot checks on venues, businesses and houses of worship.
Those who do not respect these measures risk serious fines or being shut down.
The Prime Minister stresses that we must wield these new freedoms responsibly as our journey to the new normal is a marathon, not a sprint.
Bainimarama says this war is not over and the defence is to continue to test, trace, and isolate COVID-19 positive patients.
He advises that if you are feeling unwell, please stay home, and please continue to keep a careful eye on those most vulnerable, the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.
The Prime Minister says community leaders should continue to keep careful track of who exits and enters their communities, employers should continue to enforce COVID-safe practices for their staff and their customers and leaders in houses of worship should be sure their devotees are adherent to COVID-safe practices as well.
He has also revealed that they will soon publish the vaccination rates of all areas along the King’s and Queen’s highways and other major routes so that travellers know which areas are safest to stop to take a rest, fill in fuel, buy vegetables, coconuts to drink or hot corn or BBQ to eat.
Bainimarama says everyone should read that list carefully before getting in the car and heading anywhere.
Please avoid areas with lower vaccination coverage.
If you are an unvaccinated Fijian living in an area with low vaccine coverage, do not wait another day to get the jab.
If you are only partially vaccinated, please maintain strict adherence to every COVID-safe measure and make sure to get your second jab.
The Prime Minister also confirms at the 70% threshold, the curfew hours for Viti Levu will move from 10pm to 4am.
At the 80% threshold, the curfew will be from 11pm to 4am, they expect that all businesses will fully re-open to fully vaccinated Fijians, all sports including team sports can be played again, and stadiums can re-open.
Bainimarama says their goal is to free our country and our economy from the rut of the pandemic.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says once we vaccinate at least 80% of adults in Fiji, we will be in an excellent position to open quarantine-free travel with other countries that have deployed the same Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca vaccines we are using in Fiji.
Bainimarama says at this point, that includes Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Korea, Singapore, and parts of the USA.
The Prime Minister says at the rate we are going, we expect to be ready to accept travellers well before our goal of celebrating Christmas in Fiji with our friends from around the world.
He says in fact, they are looking at reopening as soon as this November.
Bainimarama says while much of that depends on the next several weeks and what the science informs us is safest, he wants the Fijians who depend on tourism to know they are doing everything possible to get you back to work and bring this industry back from the brink.
He says they will be establishing mutually recognised vaccine protocol agreements with the governments, which essentially shows that we are comfortable with their levels of vaccine coverage and that we can rely on the vaccine status of their travellers and, vice versa, that Fijians can prove their vaccine status when travelling abroad.
Bainimarama says for Fiji’s part, Fiji Airways has achieved the highest possible SKYTRAX 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating and the Diamond certification by the Airline Passenger Experience Association and SimpliFlying, and nearly every hotel and tour operator in Fiji is Care Fiji Commitment certified.
The Prime Minister also confirms that their plan is not to open quarantine-free travel with the entire world in one go.
He says it will be gradual, starting with travellers from exclusive green list areas with similarly high rates of vaccination to ours and low test positivity rates.
Travellers from these potential green list areas must be fully vaccinated and receive pre-departure approval, which will be easily obtained online.
Though they are fully vaccinated, these travellers must also register a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of boarding their flight to Fiji.
Once they arrive, these travellers can vacation in designated travel safe areas where they can enjoy the best of Fiji knowing that everyone they interact with will be fully vaccinated, from their fellow guests to the hotel staff, to the tour operators.
Bainimarama says they are drawing up the boundaries of these travel safe areas in close cooperation with the tourism industry.
He says they will have regular in-country testing and clear protocols in the event of breakthrough infections.
The Prime Minister says the well-established protocols for quarantine centres will remain in effect for people who are not vaccinated or who are not travelling to Fiji from a green list country and they are also accommodating for the long-awaited reunions between friends and family throughout the Fijian diaspora.
Fully vaccinated travellers from green list countries can travel throughout Fiji after spending five days within a travel safe area and clearing another negative COVID-19 test result.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says they will be vaccinating children between 15 to 17 years with the Moderna vaccine and this exercise is expected to start from Monday.
Dr Fong says they will not be making the vaccine mandatory for children though it is the best choice any young person can make for their health and the health of others.
While making the announcement, Dr Fong says they will be vaccinating children between 12 to 14 years with the Pfizer vaccine and more announcements will be done soon.
Dr Fong is encouraging parents and guardians to discuss with their children about the vaccine, encourage them that the vaccine is best for them and help them to understand why they are being vaccinated.
He says the vaccination for children between 15 to 17 years will be rolled out through school clusters and details will be announced this weekend.
Dr Fong further says parents and guardians will be asked to sign a consent form and they can register their children online through the vaccine portal from Saturday.
Dr Fong reiterates that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are safe for children and no short cuts have been taken in granting the approvals for these vaccines to be used to vaccinate children.
He adds that Moderna provides 95%t efficacy while Pfizer provides 92%.
Dr Fong further says like any other vaccine, there is a small chance children who are partially or fully vaccinated can still get COVID.
However he says there is an exceeding rare probability that they will get severe COVID and less likely instance they may die.
Dr Fong says all adults working in schools must be vaccinated and any adult that comes into the school compound must be vaccinated.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Permanent Secretary for Education, Doctor Anjeela Jokhan has revealed that external examinations for Year 12 and 13 students are most likely to be held early next year.
Jokhan says with students starting to receive their first jab from Monday, they will be given weeks of preparation before they sit for their exams.
She says they will not just bring the students and get them to sit for exams because the Ministry is mindful that not every student has done the same work despite being provided study materials.
Jokhan says the whole idea of bringing students back is to ensure that everybody is on the same page before they sit for exams.
When questioned if students in other years will progress to the next grade or will they have to repeat, Jokhan says they are still looking at several options.
She says they have already revealed that they are looking at a 4 term year which means that students come in term one and revise difficult concepts.
To date, 97.7% of the target population in Fiji have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 63.5% are now fully vaccinated.
This means 580,504 adults have received their first dose and 372,434 have received their second doses.
At the 70% threshold, the curfew hours for Viti Levu will move from 10pm to 4am.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says at the 80% threshold, the curfew will be from 11pm to 4am, they expect that all businesses will fully re-open to fully vaccinated Fijians, all sports including team sports can be played again, and stadiums can re-open.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
3 new COVID-19 deaths have been reported for the period of 9th to 15th September 2021.
All deaths were reported from the Western Division.
The first COVID-19 death to report is a 56-year-old man from Tavua who died at home on 11th September 2021.
He received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-July.
He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death to report is a 75-year-old man from Tavua.
He presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
Sadly, he died two days after admission on 9th September 2021.
He was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death to report is a 48-year-old man from Tavua.
He presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
Sadly, he died on the same day on 15th September 2021.
He was not vaccinated.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says following further review they have an additional nineteen COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 3rd July to 11th August.
All these deaths were reported from the Central Division.
Doctor Fong says an analysis of the nineteen deaths have highlighted that individuals were aged between 43 to 94 years.
11 were males.
16 of the individuals died at home or on their way to the hospital.
17 of these deaths were unvaccinated, the remaining 2 received only one dose of the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says this means that there were no deaths of individuals who were fully vaccinated.
There have also been 21 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 566 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 564 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has recorded 400 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
To date, 97.8% of the target population in Fiji have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 65% are now fully vaccinated.
This means, 584,096 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 381,209 have received their second doses.
At the 70% threshold, the curfew hours for Viti Levu will move from 10pm to 4am while at the 80% threshold, the curfew will be from 11pm to 4am, Government expects all businesses to fully re-open to fully vaccinated Fijians, all sports including team sports can be played again and stadiums can re-open.
Meanwhile, vaccination of eligible children aged 15 to 17 years with the Moderna vaccine begins on Monday.
Ministry of Health says online registration is open and parents are encouraged to register their children before vaccination.
They say parental or guardian consent is mandatory before vaccination and no vaccine will be given without the consent of parents or guardians.
You can register on vra.digitalfiji.gov.fj
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Fiji recorded 132 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
36 cases are from the Western Division, 95 cases are from the Central Division and 1 case is from the Eastern Division.
There are now 12,834 active cases. 1,185 active cases are in the Central Division, 11,343 active cases in the Western Division, 1 active case in the Northern Division (Macuata), and 305 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
There have been 49,649 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 49,719 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
All heads of schools, teachers and ancillary staff who are fully vaccinated are required to return to work from Monday to assist the Health Ministry in the school vaccination programme.
The Ministry for Education says teachers should now be able to travel to their respective schools as the Viti Levu containment borders have been lifted.
They say public transport is now fully operational, so all fully vaccinated teachers are required to report to work.
It says teachers should resume duties and prepare for school reopening.
The Ministry says a circular was released to heads of schools detailing these arrangements.
They are also grateful to the teachers who are assisting the Health Ministry in data verification and other National Duties.
The student vaccination programme will be rolled out in all four divisions from Monday.
The Ministry says School Vaccination Clusters have been formed to facilitate the vaccination of eligible children aged between 15 to 17 years with the Moderna vaccine.
The Ministry is encouraging parents and guardians to register their children online prior to the vaccination.
You can register on vra.digitalfiji.gov.fj
Parents and guardians will have to provide consent before vaccination as no student will get vaccinated without their parents or guardians consent.
As of 3rd June 2021, WHO has evaluated that the vaccines currently offered in Fiji have met the necessary criteria for safety and efficacy.
Also, vaccines have saved millions of lives over the years.
Minister for Education Premila Kumar is advising parents to get their children vaccinated as vaccines provide a high degree of protection to children from getting seriously ill from this deadly virus.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Fiji has 161 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday and there are no new COVID-19 deaths.
101 cases are from the Western Division, 56 cases are from the Central Division while 4 cases are from the Eastern Division.
There have been 10 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 12,985 active cases.
1,230 of the active cases are in the Central Division, 11,445 active cases in the Western Division, 1 active case in the Northern Division (Macuata) and 309 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
There have been 49,810 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 49,880 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There have now been 566 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 564 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has also recorded 400 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
To date, 97.9% of the target population in Fiji have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 65.8% are now fully vaccinated.
This means 586,737 adults have received their first dose and 386,287 have received their second doses.
Fiji’s target population for vaccination is 586,651 adults.
Meanwhile, there are currently 107 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
The Health Ministry says 32 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital while 75 patients are admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and in Makoi.
9 patients are considered to be in severe condition and 3 are in critical condition.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
14 people are admitted at the Vunisea Hospital where 6 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and are in stable condition while 8 are negative.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says 5 new cases have been recorded in Kadavu in the last 24 hours bringing the total number to 526.
He says education and awareness sessions continue for the villages and communities while restrictions on movement are still in place for the whole island.
This is being supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.
Dr Fong says a team of 17 FEMAT clinical, logistics, ambulance crew and Lands Ministry officials are returning from Kadavu after the completion of the acute phase of the response.
Dr Fong confirmed three new cases for Malolo Island where 2 was identified in Solevu village and 1 in Yaro village.
44 individuals have recovered and 19 remain active cases.
He adds daily assessment continues for the active cases and their contacts while the four high-risk cases are stable and remain in home isolation.
Movement restrictions remain in force for all villages on Malolo Island.
The Permanent Secretary says thirty new cases have been reported in the villages of Muaira, Soso, Marou, and Yasawa High School on Naviti Island.
90 individuals have recovered while 83 cases remain active and under surveillance by the health team.
Movement restrictions are in place for all villages.
Dr Fong says no new cases were reported from Waya Island and Nacula Island in the last 24 hours.
He says the 25 active cases in Waya Island remains under home isolation and daily assessment conducted by the Yalobi Nursing Station health team.
The island is still under strict movement restrictions.
The 29 positive cases in Nacula village are still under isolation in their respective villages and monitored daily by the health team from Nacula Health Centre.
Strict movement restriction remains in place for the whole island. The Permanent Secretary says the community engagement team together with the health team, visited Viwa Island and conducted an assessment in the 2 villages and 1 settlement on the island.
The team conducted 78 nasopharyngeal swabs and 29 individuals received their first dose of the COVID vaccine.
Eighteen new cases were reported in Dakuibeqa village on Beqa Island bringing the total number to 180.
Beqa Island has 179 active cases and is on daily monitoring by the health team.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
The Health Ministry has released the dates, clusters and venues for the vaccination of children from 15 to 17 years of age across Fiji.
Through the Ministry of Education, the Moderna vaccine will be rolled out from today by school clusters within the four divisions.
Schools that are close by to each other will group to form a cluster, where students who are 15 to 17 years of age can get vaccinated.
Children will need to receive two doses of the Moderna vaccine which is administered at a dose interval of 28 days.
Parents and guardians will be asked to sign a consent form for children receiving this vaccine.
You can now register your child for vaccination through the Vaccine Registry.
Online registration is available on vra.digitalfiji.gov.fj
According to the Health Ministry, children from 15 to 17 years of age are being vaccinated first as they are mostly in secondary school and some of them are nearing the end of their secondary education.
Year 12 and Year 13 students also need to sit external exams to progress to higher education.
To date, 98% of the target population in Fiji have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 66% are now fully vaccinated.
This means 587,948 adults have received their first dose and 387,320 have received their second doses.
The Ministry of Health is requesting people to apply for temporary exemptions if they are currently ill or have valid reasons for delaying their vaccination.
You can apply for the temporary exemptions on covidexemptionreq@gmail.com.
Meanwhile, vaccination for 15 to 17-year-old children begins today.
The Ministry has released the dates, clusters and venues for the vaccination of children from 15 to 17 years of age across Fiji.
You can check out the list on our website, fijivillage.
Children will need to receive two doses of the Moderna vaccine which is administered at a dose interval of 28 days.
Parents and guardians are being asked to sign a consent form for children receiving this vaccine.
You can register your child for vaccination through the Vaccine Registry before vaccination.
Online registration is available on vra.digitalfiji.gov.fj
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
A Border Health Protection Unit has been established to oversee and facilitate the health protection activities and programs conducted at our border and ports of entry to ensure our protection against trans-border infectious disease spread.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says the unit will work together with the relevant military, police, and border control units providing the leadership and support needed to strengthen our quarantine operations.
He says quarantine protocols are currently undergoing review to define green list countries and/or areas and revise the pre-departure and in-country quarantine and testing protocols for fully vaccinated travellers.
Doctor Fong adds in keeping with the science, it is anticipated that pre-departure, quarantine and in-country testing conditions for fully vaccinated persons from “green” listed countries will be less stringent than then-current conditions.
The Border Health Protection Unit Facility has been established in the CAAF compound in Namaka, Nadi, and this facility will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing quarantine operations.
Doctor Fong says their function will be supplemented by a container laboratory that has arrived and is situated close to the border health protection facility.
He says as a result of an ongoing collaborative effort between WHO, DFAT, ADB, Fiji Airways, and the Government, the laboratory will have the capacity to process around 500 tests per day.
Doctor Fong has revealed that the unit will establish and inculcate a no-blame work culture and environment that allow quarantine officers to freely report on breaches of COVID safe protocols or symptoms of disease identified in any individual at the border.
The unit will also engage advanced technologies and CCTV support that support and facilitate improved border health surveillance and oversight.
It will also enforce the restriction on inbound international travellers to only fully vaccinated individuals except in some emergencies.
Doctor Fong says they will also enforce the requirement for all quarantine personnel engaged in quarantine operations to be fully vaccinated.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Fiji has 79 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am yesterday and no new COVID-19 deaths.
35 cases are from the Western Division and 44 cases are from the Central Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says with the decrease in testing numbers, testing remains above the WHO recommended rate of 4 per 1000 population per week or approximately 3,500 tests per week.
He says they will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.
There are now 12,981 active cases.
1,252 of the active cases are in the Central Division, 11,419 active cases in the Western Division, 1 active case in the Northern Division (Macuata), and 309 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
There have been 49,889 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 49,959 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There has been one death of a COVID-19 positive patient.
However, this death has been classified as a non-COVID death by their doctors. The doctors have determined that this death was caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 566 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 564 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has recorded 401 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
No new COVID-19 cases were recorded in Kadavu, Malolo, Naviti, Waya, Nacula and Beqa Island in the last 24 hours.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says 53 active cases on Kadavu island are distributed between 13 villages and 1 settlement and are being followed up daily by the health team.
He says thirteen people are admitted at Vunisea Hospital where 6 are COVID positive and in stable condition, while 7 are negative.
Dr Fong says education and awareness sessions continue for the villages and communities.
The outreach teams are engaged in contact tracing, follow-up of positive cases, vaccination and management of isolation and quarantine activities.
Movement restrictions remain in force for Kadavu and its monitored by the Police team and the Vanua.
The Permanent Secretary says daily assessment continues for the active cases and their contacts in the Malolo, Naviti, Waya, and Nacula Islands.
Restrictions of movement are still in force for all villages in the four islands.
Dr Fong says they continue to monitor daily the 179 active cases on Beqa Island.
Movement restrictions remain in force for the whole island.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Fiji has 121 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday and no new COVID-19 deaths to report.
103 cases are from the Western Division and 18 cases are from the Central Division.
There are now 12,948 active cases.
Fiji has recorded 50,010 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
The country has recorded a total of 50,080 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says following further review of their active case database they have an additional 9 COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 12th July to 9th August.
All deaths were reported from the Central Division.
He says an analysis of the 9 deaths have highlighted that individuals were aged between 49 to 83 years.
4 were males and 6 of the individuals died at home or on their way to the hospital.
6 of the people that died were unvaccinated.
The remaining 3 received only one dose of the vaccine.
This means that there were no deaths of individuals who were fully vaccinated.
There have been 11 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 575 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 573 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Five vaccination teams from Vunisea Hospital and two teams from Kavala Health Centre are conducting the vaccination of villages and settlements in Kadavu.
Four new cases were recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours bringing the total number to 530.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says 54 are active cases and they are being monitored daily by the health team.
He says eleven people are admitted at the Vunisea Hospital where six are COVID positive and currently in stable condition and five are negative.
Education and awareness sessions continue for the villages and communities and movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.
Dr Fong also confirmed that no new cases were reported for Malolo Waya Island in the last 24 hours.
The 18 remaining active cases on Malolo are monitored daily by the health team while the 25 active cases on Waya Island are under home isolation in their villages.
Daily assessments for the active cases on Waya Island are conducted by the Yalobi Nursing Station health team.
The four high-risk cases are stable and remain in home isolation.
Movement restrictions remain in force for all villages on Malolo Island.
The Permanent Secretary says five new cases have been reported on Naviti Island in the last 24 hours, bringing the total cases to 178.
90 individuals have recovered while 88 cases remain active and under surveillance by the health team.
Movement restrictions are in place for all villages.
Meanwhile, fifty-one new cases were diagnosed in the villages of Nacula, Bukama, Dalomo, Teci, and Yasawa-i-Rara villages on Nacula Island and Yasawa Island in the last 24 hours.
This brings the total number of cases to 80, and they are now under isolation in their respective villages and monitored daily by the health team from Nacula Health Centre.
Strict movement restriction remains in place for the whole island.
On Beqa Island, eighteen new cases were recorded in Dakuibeqa village in the last 24 hours bringing the total case numbers to 180.
179 are active cases and are on daily monitoring by the health team.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
The Health Ministry has completed its review of the adult target population for vaccination and the revised coverage rates are 95.2% for one dose and 64.4% for the two-dose coverage.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says to date, a total of 588,599 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 398,077 have received their second doses.
He says the mop-up vaccination program will continue and this may result in further adjustments to the target population.
Dr Fong adds for persons who are currently ill or have valid reasons for delaying their vaccination, they request you to apply for possible temporary exemptions through covidexemptionreq@gmail.com.
Fiji has recorded 118 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today while we also recorded one death due to COVID-19.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says the COVID-19 death to report is a 59-year-old man from Nadi.
Dr Fong says the man presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress and his family reported that he had a history of a cough and shortness of breath five days before his presentation.
He was transferred to the Lautoka Hospital and passed away on the 19th of this month. He was not vaccinated.
Dr Fong further says there have been 4 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 576 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 574 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
There are now 12,948 active cases.
Dr Fong adds they are currently reviewing and reconciling their active case database with deaths and recoveries and as a result, they expect the death and recovery numbers to intermittently change as verifications are made.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says the vaccination coverage rate in children will not determine the school starting dates.
Dr Fong says a task force has been established to look at ensuring adequate and appropriate oversight over the implementation and maintenance of all measures needed to make the school environment as safe as possible.
He says their 15 to 17-year vaccination program began yesterday with some teething issues which they will continue to iron out over the next few days.
Dr Fong adds their denominator for this phase of vaccination is 45,691 and it is subject to adjustments as target population verification is an ongoing exercise.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says the new target population of adults aged 18 and over for the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign is 618,173.
This is following the mop-up vaccination program for the first dose, and the review of the target population.
Dr Fong says as of yesterday, a total of 589,301 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 405,839 have received their second doses.
He says based on their updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 and over , the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.3% for one dose and 65.7% for the two-dose coverage.
Dr Fong adds in the review which is routinely undertaken in mass vaccination programs, the Ministry used the health zones generated profiling data for its target population to ensure that medical area targets are relevant to medical teams looking after the area.
He also says when calculating the national vaccination coverage as a percentage, the total adults vaccinated is divided by the total adult population and therefore, the increase in the total number for the adult population (the denominator of the calculation) at the national level has reduced the percentage of vaccination coverage nationally by 4%.
Dr Fong states that at the subnational level, while in some places there was an increase in the denominator especially in Rewa, Naitasiri, Nadroga, and Ba, other areas like Nasinu and the maritime islands have seen a decrease.
Dr Fong says the review of the vaccination denominator will remain ongoing as they reconcile profiling data with census-based estimates, however, no major impact is anticipated on the national adult population vaccination age-eligible coverage rates.
He says this revision of the total targeted adult population does not affect the figures for the total number of adults who have gotten vaccinated in Fiji, which is the numerator for the calculation of percentage vaccination coverage.
Dr Fong adds the change has just been to the denominator, which is the total population of adults in Fiji.
A total of 7,102 children were vaccinated over the last 2 days.
Dr Fong says the 15 to 17-year vaccination program has been ongoing with much of the teething issues mitigated.
He says the denominator for this phase of vaccination is 45,691 and it is subject to adjustments as target population verification is an ongoing exercise.
He also says a task force has been established to look at ensuring adequate and appropriate oversight over the implementation and maintenance of all measures needed to make the school environment as safe as possible.
Dr Fong adds as emphasized, the vaccination coverage rate in children will not determine the school starting dates.
He also says the children vaccination rate also does not impact the current social relaxation and/or economic recovery program.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Fiji has 72 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says there were no COVID deaths to report for the last 24 hour period however they have 3 COVID-19 deaths to report for the period from 15th July 2021- 16th July 2021.
All three deaths were reported from the Central Division and their ages were between 59 to 66 years.
Dr Fong says all of the individuals died at home or on their way to the hospital and all three individuals were unvaccinated.
He adds there have been 3 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 579 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 577 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says they have 4 COVID-19 deaths to report for the period from 21st July- 18th August 2021.
Dr Fong says all four COVID-19 deaths reported are from the Central Division.
He further says these deaths are being reported today due to the delay in the issuance of the official death certificates.
The first COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 18th August. He was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 7th August. She was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 21st July. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is an 82-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 22nd July. She was not vaccinated.
Dr Fong says there have been 6 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 583 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 581 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has 177 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says they have two new border quarantine cases to announce today.
The first case is a 20-year-old man from Nadi and the second case is a 22-year-old man from Lautoka.
Dr Fong says they both arrived in Fiji on the 19th of September at the Lautoka Seaport in a vessel that visited several other seaports.
He adds although both individuals reported to have not disembarked the vessel at any of these ports due to COVID-19 restrictions, however, crew change over at one port is the possible source of infection transmission.
Dr Fong further says the Fiji Border Health Protection Unit is currently investigating this.
He also says they have been retrieved as per protocol and transferred to their managed isolation facilities adding that both individuals were noted to be symptomatic for COVID-19 but are currently stable.
Dr Fong adds as per protocol, the disinfection process of rooms and linen has been completed by the onsite health quarantine officer and all frontline workers who were in contact with these two individuals have been included on the routine weekly swabbing schedule and the front-liner surveillance schedule.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
95.4% adults have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine while 66.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says as of the 22nd of September, 589,830 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 412,897 have received their second doses.
He says as for children, 11,409 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of the 22nd of September.
Dr Fong adds they will be tracking their vaccine coverage rates once they have firmed up their 15 to the 17-year-old denominator.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
As of the 23rd September 2021, 590,386 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 419,065 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over, the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.5% for adults who have received at least one dose and 67.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
He says as, for children, 14,680 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of the 23rd of September.
Doctor Fong says they will be tracking our vaccine coverage rates once they have firmed up our 15 to 17-year-old denominator.
Fiji has 93 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
There are now 12,999 active cases.
Fiji has recorded a total of 50,540 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020.
The Health Ministry says Fiji has one new COVID-19 death to report today. This COVID-19 death was reported from the Central Division.
The first COVID-19 death to report is a 73-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 22nd September. She was not vaccinated.
There have been 8 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 584 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 582 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Vaccination of children aged 15 to 17 years with the Moderna vaccine will cease this weekend to allow the Health Ministry to take stock of the progress of the campaign.
14,680 children in Fiji have received one dose of the vaccine.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they will advise on the resumption date of the vaccination campaign.
He says parental or guardian consent remains mandatory before vaccination and no vaccine will be administered to any child without the consent of the parent or guardian.
Doctor Fong adds vaccination for children aged 12 to 17 years is safe.
He also says similar to adults, children can also experience the side effects of COVID-19 vaccination such as pain, swelling at the jab site, fever and body aches.
Doctor Fong adds these symptoms should subside over a few days.
He further says severe side effects are rare and the risk of getting a severe infection and succumbing to COVID-19 is still higher than the risk of adverse events from vaccination.
The Permanent Secretary says parents and guardians are encouraged to agree for their children to be vaccinated to protect them from COVID-19.
For the Rewa subdivision, the drive-through vaccination site at Hexagon plaza will cease from today.
The vaccination site at the Vunimono Hall will relocate to the Parish Hall behind Nausori Market from Monday 27 September 2021 from 9am to 3pm.
As of the 23rd September 2021, 590,386 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 419,065 have received their second doses.
Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over, the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.5% for adults who have received at least one dose and 67.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
Vaccination for children will start on Monday on Kadavu Island.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says vaccination is conducted by 5 teams from the Vunisea health team and 2 teams from the Kaval health team.
He confirms that six new cases were recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours bringing the total number of cases on the island to 556.
Doctor Fong adds of these, a total of 535 cases have recovered and the remaining 18 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team.
He says five patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, of which 3 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition and 2 are negative for COVID-19.
The Permanent Secretary adds movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.
There were also forty-two new cases recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours bringing the total number of cases to 242.
Doctor Fong says of these 238 are active cases who are under home isolation and daily monitoring from the health team.
He confirms that vaccination for the villagers will commence once the 14 days lockdown for the island is completed.
Movement restriction remains in force for the whole island.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATES.
17,996 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of 24th of September.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they will be tracking their vaccine coverage rates once they have firmed up their 15 to 17-year-old denominator.
590,881 adults in Fiji have so far received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 425,120 have received their second doses.
Dr Fong says based on their updated total population of 618,173 for people aged 18 years and over, the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.6% for adults who have received at least one dose and 68.8% are now fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, 98 COVID-19 patients are currently admitted in the hospital.
42 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 56 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi Hospital.
Doctor Fong says 8 patients are considered to be in severe condition and 3 are in critical condition.
Six new COVID-19 deaths have been recorded from 9th July to 24th September while there are 161 new cases for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the four deaths from July are being reported today due to the delay in the issuance of the official death certificates.
The first death is an 80-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 9th July. He was not vaccinated.
The second death is a 91-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 16th July. He was not vaccinated.
The third death is a 65-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 16th July. She received the first dose of the vaccine in early July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The fourth death is a 67-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 16th July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fifth death is a 78-year-old man from Ba. He presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day on 24th September.
He was not fully vaccinated.
The sixth death is a 67-year-old woman from Nadi.
Dr Fong says she was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Nadi Hospital on 24th September. She was not vaccinated.
There have been 3 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients, however these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
There have now been 590 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji with 588 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Dr Fong says there are 84 new recoveries to report since the last update which means there are now 13,067 active cases.
We have recorded a total of 50,701 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020 with 36,608 recoveries.
The Health Ministry has also recorded one new border quarantine case.
He is a 23-year-old man from Tokyo who arrived in Fiji on the 12th of September.
The man has been transferred to a managed Isolation Facility in Nadi.
He is currently in a stable condition and the disinfection process of his room and linen have been completed by the onsite health quarantine officer.
All frontline workers and accompanying passengers who were in contact with this individual have been included in the routine weekly swabbing schedules and the front-liner surveillance schedules.
The Health Ministry is currently reviewing and reconciling their active case database with deaths and recoveries and as a result, they expect the death and recovery numbers to intermittently change as verifications are made.
As of the 25th September 2021: 591,293 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 425,902 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says based on their updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over, the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.7% for adults who have received at least one dose and 68.9% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
He says as for children, 17,996 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of the 24th of September.
Fiji has 54 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
There are now 13,022 active cases.
The Health Ministry says they have no new COVID-19 deaths to report.
There have now been 590 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they are preparing for the lifting of international travel restrictions and other social and workplace engagement restrictions, noting that a number of countries have seen an increased number of cases with the relaxation of restrictions.
He says there will always be people vulnerable to the virus even as we increase our vaccination coverage.
Doctor Fong adds we have one-third of the population under 18 years who will soon be eligible for vaccination.
He says we will have older people with comorbidities whose ability to build up vaccine immunity is not as good as younger and healthier persons.
The Permanent Secretary adds also of concern is that we will have unvaccinated people in our communities who are also not exposed to the virus and hence do not have any protection against the disease and among them are elderly persons and those with serious comorbidities.
He says as such, future resurgence of infections and increased case numbers will again test our critical care capacities.
Doctor Fong adds they are constantly reviewing and updating their healthcare protocols so they can respond effectively to future outbreaks.
He stresses that the key to avoiding future restrictions and lockdowns is for the public to remain cautious about how they engage in the greater freedom they will enjoy.
Doctor Fong further says whilst the easing of restrictions is needed to facilitate social and economic livelihood, the public must ensure that together with vaccination, we continue to observe our COVID safe measures and avoid contained spaces and crowds.
He says the potential for transmission in any community will be slower, and the ability to contain the outbreak better, when we achieve a high vaccination rate and also maintain strict adherence to COVID safe measures.
The Permanent Secretary says when we do this, we not only protect ourselves but also protect all those around us, especially the vulnerable, those not eligible for vaccination and those who are not yet vaccinated.
The Health Ministry says they have two COVID-19 deaths to report for the 29th of July 2021.
Both COVID-19 deaths were reported from the Central Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says the two deaths are being reported now due to the delay in the issuance of the official death certificates.
The first COVID-19 death to report is a 79-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 29th July 2021. He was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death to report is a 65-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 29th July 2021. She was not vaccinated.
There have been 10 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 592 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 590 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has 52 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
There are now 13,045 active cases.
The Health Ministry says there have been a total of 50,807 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATE HERE
The Health Ministry says they have 29 COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 6th July 2021 to 17th September 2021.
Twenty-eight COVID-19 deaths were reported from the Central Division while one COVID-19 death was reported from the Western Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says an analysis of the 29 deaths have highlighted that individuals were aged between 35 to 89 years.
Doctor Fong says 16 were males and 28 of the individuals died at home or on their way to the hospital.
He says 24 of the individuals were unvaccinated.
Doctor Fong has revealed that 4 of the individuals that died from COVID-19 had received one dose of the vaccine and one death was fully vaccinated.
He says the fully vaccinated individual was elderly and was admitted with severe comorbidity.
Doctor Fong adds there have been 16 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 621 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 619 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
To date, 591,785 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 437,730 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says based on the updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over, the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.7% for adults who have received at least one dose and 70.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
17,996 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of 24th September.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATE HERE
Fiji has 65 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
There are now 12,869 active cases.
50,872 cases have been reported in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020.
READ FULL COVID-19 UPDATE HERE
592,242 adults in Fiji have so far received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while 448,128 people are now fully vaccinated.
This means that 95.8% adults have received at least one dose while 72.5% are now fully vaccinated.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says that since dose one is beyond 95%, a verification exercise for dose one is ongoing which may result in minor changes.
The Health Ministry has also recorded three COVID-19 deaths from 24th July to 5th September and there are 81 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.
Dr Fong says these deaths are being reported today due to a delay in the issuance of the official death certificates.
The first COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old man from Nausori who presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day. He was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old man from Tailevu. He presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress.
Dr Fong says a medical team retrieved him from the medical facility and transferred him to the CWM Hospital where he died 16 days after admission on 5th September.
He received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine which means he was not fully vaccinated.
The third death is a 69-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 31st August. She was not vaccinated.
There have been 9 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients however these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by doctors.
There have now been 624 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji with 622 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
There are now 12,881 active cases.
The Border Health Protection Unit has been established in the CAAF compound in Namaka, Nadi, and this facility will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing quarantine operations.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says the Ministry in preparation for easing of restrictions has remodelled health service provision.
The function of the Border Health Protection Unit will be supplemented by a container laboratory that is situated in close proximity.
Dr. Fong says the Ministry of Health Communication team together with their multi-agency community engagement team are working with community leaders to identify and strengthen mechanisms that will facilitate the monitoring of vulnerable persons and persons with COVID like symptoms and encourage them towards timely engagement of health care services so that medical teams have a greater opportunity to provide timely treatment.
He says the potential for transmission in any community will be slower, and the ability to contain the outbreak better when they achieve a high vaccination rate and also maintain strict adherence to COVID safe measures.
95.8% adults have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine while 72.5% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
592,242 adults in Fiji have received their first dose and 448,243 have received their second doses.
17,996 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine.
Meanwhile, 70 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says there have been 103 new recoveries which means that there are now 12,841 active cases.
There are no new COVID-19 deaths however, there have been 7 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. These deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Dr. Fong says there have now been 624 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
He says they have also recorded 478 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
There are currently 83 COVID-19 patients admitted in the hospital.
The Health Ministry says they have seven COVID-19 deaths to report for the period from 8th July 2021 to 30th September 2021.
Five deaths were reported from the Central Division and two deaths were reported from the Western Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says four deaths are being reported from July due to a delay in the issuance of the official death certificate.
The first COVID-19 death to report is a 71-year-old woman from Navua.
She presented to the Navua Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
A medical team retrieved her from the Navua Hospital and transferred her to the CWM Hospital.
Sadly, she died one day after admission on 12th September 2021. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the second COVID-19 death to report is a 54-year-old woman from Lautoka.
He says she presented to the Kamikamica Health Centre with a two-day history of generalized body weakness and gastrointestinal symptoms that began on 19th September 2021.
Doctor Fong adds this woman was retrieved by a medical team and transferred to the Lautoka Hospital on the same day of her presentation 21st September 2021.
Sadly, she died 9 days after admission on 30th September 2021.
Doctor Fong says she received the first dose of the vaccine in early May.
She received the second dose of the vaccine on 8th July 2021.
He stresses that although she was fully vaccinated she had underlying medical conditions and background of poor general health.
Doctor Fong further says these pre-existing conditions would have toned down her ability to mount a good vaccine-induced immune response and thus impair her ability to fully benefit from the protective effects of the vaccine.
He says we all need to continue practicing strict COVID-19 safety measures to protect our vulnerable family members, irrespective of vaccination status.
The third COVID-19 death to report is a 76-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 09th July 2021. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 95-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 9th July 2021. She was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death to report is an 84-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 8th July 2021. He was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death to report is a 75-year-old woman from Waila who died at home on 15th July 2021. She was not vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death to report is a 59-year-old man from Rakiraki.
He presented to the Rakiraki Hospital with severe respiratory distress. Sadly, he died on the same day 28th September 2021. He was not vaccinated.
There have also been 14 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 631 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
Vaccination for 15 to 17-year-old children will resume on Monday and the Health Ministry will post the list of vaccination sites tomorrow.
As of 24th September, 17,996 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
The Health Ministry says they will be tracking vaccine coverage rates once they have firmed up the 15 to 17-year-old denominator.
To date, 592,628 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 454,474 have received their second doses.
This means 95.9% adults have received at least one dose and 73.5% are now fully vaccinated.
They say since dose one is beyond 95%, a verification exercise for dose one is ongoing which may result in minor changes.
Fiji has 107 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
There are now 12,859 active cases.
Fiji has recorded a total of 51,130 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020.
To date, 593,042 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 460,081 have received their second doses.
This means 95.9% of adults have received at least one dose and 74.4% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Vaccination for children resumes tomorrow.
The Health Ministry will be posting a list of vaccination sites today.
As of 24th September, 17,996 children have received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
Fiji has 38 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
There are now 12,875 active cases.
The Health Ministry says there have been 51,098 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 51,168 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020.
The Health Ministry says they have one COVID-19 death to report.
The one COVID-19 death was reported from the Central Division.
It is an 82-year-old man from Suva.
He presented to the CWM Hospital in respiratory distress.
Sadly, he died 3 days after admission on Friday.
He was not vaccinated.
There has been one death of a COVID-19 positive patient.
However, this death has been classified as non-COVID death by their doctors.
The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 632 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says going forward, they will be monitoring for COVID-19 transmission and disease; and intervening when cases cross the beyond acceptable levels.
Dr Fong says it is expected that in the short to medium term, unknown chains of transmission will persist in parts of Fiji and may not be picked up by their routine community surveillance program.
He says they will only be revealed when an outbreak is big enough to be visible.
Dr Fong adds therefore, having no cases reported does not necessarily mean that the virus has been eliminated, it implies that the spread of the virus has been successfully contained.
He says further to community surveillance, remodeling health service provision is also a key strategy in their response.
Dr Fong also says the public is further reminded that while they have instigated a number of mandatory and punitive measures to promote adherence to COVID safe measures, public engagement and compliance remains the main determining factor to preventing further transmission and preventing the need for severe restrictions and lockdown.
He adds as such whilst we are doing well with steady reductions in disease cases, admissions, severe disease, and death, this is a time for cautious reassurance and optimism.
A 33-year-old COVID positive man from Newtown died at home on 1st October.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says his family reported that he had a reduced appetite, generalized body weakness, and lethargy a few days prior.
Dr Fong also says although the man was fully vaccinated, he had existing underlying medical conditions that would have toned down his ability to mount a good vaccine-induced immune response and thus reduced his ability to fully benefit from the protective effects of the vaccine.
He adds they advise that we all need to continue practicing strict COVID-19 safety measures to protect our vulnerable family members, irrespective of vaccination status.
There have now been 633 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 631 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Dr Fong also confirms Fiji has recorded 34 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.
Full COVID-19 updates
As of 3rd October, 593,442 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 462,441 have received their second doses.
This means 96% of adults have received at least one dose and 74.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Meanwhile, there are currently 74 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
Health Ministry says 37 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 37 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles and Makoi.
8 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 7 are in critical condition.
Fiji has 22 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
There are now 8,898 active cases.
Fiji has one new COVID-19 death to report.
The COVID-19 death has been reported from the Central Division.
It is a 58-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 1st October.
He was not vaccinated.
There have been 10 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 634 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 632 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Click for the full COVID-19 update.
A 9-year-old boy from Tailevu is one of the four new COVID-19 deaths announced by the Ministry of Health.
He died at home on 3rd October 2021.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says his family reported he had a history of cough and shortness of breath 2 weeks prior.
He was not in the target population that is eligible to receive the vaccine.
Doctor Fong stresses that we should all continue practicing strict COVID-19 safety measures to protect our vulnerable family members.
The second COVID-19 death is a 29-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 7th September 2021.
She received the first dose of the vaccine in early July and did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The third COVID-19 death is a 52-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 9th August 2021.
She was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 67-year-old man from Suva.
He presented to the CWM hospital on 4th August 2021 in severe respiratory distress.
Sadly, he died one day after admission on 5th August 2021.
He was not vaccinated.
There are 49 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Fiji has 8,871 active cases.
A total of 593,842 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 470,867 have received their second doses.
This means 96.1% of adults have received at least one dose and 76.2% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
As of 4th October, 21,062 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
Meanwhile, there are currently 74 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
The Health Ministry says 40 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 34 are admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles and Makoi.
6 patients are considered to be in severe condition while 6 are in critical condition.
The Health Ministry confirms that they have reviewed their houses of worship protocols and will be providing an update after a meeting with religious leaders today.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they appeal to the public and community leaders to remain patient in the early days of implementing these protocols and to remain focused on the overall objective of creating COVID-safe conditions around all social gatherings including gatherings in houses of worship.
He stresses that social gatherings including gatherings in houses of worship have been recognized as avenues for high-level transmission of COVID-19 since the beginning of this pandemic.
Doctor Fong adds the issues of contained space, crowding and loud vocalization have contributed to facilitate high levels of transmission.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says from next week, their COVID-19 updates will be provided on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Doctor Fong says the report will be in the form of a dashboard and public advice will be provided as needed.
A total of 594,242 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 478,535 have received their second doses.
This means 96.1% of adults have received at least one dose and 77.4% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
As of 5th October, 22,130 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
The Health Ministry has confirmed nine COVID-19 deaths from 17th July to 3rd October 2021.
Eight COVID-19 deaths are from the Central Division and one is from the Western Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says the five deaths from July and 3 deaths from August are being reported now due to a delay in the issuance of the official death certificate.
The first COVID-19 death is a 49-year-old woman from Suva.
She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
Sadly, she died 10 days after admission on 19th August 2021.
She was not fully vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 73-year-old woman from Suva.
She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress and died 6 days after admission on 17th July 2021.
She was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death is a 42-year-old woman from Suva.
She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
This woman died 10 days after admission on 27th July 2021.
She was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 59-year-old man from Suva.
He presented to the CWM hospital in severe respiratory distress. Sadly, he died 7 days after admission on 26th July 2021. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID 19 death is a 62-year-old man from Navua. He presented to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress. Sadly, he died on the same day 22th September 21. He was not vaccinated.
The sixth COVID 19 death is a 74-year-old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died 13 days after admission on 4th August 2021. He was not vaccinated.
The seventh COVID19 death is a 55-year-old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died 2 days after admission on 24th July 2021. He was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID 19 death is a 73-year-old woman of Suva. She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. Sadly, she died one day after admission on 21st August 2021. She was not vaccinated.
The ninth COVID 19 death is a 69-year-old man from Nadi. He presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. Sadly, he died one day after admission on 30th September 2021. He was not vaccinated.
There have now been 647 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 645 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has 55 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday..
There are now 2,864 active cases.
Fiji has recorded a total of 51,328 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There are currently 58 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
34 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 24 are admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles and Makoi.
6 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 3 are in critical condition.
There have been 13 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
He says the doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
Doctor Fong says Fiji has also recorded 526 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
96.2% of the adult target population in Fiji have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 78.3% are now fully vaccinated.
This means a total of 594,542 adults have received their first dose and 484,195 have received their second doses.
Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama has said that at the 80% fully vaccinated threshold, the curfew will be from 11pm to 4am, all businesses will fully re-open to fully vaccinated Fijians, all sports including team sports can be played again and stadiums can reopen.
An announcement is also expected on Fiji's international borders on Sunday October 10th.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says quarantine protocols to support local repatriation and international travel will be adjusted to take into account the increasing protection gained by having fully vaccinated persons travelling with other vaccinated persons to highly vaccinated destinations.
He confirms this will involve less stringent conditions with more priority given to the testing protocols that ensure early identification and isolation of positive travellers.
The Health Ministry has confirmed that there were two COVID-19 deaths from 15th July 2021 to 1st October 2021.
Both of the COVID-19 deaths are from the Central Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says one death is being reported from July now due to a delay in the issuance of the official death certificate.
He says the first COVID-19 death is a 70-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 15th July 2021. He was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 65-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 1st October 2021. She was not vaccinated.
There has been one more death of a COVID-19 positive patient.
However, this death has been classified as non-COVID death by the doctors.
The doctors have determined that this death was caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have now been 649 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
Fiji has 58 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
There are now 2,895 active cases.
Fiji has recorded a total of 51,386 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020.
There have been 47,315 recoveries.
79.2% of the adult target population in Fiji are fully vaccinated while 96.2% have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
This means a total of 594,690 adults have received their first dose of the vaccine and 489,389 have received their second doses.
Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama earlier confirmed that at the 80% threshold, the curfew will be from 11pm to 4am, they expect all businesses to fully re-open to fully-vaccinated Fijians, all sports including team sports can be played again and stadiums can re-open.
As of 7th October, 23,175 children have received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
Meanwhile, there are currently 57 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
The Health Ministry says 30 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 27 are admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
3 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 3 are in critical condition.
The Health Ministry confirms four COVID-19 deaths from 28th June 2021 to 12th July 2021.
3 of the COVID-19 deaths are from the Central Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says one death is being reported from June and two deaths from July due to a delay in the issuance of the official death certificates.
The first COVID-19 death is a 55-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 28th June 2021. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the second COVID-19 death is a 68-year old woman from Suva. She had presented to FEMAT Hospital in severe respiratory distress and died a few hours later on 10th July 2021. She was not vaccinated.
He says the third COVID-19 death is a 57-year old man from Suva.
He had presented to FEMAT Hospital in severe respiratory distress and was admitted.
Sadly, he died 2 days later on 9th July 2021.
Doctor Fong adds the fourth COVID-19 death is a 52-year old man who presented to FEMAT Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
Sadly, he died a few hours later on 12th July 2021.
There have now been 653 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
Fiji has 40 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
There are now 2,676 active cases.
Fiji has recorded a total of 51,426 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020 with 47,567 recoveries.
Fiji has 57 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
There are now 2,685 active cases.
51,483 cases have been recorded in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020.
A total of 47,615 recoveries have been recorded.
The Health Ministry has no COVID-19 deaths to report.
There have been 653 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
80.3% of Fiji's adult target population are now fully vaccinated.
The vaccination coverage rate for adults who have received at least one dose is 96.2%.
This means that a total of 594,872 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 496,091 have received their second doses.
The updated total population is 618,173 people aged 18 years and over.
16 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Fiji for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
There are now 2,636 active cases.
The Health Ministry has no new COVID-19 deaths to report.
There have been 3 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these deaths have been classified as Non-COVID-19 deaths by the doctors.
The doctors have determined that these deaths have been caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have been 653 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji
Fiji recorded 36 new cases in the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
72% of the new cases are from the Western Division, while 28% of the new cases are from the Central Division.
Overall, there have been 51, 465 cases recorded, with 71% of the cases from the Central Division, 27% of the cases from the Western Division and 2% of the cases from the Eastern and Northern Division.
Fiji has no new COVID-19 deaths.
There has been one death of a COVID-19 positive patient.
However, this death has been classified as a non-COVID-19 death by the doctors as the patient died of a serious pre-existing medical condition.
There have been 653 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
82.3% of Fiji’s adult target population is now fully vaccinated while 96.2% have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
This means 595,232 of the target population have received at least one dose of the vaccine while 508,706 people have received two doses.
As of yesterday, 26,932 children between the ages of 15-17 have received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
The Health Ministry confirms that they have an additional ten COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 7th July 2021 to 12th October 2021.
All deaths were reported from the Central Division.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says an analysis of the 10 deaths has highlighted that individuals were aged between 48 to 84 years.
He says nine of the individuals were admitted to the CWM Hospital and died as inpatients while one died at home.
Doctor Fong adds that eight of those that died during this period were unvaccinated and the remaining two received only one dose of the vaccine.
Nine of these deaths were reported from July today due to a delay in the issuance of the death certificates.
There have been 663 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
Click here for the full COVID-19 update
Fiji has 50 new cases of COVID-19.
The Health Ministry confirms that there are 2,283 active cases of COVID-19.
According to the Ministry, 51,648 COVID-19 cases have been recorded in Fiji since March last year.
In the past seven days, 163 cases were recorded in the Central Division, 211 new cases in the Western Division and 17 new cases in the Eastern Division.
52 COVID-19 patients are currently admitted in the hospital.
The Health Ministry says 5 patients are in a severe condition while a patient is in critical condition.
23 patients are admitted in the Central Division and 29 patients in the Western Division.
Click here for the full COVID-19 update
83.7% of Fiji’s adult target population is now fully vaccinated while 95.7% have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
This means 591,629 of the target population have received at least one dose of the vaccine while 517,175 people have received two doses.
As of yesterday, 28,105 children between the ages of 15-17 have received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine.
The vaccination campaign for adults continues today.
You can get vaccinated via Albert Park drive-through, at Parish Hall in Nausori and Amrit Arcade in Labasa.
There are 15 new cases of COVID-19.
Fiji has a total of 2,276 active cases.
The Health Ministry confirms they have no new COVID-19 deaths to report.
661 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in Fiji since the first case was confirmed in March last year.
Click here for the full COVID-19 UPDATE
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they will be normalizing movement between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu once the second dose vaccine coverage in Vanua Levu is at an overall 80% of eligible adults.
He says the current coverage rates for the North are 91% for dose one and 70.4% for dose 2.
Doctor Fong adds the Ministry of Health and Medical Services in preparation for easing restrictions in the North has remodelled the health service provision.
He says they have a registration and pass issuance process that will facilitate their ability to maintain oversight over both home and facility-based quarantine.
Doctor Fong adds each traveller will be provided with the rules relating to quarantine and punitive measures will be applied if there is a verified breach in any of the quarantine conditions.
He also says community surveillance through test trace and track protocols is being escalated to help them identify and contain any outbreak early.
Doctor Fong adds registration and line listing of vulnerable persons especially in poorly vaccinated areas has been done;
He says they are also doing preparations for the monitoring of positive cases and vulnerable persons to ensure better access to appropriate care plans has been made.
Doctor Fong further says clinical care protocols for severe disease cases have been reviewed and strengthened.
95.8% of the adult target population in Fiji have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 84.1% are now fully vaccinated.
This means a total of 592,063 adults have received their first dose of the vaccine and 519,784 have received their second doses.
From today, Tuesday, the 19th of October all travel from Vanua Levu to the Central Division will not need a registration number nor a Ministry of Health pass.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says the registration and Ministry of Health pass process will be maintained with regards to travel from Viti Levu to Vanua Levu to ensure that the travel is documented for contact tracing, a negative pre-departure test and vaccination status is verified.
He says they want the travel caseload to the North to be kept manageable.
Doctor Fong adds all these factors are important to both preventing and being able to contain transmission in the North.
He says the public is strongly advised to only do a pre-departure test only after your registration number is obtained.
Doctor Fong further says given the increasing vaccination rates, daily travelling quotas to the North are being increased and we will be transitioning to self-monitored home quarantine.
The current vaccination coverage rates for the North are 91.8% for dose one and 75.1% for dose 2.
Doctor Fong adds the team managing the travel to and from the North will continue to increase the number of travellers we can support to travel as the vaccination rates improve.
Click here for the full COVID-19 update
There are 22 new cases of COVID-19.
Fiji has 2,288 active cases of COVID-19.
There were no new COVID-19 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours.
661 COVID-19 deaths have been recorded in this country since March last year.
Click here for the full COVID-19 update
85.9% of adults in the target population in Fiji and 10,428 children between the ages of 15 to 17 are now fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
96.2% of adults in the target population and 30,001 children between the ages of 15 to 17 have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
This means 594,412 adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 531,210 have received both the doses of the vaccine.
Ten more COVID-19 deaths have been recorded for the period between 2nd August and 20th October, 2021.
The Ministry of Health says nine deaths were reported from the Western Division and one from the Central Division.
The individuals were aged between 45 to 92 years.
All 10 individuals died at home or on their way to the hospital and 67% of these people were unvaccinated while the remaining 33% received only one dose of the vaccine.
It says nine of these deaths from August are reported today due to a delay in the issuance of the death certificates.
There have been 12 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID-19 deaths as patients died of serious pre-existing medical conditions.
There have been 673 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji. We have also recorded 559 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions they had before they contracted COVID-19.
31 COVID-19 patients are currently admitted in the hospitals where one patient is in severe condition.
Meanwhile, 47 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
There are currently 1,828 active cases.
Fiji has had a total of 51,907 cases since the second wave of the pandemic began in April.
Click here for full COVID-19 update
86.3% of the target adult population is now fully vaccinated while 96.3% have received their first jab.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says 13,869 students aged between 15 to 17 years have now been fully vaccinated while 30,585 students have received their first dose.
Dr Fong further says they have received a number of requests for exemption from vaccination on medical grounds.
He states that exemptions on medical grounds are provided for the following reasons which includes documented history of severe allergic reaction to a component of each currently available COVID-19 vaccine, documented history of severe or immediate-type hypersensitivity allergic reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine, and separate contraindication to other available formulations, receiving immunosuppressive treatment(treatment that weakens the body's immune system) and advise by a medical provider to defer vaccination to a future date.
Dr Fong also says for those with a medical condition, please be advised that in most cases vaccination is even more indicated adding that while an opinion by a medical provider to forgo vaccination or to defer vaccination will be considered, this requires that the application is accompanied by documentation to prove that the person has the medical condition as stated.
He adds furthermore, the final decision on exemption will be based on consensus guidelines from Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization and similar international authoritative bodies.
Dr Fong says the following conditions that are not considered for a medical exemption include history of severe allergic reactions to food, oral medications, latex, pets, insects, and environmental triggers, history of immunocompromising conditions where the vaccine maybe less effective, fear of needles and a history of vaccine side effects or general avoidance of vaccines.
86.9% of the adult target population in Fiji and 16,529 children between the ages of 15 to 17 years are now fully vaccinated.
96.3% of the adult target population and 31,211 children have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Since the last update on Monday, Fiji has recorded 50 new cases of COVID-19 of which 35 new cases were recorded on Tuesday and 15 new cases in the last 24 hours ending at 8am yesterday.
The 13 new cases recorded in the North are quarantine cases that are part of the repatriation program for the Northern Division.
There are currently 1,698 active cases.
Fiji has had a total of 52,009 cases since the second wave of the pandemic began in April and 52,079 cases since March last year.
There have been 673 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 671 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has also recorded 563 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients who died from serious medical conditions they had before they contracted COVID-19. These are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Click here for the full COVID-19 update
The Health Ministry is planning on initiating Pfizer Vaccine deployment for children aged 12 to 15 years from the 15th of November.
Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong says COVID-19 poses a lower risk to children however secondary transmission from young school-age children can and does occur in both household and school settings.
Dr Fong says their vaccine deployment program for children aged 15 to 17 years is going well.
He says they note the recent news that the FDA has issued emergency approval for Pfizer to be given to children aged 5 to 11 years, with a pediatric dose of one-third that is given to adults and adolescents.
Dr Fong adds this pediatric dose is given as two shots three weeks apart and is considered by the FDA to be safe and 90% effective.
As of yesterday, 17,650 children aged between 15 to 17 years have been fully vaccinated while 31,923 students have received their first dose of a COVID vaccine.
87.8 percent of the adult target population is now fully vaccinated while 96.6 percent of adults have received one dose.
Meanwhile, Fiji has recorded 39 new cases of COVID-19 of which 22 new cases were recorded on Saturday, 8 new cases on Sunday and 9 new cases in the last 24 hours ending at 8 am yesterday.
88.5% of the adult target population and 20,932 children between the ages of 15 to 17 are now fully vaccinated.
96.8% of the adult target population and 32,714 children between the ages of 15 to 17 have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
This means 598,292 adults have received at least one dose while 547,235 adults have received both the doses of the vaccine.
An 80-year-old man from Kadavu passed away due to COVID-19 on 31st of October.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the man presented to the Vunisea Hospital with cough and respiratory distress and sadly, he died 4 days after admission on 31st October.
He was not vaccinated.
Dr. Fong says they are reporting the death from October today due to the delay in issuance of the death certificate.
There have been 675 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 673 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
There are 51 new cases of COVID-19, of which 20 new cases were recorded on Saturday, 9 new cases on Sunday and 22 new cases in the last 24 hours ending at 8am yesterday.
There have been 52,227 cases recorded since April this year, with 71% of the cases from the Central Division, 28% of the cases from the Western Division and 1% of the cases from the Eastern and Northern Division.
Click here for the full COVID-19 update
89.6% of the adult target population and 23,858 children between the ages of 15 to 17 are now fully vaccinated.
97% of the adult target population and 33,467 children have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
This means 553,943 adults are fully vaccinated and 599,423 have received one dose of the vaccine.
The Ministry of Health is reporting an additional 14 COVID-19 deaths between 6th August and 19th September, 2021.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says all deaths were reported from the Western Division and none of these people were vaccinated.
He says an analysis of the 14 deaths has highlighted that individuals were aged between 46 to 84 years.
57% were men.
Dr. Fong says 42% of the individuals died at home or on their way to the hospital.
There have been 694 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 692 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Since the last update on Friday, Fiji has recorded a total of 32 new cases of which 7 new cases were recorded on Saturday, 5 new cases were recorded on Sunday and 20 new cases in the last 24 hours that ended at 8am yesterday morning.
90.4% of the adult target population is now fully vaccinated while 97.2% have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
25, 313 children between 15 to 17 years old have received two doses.
12, 355 children between 12 to 14 years old have received one dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
There are 279 cases of COVID-19 in Fiji.
6 new cases were recorded in the last 24 hours.
90.7% of the adult target population in Fiji are fully vaccinated while 97.3% have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
26,765 children between the ages of 15 to 17 have received both doses of the vaccine while 35,104 children have received at least one dose.
17,490 children between the ages of 12 to 14 have received one dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
The Ministry of Health says in the past 7 days, 19 COVID-19 cases were recorded in the Central division, 5 new cases in the Western division, 1 new case in the Eastern Division and 1 new case in the Northern Division.
The Central Division cases constitute 71% of the cumulative total cases nationally, with the Western division making up 28% and 1% in the Northern and Eastern Divisions.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says since the last update, they have recorded 14 new cases.
There were 12 new cases in the last 24 hours ending at 8am yesterday.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says, we currently have COVID-positive travellers in quarantine who arrived in the country from African states before we knew about the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
Doctor Fong says they have been quarantined in line with the stringent measures we apply to countries we consider a red zone for ongoing viral spread.
He says their specimens will be forwarded this week overseas for genetic sequencing.
Doctor Fong adds the reports about the new variant continue with new evidence that the Omicron variant had already achieved global spread well before it was reported by South African scientists, establishing itself in some European countries.
He says these are countries that have the ability to check for the variant while other countries do not have genetic sequencing and cannot confirm cases of the variant at this time.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says since the opening of international travel borders to travel partner countries, six travellers have tested positive for COVID-19 during the mandatory 3-day hotel stay and testing.
Doctor Fong says in accordance with entry requirements, all cases had tested negative in the 72 hours before departure and are fully vaccinated.
He says all cases are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, have been isolated within hotels with protocols that have been established in the lead-up to border opening, and continue to be overseen by Ministry of Health in the Western Division.
The positive samples will be sent to the partner laboratory in Australia for genomic sequencing.
Doctor Fong says they need to be clear that the objectives of the border measures relate to socio-economic recovery.
He says the objective is to reduce the risk of entry of COVID 19 through our borders while allowing for quarantine-free travel from travel partner countries.
This includes reducing the risk of entry of variants of concern or at least delaying entry.
Doctor Fong says they have ensured that the default quarantine period for all travellers from non-Travel Partner countries is 14 days.
He says in some countries where they have managed to secure oversight over the escalated pre-departure conditions, they have reduced the quarantine period to 10 days.
Doctor Fong says he needs to be clear that this escalated program is to reduce the risk of community transmission of an unknown variant.
He also says the temporary removal of any country from our Travel Partner Country list is already an ongoing assessment process
However, Doctor Fong says they have noted that a number of our travel partner countries now have widespread community transmission of Omicron. He says they are adding to the current border entry requirements for travel partner countries with evidence of community transmission of Omicron by strengthening the pre-departure testing requirement.
This will entail reducing the time for when the test can be taken from at most 72 hours before departure to 24 hours.
This has already been put in place for travellers from the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
They are currently working on how this can also be done for travellers from other travel partner countries.
Doctor Fong says at the same time, they recognize that the 3-day hotel stay and testing for arrivals from travel partner countries will not completely prevent cases from entering the community, including the Omicron variant.
The Permanent Secretary says as Omicron is now widespread across the world, including in a number of our travel partner countries, it is very likely that it will also enter our community.
Doctor Fong says the strongest evidence so far is that it transmits better and faster than other variants; people that have been infected with COVID-19 before are getting re-infected with Omicron, and people who have received two doses of a vaccine can also get infected.
However, he says it is still too early to determine whether Omicron causes more or less severe disease, though international experts do expect that prior immunity (including from vaccination) will reduce the risk of severe disease.
Doctor Fong says what is clear with Omicron is that a ‘Vaccination Plus’ strategy is needed.
This means vaccination plus COVID safe measures.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong remains extremely concerned at the lack of adherence to COVID safe measures in gatherings throughout the country, especially the non-adherence to masking in indoor public spaces and gatherings in sheds or tents that result in a lot of people sitting close to each other.
Doctor Fong says they ask that all gatherings, including family gatherings during the festive period, observe the COVID safe measures and as such are restricted in numbers and are done in spaces where good distancing and ventilation can be maintained.
He says the use of fans to ventilate these gatherings, asking that anyone who attends the gathering who does not feel well refrain from attending, and masking up wisely, are all messages that need people to adhere to.
Doctor Fong says in response to the likely introduction of Omicron into our communities, the MOH has new stocks of booster doses for the elderly, vulnerable, and front liners; and the vaccination of children will continue.
He says they continue to promote COVID safe behaviour in the messages and use legal measures they have for enforcement.
Doctor Fong says they continue to work with businesses and schools to foster COVID safe measures to become an automatic habit.
He says they want to facilitate the reopening of society in a way that does not cause mass illness and death.
The Permanent Secretary says they cannot eradicate SARS-CoV-2 but they can plan to ensure that what comes into Fiji is well known and we have enough vaccination cover and COVID safe habits in the community to protect ourselves and the freedoms we enjoy.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says their assessment is that the current increase in COVID-19 cases represents the beginning of the third wave of COVID-19 in Fiji.
He says this may be a resurgence of the endemic Delta variant however they are also working on the assumption that the Omicron variant is already here and is being transmitted within the community.
Doctor Fong adds they expect that genomic sequencing results of COVID-19 positive samples sent overseas will confirm this in due course.
The Permanent Secretary for Health further says should this wave be driven by the Omicron variant, based on what they are seeing overseas, they should expect a large number of cases and they will also expect that infections will occur in vaccinated persons and those who have previously been infected with the Delta variant.
He adds it is important to remember that those who are vaccinated or had booster doses are far less likely to become sick enough to require hospitalization.
Doctor Fong says the main focus of the vaccination program is to prevent severe illness and death which will also help to limit the strain on our medical services.
He adds the three divisional hospitals are reporting an increase in positive cases admitted to the hospital, however, none of the cases so far are presenting with COVID-related medical problems.
Doctor Fong says they are being admitted for other medical conditions and are testing positive during mandatory testing for all admissions to the hospital.
He stresses that the overall goal of the Health Ministry COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery has always been to minimize severe illness and deaths.
He says this goal remains, along with reducing severe societal disruption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the priority is the promotion of individual COVID safe measures which is vaccination, masking, physical distancing, avoiding crowds and hand hygiene followed by settings-based measures such as social gathering restrictions, indoor capacity restrictions, ventilation, and curfews.
Doctor Fong further adds they intend to avoid population blanket measures, like lockdowns, as much as possible as, almost two years into the pandemic, such measures are damaging to the community on many different levels and in our own recent experience, have limited value in controlling the spread of COVID-19 in Fiji.
He says with more than 91% of adults in Fiji vaccinated, plus added immunity expected due to the large number of people that were infected during the last wave on Viti Levu, we are no longer the COVID-naive population that we were before.
Doctor Fong adds the immunity that has been built through vaccination, and prior infection, is expected to have a significant impact on reducing severe disease in this next wave.
The fully vaccinated man from Tailevu who is the latest COVID-19 death confirmed by the Health Ministry had pre-existing conditions.
He was 62-years-old and died at home with severe respiratory distress last Saturday.
The Health Ministry confirms that this man received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on 14th April this year and his second dose on 23rd July this year.
There have been 698 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 696 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
COVID-19 cases reported by the Health Ministry continue to increase with 309 new cases confirmed in the latest update.
115 new cases were recorded on Tuesday and 194 new cases in the last 24 hours ending at 8am yesterday.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says in the past 7 days until the 28th of this month, 85 cases were recorded in the Central division, 74 new cases in the Western division, 1 new case in the Eastern Division and 316 new cases in the Northern Division.
He says the Central Division cases constitute 71% of the cumulative total cases nationally with the Western division making up 27%, 1% in the Northern Division and 1% in the Eastern Division.
Of the 194 cases recorded in the last 24 hours, 136 cases were recorded in the Northern Division; 6 cases were recorded in the Western Division including 4 cases from border quarantine, 46 cases recorded in the Central Division and 6 cases recorded in the Eastern Division.
There were 271 tests reported for December 28th, 2021.
Doctor Fong says the 7-day daily test average is 301 tests per day or 0.3 tests per 1,000 population.
He confirms the national 7-day average daily test positivity is 31.5%.
92.1% of the adult target population in Fiji is now fully vaccinated while 97.8% of the target population have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
This means 569,351 adults have received both doses of the vaccine while 604,342 adults have received one dose of the vaccine.
29,297 children between the ages of 15 to 17 are fully vaccinated while 36,643 children have received at least one jab.
10,657 children between the ages of 12 to 14 are fully vaccinated while 21,649 children have received at least one shot.
The Health Ministry is now assessing whether the current increase in COVID-19 cases is being driven by a resurgence of the endemic Delta variant or the new and highly transmissible Omicron variant.
They are also working on the assumption that the Omicron variant is already here and is being transmitted within the community.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they expect that genomic sequencing results of COVID-19 positive samples sent overseas will confirm this in due course.
He further says should this wave be driven by the Omicron variant, based on what they are seeing overseas, they should expect a large number of cases and they will also expect that infections will occur in vaccinated persons and those who have previously been infected with the Delta variant.
He adds it is important to remember that those who are vaccinated or had booster doses are far less likely to become sick enough to require hospitalization.
Doctor Fong says the main focus of the vaccination program is to prevent severe illness and death which will also help to limit the strain on our medical services.
He adds the three divisional hospitals are reporting an increase in positive cases admitted to the hospital, however, none of the cases so far are presenting with COVID-related medical problems.
Doctor Fong says they are being admitted for other medical conditions and are testing positive during mandatory testing for all admissions to the hospital.
He stresses that the overall goal of the Health Ministry COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery has always been to minimize severe illness and deaths.
Speaking in Labasa, Doctor Fong says he is confident that Omicron is around, he just needs the tests to confirm it.
He says this goal remains, along with reducing severe societal disruption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the priority is the promotion of individual COVID safe measures which is vaccination, masking, physical distancing, avoiding crowds and hand hygiene followed by settings-based measures such as social gathering restrictions, indoor capacity restrictions, ventilation, and curfews.
Doctor Fong further adds they intend to avoid population blanket measures, like lockdowns, as much as possible as, almost two years into the pandemic, such measures are damaging to the community on many different levels and in our own recent experience, have limited value in controlling the spread of COVID-19 in Fiji.
He says with more than 91% of adults in Fiji vaccinated, plus added immunity expected due to the large number of people that were infected during the last wave on Viti Levu, we are no longer the COVID-naive population that we were before.
Doctor Fong adds the immunity that has been built through vaccination, and prior infection is expected to have a significant impact on reducing severe disease in this next wave.
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