There is still rampant community transmission of COVID-19 – Dr Munshi

The President of the Fiji Medical Association, Doctor Basharat Munshi says the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is now most probably the dominant variant in the country and there is still rampant community transmission.

He says the Omicron variant to put it in simple terms is almost unavoidable.

Doctor Munshi adds they are afraid that people are letting their guards down as the Omicron variant is deadly for people with weak immune systems due to their underlying medical conditions.

He says people should remember that there is still a chance that you will get infected even-though you have received your booster dose or have received two doses.

Doctor Munshi says it is important that people look out for the test positivity rate instead of daily COVID-19 cases as there is no widespread testing.

The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 45.8% and this is an indication of widespread community transmission.

He says the transmission is so great that it is physically not possible to test everybody.

Doctor Munshi says the aim is making sure that hospitals do not get overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.