Last Updated on 3 years by Publishing Team
Media Release
COVID-19 Update
Thursday, 01st July 2021
Transmission Update
We have confirmed 431 cases of COVID-19 and 2 deaths related to COVID-19 in the 24-hour reporting period that ended at 8:00 am today.
These new cases are from the Central and Western Divisions. A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard and on the Fijian Government Facebook page. You can also view the approximate locations of the new cases at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.
Today we reported two new COVID-19 deaths. The first death was a 74 yr old male who was brought to FEMAT in acute respiratory distress. The second death was a 71 year old male also brought to FEMAT unresponsive. One death which was previously under investigation has now been classified by the clinical team also as a COVID death.
There have now been 24 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 22 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. We also have 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. We have recorded a total of 4,849 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 918 recoveries.
Screening Update
A total of 6,282 individuals were screened and 1,307 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 228,716 individuals screened and 31,000 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 2,784 individuals and swabbed 358 in the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 666,507 individuals screened and 54,298 swabbed by our mobile teams to date.
Testing update
A total of 159,939 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 202,800 tested since testing began in early 2020. 3,015 tests have been reported for 29 June. The national 7-day daily test average is 3,027 tests per day or 3.4 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 8.9% and continues on an upward trend.
Vaccination Update
A total of 7,083 first doses and 1,275 second doses of the vaccine were administered nationally in the last 24 hours. To-date, 300,436 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 48,503 have received their second doses. This means that 51% of the target population has received at least one dose and 8.3% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Fijians are reminded to 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 access the live dashboard at http://bit.ly/3h2JfCZ
Epidemic Outlook
The 7-day average of new cases per day has increased to 285 cases per day or 305 cases per million population per day. There has also been a notable increase in positive patients with severe disease, as well as an increase in deaths. 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.
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, bodyache, 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.