Last Updated on 3 years by Publishing Team

Media Release 

COVID-19 Update 

Friday, 02nd July 2021

Transmission Update

We have confirmed 404 cases of COVID-19 to report today. These new 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 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

We also report 5 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients in the 24-hour reporting period that ended at 8:00 am today. Out of the 5 deaths; 1 death has been classified as a COVID-19 death, 1 death has been classified as death from other medical causes and 3 deaths are currently being investigated.

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.

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. We also have recorded 12 COVID-19 positive patients who died from conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.

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. We have recorded a total of 5253 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 970 recoveries.

Screening Update

A total of 5649 individuals were screened and 1267 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 234,365 individuals screened and 32,267 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 2,442 individuals and swabbed 318 in the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 668,949 individuals screened and 54,616 swabbed by our mobile teams to date.

Testing update

A total of 163,261 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 206,122 tested since testing began in early 2020. 3,161 tests have been reported for 30 June. The national 7-day daily test average is 3,025 tests per day or 3.4 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 9.5% and continues on an upward trend.

Vaccination Update

A total of 5,243 first doses and 1,141-second doses of the vaccine were administered nationally in the last 24 hours. To date, 309,293 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 49,876 have received their second doses. This means that 53% of the target population has received at least one dose and 8.5% 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 313 cases per day or 336 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 suggests 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, 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-colored 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.