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Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Wednesday, 7th July 2021

Transmission Update

We have 791 new cases of COVID-19 and 3 COVID-19 deaths to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 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 cases at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb

The first COVID-19 death is a 61-year-old man from Qauia Village, Lami. He was brought to the CWMH 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 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 CWMH Hospital Emergency Department. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. His family reported that 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.

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. We also have recorded 19 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the 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. 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.

Screening Update

A total of 6,361 individuals were screened and 1,629 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 257,860 individuals screened and 37,239 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 4,387 individuals and swabbed 410 in the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 681,316 individuals screened and 56,562 swabbed by our mobile teams to date.

Testing update

181,026 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 223,887 tested since testing began in early 2020. 3356 tests have been reported for July 5th. Testing number data for all labs for July 5th are still being received and so the testing number is expected to increase once updated. The national 7-day daily test average is 3,420 tests per day or 3.9 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 12.5% and continues on an upward trend.

Vaccination Update

As of July 6th, 329,837 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 56,974 have received their second doses. This means that 56% of the target population has received at least one dose and 9.7% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

Fijians 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 access the live dashboard at http://bit.ly/3h2JfCZ

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day has increased to 503 cases per day or 569 cases per million population per day. And today was another daily record of new cases. Daily case numbers are expected to continue to increase, along with an increase in people with COVID-19 requiring hospitalisation, and sadly, more deaths.

Advice to the public

As a result of increasing COVID-19 cases in the Suva-Nausori containment zone, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services advises that until further notice, home-based screening and swabbing services in Suva-Nausori will no longer be provided, except in exceptional circumstances. 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. Our 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.

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

Any disruptions to screening clinic services, for instance for decontamination, will be communicated to the public.

A person in Suva-Nausori with symptoms, or who has been in close contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19, should take the following steps:

1) Immediately isolate yourself from others, including other members of your household if possible.

2) 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.

3) Please avoid using public transport to travel to the screening clinic. 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.

Our FEMAT field hospital has begun the transition into a COVID-19 dedicated hospital. And we have set up an emergency number 165 for people with severe COVID-19 symptoms to contact if they cannot get to a hospital themselves.

Sadly, we 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. Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment may result in a higher risk of death.

We 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 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.

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