Last Updated on 3 years by Publishing Team

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Wednesday, 28^th July 2021

Transmission Update

We have 1057 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 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 and on the Fijian Government Facebook page. You will also be able to view the approximate locations of new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

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. We have recorded a total of 26,196 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 6,706 recoveries.

Deaths

We have 12 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 24^th July to 27^th July.

The first COVID-19 death to report 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 (24/07/2021). This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report 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 (26/07/2021). This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She was not vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is a 52 year old woman from Lami who died at home on 27/07/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 61 year old man from Raiwai who died at home on 27/07/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 69 year old man from Naitasiri who died at home on 26/07/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The sixth COVID-19 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 (27/07/2021). He received the 1^st 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 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 (25/07/2021). He received the 1^st dose of the vaccine in early June. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

The eighth COVID-19 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 (26/07/2021). She was not vaccinated.

The ninth COVID-19 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 (28/07/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The tenth COVID-19 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 (27/07/2021). She was not vaccinated.

The eleventh COVID-19 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 (27/07/2021). He received the 1^st 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 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 (27/07/2021). Her family reported that she had a cough and shortness of breath 2 days prior. She received the 1^st dose of the vaccine in late May. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

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.  We also 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.

Screening Update

A total of 6,188 individuals were screened and 1,120 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 371,924 individuals screened and 68,706 swabbed to date. As of the 26^th July our mobile screening teams screened a total of 5,847 individuals and swabbed 550. This brings our cumulative total to 753,259 individuals screened and 66,904 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update

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. 3195 tests have been reported for Monday July 26th. 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 %.

Vaccination Update

As of the 27^nd July 457,752 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 111,541 have received their second doses. This means that 78% of the target population have received at least one dose and 19% 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 is 822 cases per day or 929 cases per million population per day. Daily cases 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.

Advice to the public

For people with COVID-19 symptoms in Suva – Nausori:

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. 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 one of our dedicated health facilities:

– Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH)

– FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena

Individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to:

– Nausori Health Centre

-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 – we need you to visit one of our screening clinics and get tested. If you test positive, then we will ensure you are provided immediate care by our health teams.

1.) 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 of home isolation.

2.) Symptomatic workers can also obtain a medical certificate for the 14 days self-isolation at home from participating General Practitioners (GPs).