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• Your Excellencies – Mr Feakes, Mr Curr & Mr Welsh
• UNDP Representative – Ms Gayane Tovmasyan
• The Director Technical Support – WHO South Pacific – Dr Capuano
• Representative – DFAT & MFAT
• Representative – Fiji Revenue & Customs Service
• Representative – Fiji Police Force
• Ladies & Gentleman

NI SA BULA VINAKA

 This year marks the 17^th year of Fiji’s commitment and support towards the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

• Signed in 2003 and the first developing country to do so, Fiji remain consistent in its commitment for the last 17 years to stand with countries that have rectified the Convention & Protocol and to rise above the tobacco industry’s documented history of sabotage, and together develop innovative approaches that will see Fijians protected and safeguarded from the harmful effects of tobacco products.

• Tobacco continues to be one of the leading cause of morbidity and mortality across the globe. With over 8 million deaths each year world-wide, this makes the tobacco epidemic one of the largest public health threats.

• There is irrefutable evidence on the devastating effects of tobacco to individuals and families alike. It is highly addictive and causes ill health and death to users. Even non-users exposed to second-hand smoke are affected, and that accounts to 1.2 million deaths globally a year. And unfortunately, even children to addictive parents fall victim in the process.

• The most recent Global School-based Student Health Survey in Fiji conducted in 2016 found that over 50% of children aged 13-15 years reported being exposed to tobacco smoke in public places and homes in the past week.

• The total cost of healthcare attributable to smoking-related diseases in the Western Pacific region (WPR) equates to an average of 2.6% of its national GDP for 15 Countries surveyed in our region.

• This consequently has tremendous impact on the progress of economic development and growth because global data indicates an alarming majority of deaths from tobacco in developing countries across the earth happened within the economically productive age bracket of 30 – 69 years.

• Social impact, such as unemployment, school dropout poverty, addiction, to name a few becomes a consistent issue with the most vulnerable severely affected in children and the elderly.

• In Fiji’s effort to ensure that suffering caused by tobacco products continues to be supressed, the government in 2010 passed the Tobacco Control Act with the Tobacco Regulation in 2012.

• The Fijian Government through its annual budget have had consistent increase in tobacco taxation since 2013, which had resulted in a significant increase in prices of tobacco products which subsequently act as a deterrent to users over the last years.

• With the government’s endorsement on the Tobacco Regulation in 2012, Fiji has instituted drastic measures towards its tobacco control work that includes the following:

• Introducing graphic health pictures on all tobacco packaging that covers 30% on the front and 90% at the back.
• Annual registrations of wholesalers and distributors.
• Annual licensing for manufacturers and importers which carries a hefty amount.
• Restriction of public places from smoking, and that includes workplace, enclose areas where public has access, eateries, and designated areas in taverns, bars and nightclubs.

• There has been a significant increase on the trainings done for tobacco control officers and prosecutors over the years which have consequently resulted in an increasing number of offenders apprehended and the subsequent increase in cases that ended up in court.

• With our current remodelling plan, much of this service will be decentralized and we are intending to open up more tobacco enforcement units at the sub-regional national level.

• While there are significant progresses in Fiji’s compliance to the FCTC, global data revealed that 11.6% of all tobacco is sourced from illicit streams, and this amounts to around 1 in every 9 cigarettes.

• Tax avoidance and tax evasion continue to increase and they undermine the effectiveness of tobacco control policies. These activities range from legal actions such as purchasing tobacco products from lower tax jurisdiction to illegal ones such as smuggling and counterfeiting.

• Lately, Fiji has experienced an increase in chewing tobacco (which is an illegal product) and counterfeit tobacco products which do not meet the requirements of our legislation.
• We are slowly witnessing the presence of unregulated emerging tobacco products such as shisha and other products like e-cigarettes within our boarders and Fiji’s step to becoming a Party to the World Health Organization’s Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products in 2019 is timely and prudent.

• Around this time last year, the Ministry convened a multi-stakeholder consultation to strengthen Fiji’s tobacco enforcement work specifically around the areas of illicit trade of tobacco products at our boarders and within.

• A major outcome in that meeting is the formation of what we currently have as the “National Tobacco Control Multi-Stakeholder Taskforce” which comprised of the Fiji Revenue & Customs Services (FRCS), Fiji Police Force, Local Municipal Councils and Health.

• Following that is the signing of an MOU earlier this year between the Ministry and the FRCS that gives us access to the FRCS’s Automated System of Customs & Data World (ASYCUDA WORLD) on imported and exported products.

• This is a major breakthrough in Ministry’s effort to ensure that what comes in and out of our boarders is regulated and conveniently tracked and traced and this data sharing platform will give us access to first hand data and information on movements of commodities which will easily result in the apprehension of perpetrators of illicit activities.

• And I take this time to acknowledge and thank the support of our partners – the Fiji Police Force, the Municipal Councils and the FRCS that has ensured the formation of a broader collaborative cross-sectoral platform of addressing illicit tobacco trade.
• And this project through the Convention Secretariat, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and WHO will no doubt enhance our efforts in achieving the articles in the FCTC & the Protocol and surely align us well in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

• With that said, I have much pleasure in officially launching the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control 2030 Fiji Project.

 VINAKA VAKALEVU

STATEMENT FROM THE ACTING PERMANENT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND MEDICAL SERVICES

08/09/2020

Today we are announcing one new border quarantine case of COVID-19. The patient is a 64-year-old female Fijian citizen who arrived on repatriation flight GA7280 from New Delhi, which arrived in Nadi on Thursday, August 27th, 2020.

As with all prior border quarantine cases, this latest patient has been under strict border quarantine conditions since arrival into Nadi. This includes compulsory 14-day quarantine at a government-designated quarantine facility under supervision from the Republic of Fiji Military Forces and the Ministry of Health and Medical Services. She is in stable condition and has been transferred to the isolation ward at the Lautoka hospital as per standard protocol for confirmed cases.

This is the third border quarantine case confirmed among the passengers on board this repatriation flight. As previously announced, in line with our infection control protocols, all areas of Nadi Airport accessible to passengers from that flight have been hygienically deep-cleaned, as overseen by our on-site medical officer and health inspectors. The frontline border staff that were directly involved in the arrival of the passengers on this flight have also all tested negative for COVID-19.

With this new case, Fiji has six active border quarantine cases, all of whom are being treated in isolation at either the Nadi or Lautoka hospitals. We are diligently enforcing our border quarantine and infection control protocols. As such, these border quarantine cases continue to pose zero risks to the health and wellbeing of the Fijian public.

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Date: September 4th 2020

STATEMENT FROM THE ACTING PERMANENT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND MEDICAL SERVICES

Bula Vinaka.

Earlier this week we assured the public the arrival of repatriation flight GA7280 from New Delhi to Fiji on the 27th of August was dealt with in line with our border quarantine protocols –– which are the most stringent anywhere in the world. As some of you may be aware, several New Zealand citizens on board that flight continued onwards travel after spending about 30 minutes on the tarmac of Nadi Airport. Five of those passengers went on to test positive for COVID-19 upon arrival to New Zealand. As per our infection control protocols, all areas of Nadi Airport accessible to passengers from that flight have been hygienically deep-cleaned.

As per Fijian border quarantine protocol, all disembarking passengers from that flight were tested for the virus. Following the confirmation of cases in New Zealand, we did expect some
test results to return positive. Two passengers did indeed test positive for the virus. They are both male Fijian citizens, one is aged 55 and the other is 22. These confirmations bring Fiji’s
total number of active border quarantine cases to five.

Both gentleman have been hygienically secured in the isolation ward at Nadi Hospital. Neither were displaying symptoms at that time of testing. Again, these tests were run as part of our
standard border quarantine process.

All 83 other passengers on board the flight have returned negative results. These passengers have each been entered into mandatory 14-day quarantine period in a government-designated
quarantine facility under supervision from the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. If any develop symptoms, they will be tested for the virus. At the end of their quarantine period, we will test
them once again. If they return negative results, they will be discharged.

The frontline border staff that were directly involved in the arrival of the passengers on this flight have also all tested negative for COVID-19.

Once again, I must emphasize: Our border quarantine and infection prevention control protocols are as strict as they come. So long as they are upheld there is no risk to the Fijian
public from border quarantine cases.

Thank you.

Date: September 1st 2020

STATEMENT FROM THE ACTING PERMANENT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND MEDICAL SERVICES

Bula Vinaka.

Today we are announcing one new border quarantine case of COVID-19, a 25-year-old female nursing officer. She contracted the virus while treating one of our other border quarantine cases in an isolation unit.

We are considering this case a “border quarantine case” because this nurse never entered a public space after contracting the virus. As per protocol, she worked and lived in the isolation centre, with exactly zero contact with the public. She then entered a Fijian Government quarantine facility –– again, without ever interacting with anyone from the public. After developing symptoms while in quarantine, she was tested. After she returned a positive result for COVID-19, she was admitted to the isolation ward at Nadi Hospital where she is recovering well. In fact, her symptoms have since dissipated.

Her fellow isolation unit nursing colleagues and medical officers on rotation have all returned negative results. Out of an abundance of caution, even though they never interacted directly with this patient, all relevant frontline health, hotel staff and military personnel have been swabbed for the virus and tested negative.

Around the world, rates of infection among healthcare staff are among the highest of any group. As nearby as New Zealand, during the month of April, one in ten cases are recorded among healthcare workers. Even when every protocol is followed, even when Personal Protective Gear is employed properly, this unpredictable and unwieldy virus can still be transmitted.

Despite more than 3,000 patients held within our quarantine facilities, this is the first positive case confirmed among our staff working in our isolation facilities. But given what we’ve seen around the world, we are quite sure it won’t be the last. That is why we’ve structured an airtight operation system within our isolation facilities to ensure no risk to the general public –– I’d like to cover again exactly how those facilities function.

Our medical staff work these isolation facilities through a roster system, whereby they work and live in the isolation facility for 14 days, then go into quarantine in one of our government designated quarantine facility for 14 days. They must then register another negative COVID test result before they can rejoin their family. This is the most stringent system of isolation unit management in the world, more rigorous than both Australia and New Zealand.

Our healthcare staff all operate in appropriate personal protective equipment at all times. There is no shortage of these supplies in Fiji and our staff are well-trained in its use. We’re constantly reviewing and strengthening personal protection measures wherever we see an opportunity. However, as I’ve said, some risk will always remain due to the aggressively contagious nature of the virus. That is why we must always remain vigilant.

This will be our 11th border quarantine case. We currently now have two active cases in Lautoka and one in Nadi Hospital.

I know the stringent protocols we have in place are a great comfort to the Fijian people. But we must never forget nor take for granted the exceptional sacrifices these measures demand of our healthcare staff. There is nothing easy about living and working away from your family for four weeks at a time. There is nothing easy about working to save a life while also mitigating the risk of further infection. And it takes nothing less than absolute bravery to work in our isolation wards. The Fijians who do so are heroes –– full stop.

Our medical staff of orderlies, ward assistants, laboratory technicians, nurses and doctors have together with the members of our security forces (RFMF, Navy and Police) held the frontline since the COVID 19 battle begun. We have as a group have weathered criticism, we have endured hardships, we have seen and experienced social and emotional turmoil, but we will never surrender. We will always honour our duty to our people; to keep them healthy and safe –– and we will do so with vigilance, with courage and with compassion.

We have noted that several recent cases confirmed at the New Zealand border in Christchurch transited through Fiji while travelling from India to New Zealand. We want to assure the public that these individuals did not contract or transmit the virus while in Fiji. These individuals landed in Fiji, spent 30 minutes in Nadi Airport, interacted with no one, and then transited onwards to New Zealand.

Thank you.