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Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Saturday, 07 August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 682 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 193 cases are from the Western Division and 489 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 297 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 24,070 active cases. 19,154 active cases are in the Central Division and 4,916 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 36,252 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 36,322 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 11,798 recoveries.

Deaths

We have 6 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 05th August- 06th August. 3 of the deaths were in the Central Division, and 3 deaths were from the Western Division.

The first COVID-19 death to report is an 18-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 05/08/2021. Her family reported that she had a cough five days prior to her presentation. She was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 75-year-old man from Nausori. He presented to the CWM hospital in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died on the same day 05/08/2021. He received the 1st 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 third COVID-19 death to report is a 77-year-old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM hospital in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died six days after admission on 07/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 50-year-old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the hospital and she died 7 days after admission (05/08/2021). She was not vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is an 85-year-old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in respiratory distress. Her family reported that she had a fever and cough two days prior to the presentation. Her condition worsened at the hospital and she died 2 days after admission (06/08/2021). She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in late July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The sixth COVID-19 death to report is a 59-year-old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in respiratory distress. Her family reported that she had a fever, cough, and shortness of breath one week prior to presentation. Her condition worsened at the hospital and she died 2 days after admission (06/08/2021). She was not vaccinated.

There have been 5 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 serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.

With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 296 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 294 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 6.  We also have recorded 158 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.

Hospitalisations

There are currently 292 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 58 patients are admitted to the Lautoka hospital. In Suva, 72 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 162 were admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 66 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 10 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 5,338 individuals were screened and 642 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 421,982 individuals screened and 75,175 swabbed to date. As of the 06th August, our mobile screening teams screened a total of 2,509 individuals and swabbed 94. This brings our cumulative total to 780,843 individuals screened and 68,742 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update

A total of 292,879 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 335,740 tested since testing began in March 2020. 2899 tests have been reported for August 5th. The national 7-day daily test average is 3234 tests per day or 3.7 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 30.8 %.

Vaccination Update

As of the 06th August, 508,796 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 175,570 have received their second doses. This means that 86.7% of the target population have received at least one dose and 29.9% 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 934 cases per day or 1056 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 West with evidence of community transmission in that division.  We are also recording increasing numbers of people with severe disease and deaths in the West. The Northern and Eastern Divisions currently have no active cases.

Advice to the public

The following was announced in a public advisory issued earlier this week:

COVID-19 health services in the Western Division.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services wishes to inform the public that due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the Western Division, it is necessary to adjust the current health services strategy for the division in Mitigation Phase.

Residents for the whole of the Western Division from the Nadroga medical subdivision to the Ra medical subdivision are requested to note that the Ministry of Health and Medical Services will, in the coming days, be varying its public advisories and guidelines to reflect the evolving COVID-19 situation

Some of the initial changes in this Mitigation Phase are below, and they strictly apply to members of the public in the Western division only:

Screening and Testing

Individuals experiencing COVID-19 symptoms: cough, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, fatigue/extreme tiredness, headache, aches and pains, sore throat, fever, diarrhea, red eyes (conjunctivitis), loss of taste or smell, a rash on the skin should visit the nearest screening clinic for testing.

Individuals who test positive will be provided immediate advice and care by the health teams at the screening facility.

Pregnant Women

Pregnant women experiencing COVID-19 symptoms: cough, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, fatigue/extreme tiredness, headache, aches and pains, sore throat, fever, diarrhea, red eyes (conjunctivitis), loss of taste or smell, a rash on the skin, must immediately visit a screening clinic for testing.

Pregnant women who test positive will be provided immediate advice and care by the health teams at the screening facility.

Contact Tracing

The Western Division health teams will no longer carry out contact tracing. Health response teams in the Western Division will now be redirected to the identification and close monitoring of people with COVID-19 symptoms who are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19.

Members of the public who return positive COVID-19 test results will be provided advice and resources to aid their self-isolation at home.  COVID-19 positive cases are encouraged to take responsibility and share information and advice to their known primary contacts.

Primary contact testing and clearance

Clearance testing will no longer be required for primary contacts. Primary contacts are required to self-isolate at home for 14-days from the day the known COVID-19 case they had close contact with, tested positive or 14 days from the day of the last contact with a known COVID-19 case.

Workers requiring official leave from work can attend the nearest screening clinic or Health Care Facility to be checked and obtain a medical certificate for 14 days of self-isolation at home.

Additional Information

Families and caregivers of the vulnerable including the elderly, are urged to monitor the health of their loved ones.  If they develop COVID-19 symptoms, please take them to the nearest screening clinic.  If an individual has a disability, or is otherwise physically unable to leave their home and attend a screening clinic, in these exceptional circumstances, individuals can call 158 and request a home swabbing service.

The public is advised to please take responsibility to stop community transmission by continuing to practice the following: wear a mask, wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use a hand sanitiser, practice safe physical distancing of 2m apart, cover your cough and sneeze, wipe frequently touched surfaces and objects with disinfectant. Get vaccinated and encourage your family members to vaccinate too.  Stay in your bubble and avoid close contact with people who do not live with you.

Businesses are also asked to take responsibility for the decontamination of their premises. Please continue to ensure that the workplace is well ventilated. Encourage your staff to wipe down frequently touched surfaces with disinfectants at least three times a day. Businesses are encouraged to arrange rosters for their employees to ensure safe physical distancing at work. If any employee starts showing symptoms, please ensure they visit a screening clinic and self-isolate at home.

Main Clinical Health facilities

All major health facilities will continue to remain fully functional in all subdivisions in the West, providing emergency services, admissions, and inpatient care for COVID and non-COVID diseases.

  • General outpatient services continue in the health centers.
  • SOPD services at Lautoka Hospital are currently suspended. Prescription refills for SOPD clients are available from the Girmit Centre.
  • ANC clinics in Lautoka are available at the Girmit Centre, junction of Kings Road and Tavakubu Rd. Appointments for ANC clinics are made with the doctor at your nearest health center.

Request for food assistance

Individuals who return positive test results for COVID-19 and are immediately asked to self-isolate will have food ration requests facilitated by the sub-divisional health teams in your area.

Curfew hours

Curfew hours remain from 6 pm – 4 am.

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