Last Updated on 2 years by Publishing Team

COVID-19 Update

Monday 09th May

Transmission Update:

Since the last update, we have recorded 26 new cases of which 10 new cases were recorded on 06/05/2022; 9 new cases were recorded on 07/05/2022; 5 new cases were recorded on 08/05/2022 and 2 new cases in the last 24 hours ending at 8 am this morning.

Of the 26 cases recorded, 5 cases were recorded in the Central Division; 21 cases were recorded in the Western Division and nil cases were recorded in the Northern and Eastern Division.

The national 7-day rolling average of cases as of 5th May is 10 daily cases.

The Central Division cases constitute 67% of the cumulative total cases nationally, with the Western division making up 28%, 3% in the Northern Division, and 2% in the Eastern Division.

Deaths:

The curve depicts daily COVID-19 deaths by division since May 2021. It indicates a surge from last December, which peaks by mid-January 2022 followed by a downward trend, with the most recent death occurring on March 4th.

There is no COVID-19 death to report today.

Analysis of Deaths in the Third Wave

Table 1: Death rates by Division

Division Total COVID Deaths Deaths per 100,000
Central 61 15.4
Western 67 18.8
Northern 28 20.0
Eastern 5 13.0

An analysis of the 161 deaths recorded in the third wave shows that, while the Western Division has the highest absolute number of deaths, the Northern Division has the highest rate of death when adjusted for population.

Table 2: Deaths by Age Group

Age Group Total Deaths Deaths per 100,000
population
0 – 9 6 3.3
10-19 2 1.3
20-29 3 2.1
30-39 4 2.9
40-49 6 5.4
50-59 21 23.1
60-69 33 63.5
70-79 50 223.2
80-89 28 497.6
90-99 6 1153.8

For the 161 deaths in the third wave, the death rate adjusted per 100,000 population, has been highest in age groups 50 and onwards. There were 8 deaths below the age of 19 years, 7 out of the 8 children had significant pre-existing medical conditions, and one child had no known underlying medical condition.

Table 3: Deaths by Vaccination Status

Age Cohort Total COVID deaths Total Vaccinated/ Unvaccinated Deaths per 100,000 Vaccinated Population Deaths per 100,000 Unvaccinated Population
>18 129 59/94 10.1 275.2
15-17 1 0/1 0 6.6
12-14 1 0/1 0 2.5

Out of 161 COVID -19 deaths reported in the third wave, six (6) deaths were in the population not eligible for vaccination (under age 12). An analysis of the 161 deaths in the vaccine-eligible population reflected, that when adjusted per 100,000 population, for fully vaccinated (received 2 doses) and unvaccinated/not fully vaccinated (received 0 doses or only 1 dose) adults in Fiji, we have a death rate of 10.1 per 100,000 population for fully vaccinated adults and 275.2 per 100,000 population for unvaccinated adults. This means that unvaccinated adults in Fiji have been dying at a rate 27.2 times higher than fully vaccinated adults during the current COVID-19 wave. Individuals in the 12-17 age group who died were not vaccinated. There have been no COVID-19 deaths in individuals who received a booster (3rd dose) of the vaccine.

There have been a total of 862 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji. As of April 24th, 2022, the national 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day is now 0.0, with a case fatality rate of 1.29%. Due to the time required by clinical teams to investigate, classify and report deaths, a 4-day interval is given to calculate the 7 days rolling average of deaths, based on the date of death, to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported.

We have also recorded 939 COVID-19 positive patients who died from other serious medical conditions unrelated to COVID-19; their doctors determined that COVID-19 did not contribute to their deaths, therefore these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.

Hospitalization:

There is a sustained downward trend in daily hospitalizations. Using the WHO clinical severity classification, 100% (n=2) are categorised as asymptomatic and mild; with nil cases in the moderate, severe and critical categories.  Anyone admitted to the hospital is tested before admission, therefore, a significant number of people are admitted to the hospital for non-covid health conditions, but incidentally, test positive due to the high amount

Testing:

469 tests have been reported for May 8th, 2022. Total cumulative tests since 2020 are 514,379 tests. The 7-day daily test average is 704 tests per day or 0.8 tests per 1,000 population.

The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 1.5%, which is within the WHO recommendation of 5%.

Public Advisory

Engaging COVID safety without mandates or quarantine

Since the 7th of April and the lifting of our quarantine measures and increased international travel, our community and border surveillance screening data continue to report a low positivity rate despite the ongoing pandemic, and the continued evolution of Omicron variants. While there is a low positivity rate among arrivals we are seeing positive arrivals. We are also aware that a key aspect of living with Covid is to have a strong community surveillance system within the community AND at the border. This will allow early identification of community outbreaks and facilitate early response. Early response capability is a key part of mitigating the risk of severe disease and severe containment measures and to further easing pre-departure conditions for international travel. As part of our community surveillance exercise, we will be transitioning to t9he more routine use of throat and nasal swabs as opposed to the more uncomfortable nasopharyngeal swabs

The Ministry informs the public that for the positive cases among arrivals, existing protocols have been instituted to ensure travellers that return positive COVID-19 test results follow protocols and isolate for the required 7 – days as advised.

However, the Ministry is concerned that there are travellers who are not adhering to the 7-days of isolation and continue to be mobile during that 7-day isolation period.

We call on the public to support the protection and safety of all Fijians by reminding travellers from overseas who are visiting friends and relatives of the importance of isolating themselves for 7 days if they test positive for COVID-19. As a nation, Fiji has emerged from the period of restrictions that were instituted to protect our people and our country from COVID-19. We need not be reminded of the high number of positive cases and the number of deaths from COVID-19.  The Ministry reiterates that the lifting of masking and other mandates and easing of travel restrictions is NOT a sign that the risk of outbreak and resurgence of COVID-19 is over. It is important that we continue to work together to protect ourselves, our communities and our country from any further

The following prevention measures continue; the promotion of vaccination, personal COVID-safe hygiene habits, and workplace ventilation and air cleaning measures. We recommend everyone continue to employ COVID-safe measures to prevent infection and the spread of infection: Frequently wash your hands or use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser, stay home if you feel sick, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or the bend of your elbow if you cough or sneeze, wear a mask if you have any signs of a respiratory illness.

We have dropped the pre-departure testing requirement for travellers coming into Fiji and also we now require international arrivals to test within 72 hours of arrival. Beyond this potential change, our border protection will be mediated by the fact that all travellers over 16 years are vaccinated. Inbound travellers aged 12 years and above must produce proof of a pre-booked and pre-paid rapid antigen test, to be administered within 72 hours of arrival in Fiji. Booking for tests can be made through this link: https://entrytestfiji.com. There will be exemptions for those who have tested positive and recovered from COVID-19 within the 30 days before travel and have fit-to-fly certificates. Failure to comply with arrival testing once in Fiji will result in a spot fine of $1000.

Ongoing Medical Recovery Efforts

With the reduction in COVID-19 cases and in people presenting to health centres with acute respiratory illness,  the MOHMS team is in a better position to focus more on health facilities and health care provision capabilities so as to mitigate against severe disease and death. This will include the ongoing community engagement and outreach program to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment in the community, and the maintenance of health facility readiness to provide treatment.

Our command centres and operation centres have been repurposed to maintain a line list of vulnerable cases in the community and to work on processes that will allow for more preemptive response and promote broader community resilience. These command centres and operation centres will also provide oversight on community surveillance indicators to ensure early and measured responses to future outbreaks.

We are also focused on carrying out general health service work more efficiently in all facilities, and a key part of our plan is to set up divisional mobile units to supplement facility-based general servicing capability and also work with private providers through a process for pre-qualifying contractors and/or suppliers for each subdivision.

The engagement of General Practitioners, Private Dental Practitioners, Private Medical Laboratories, and Private Ambulance providers to support our services in a public-private partnership arrangement is a strategy to help in our ongoing recovery efforts.

We also have reformulated a framework to better engage customer service initiatives in all health facilities and allow for senior managers to institute substantive actions and provide direct oversight over implementation plans. It will also allow the Ministry’s senior executives to track progress in implementation and ensure that annual operation plans reflect an evolving and progressive change narrative in the successive plans. These initiatives will also include the processing of internal communications to facilitate timely decision making and action within the Ministry.

COVID-19 Vaccination

As of the 09th of May, a total of 125,418 individuals have so far received booster doses. The booster dose interval for eligible persons has been reduced to 3 months from the 2nd dose. This is in recognition of the risk of disease surge based on waning 2 doses covid vaccine protection, slow booster uptake, increased international travel with the relaxation of border measures, and ongoing outbreaks in various parts of the world. Moderna vaccine and Pfizer vaccines are both available for adult booster doses.

The public is urged to get booster vaccine doses, and the list of vaccination sites is provided daily on the MOH. We have accepted an offer of 50,000 doses of Pfizer paediatric doses for children aged 5 to 11 by the Aotearoa New Zealand Government. Our vaccination team is currently discussing with counterparts in NZ on further details while our efforts to source more through our other development partners are ongoing.

Our school vaccination program has also been progressing such that with the 95% adult coverage rate, 90.6% of all persons over 12 years have had 2 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

We will continue to monitor the evidence on post-infection immunity based on quality data that is being generated globally.  However, until we have a better sense of the role of post-infection immunity, the Ministry of Health will continue to define our level of protection based on vaccination numbers

Given the current stocks of Pfizer vaccine we have we are using the Pfizer vaccine for the ongoing primary 2 dose schedule for children and adults, and as the booster dose.

Multi-country acute hepatitis of unknown origin

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services has been monitoring reports of acute hepatitis (liver inflammation) of unknown origin in children in multiple countries including the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Spain, Israel and France. According to the World Health Organisation, there have been 169 cases as of April 21st in 11 countries. We understand that studies into the cause of this illness in children are ongoing, and we continue to monitor reports by the World Health Organisation and other country health authorities as the investigation progresses. We have alerted our specialist children’s doctors within the Ministry, and to date, we have had no reports of cases in Fiji.

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