Last Updated on 3 years by Publishing Team
Media Release
COVID-19 Daily Update
Saturday 10th October 2021
Transmission Update
We have 16 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.
There have been 62 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 2,636 active cases. There have been 51,429 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 51,499 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 47,677 recoveries.
We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with deaths and recoveries and as a result, we expect the death and recovery numbers to intermittently change as verifications are made.
Deaths
We have no COVID-19 deaths to report today.
There have been 3 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as Non-COVID-19 deaths by the doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths have been caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.
There have been 653 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 651 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. Please note that 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. Therefore, as of October 7th, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.8. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0.7 and 0.1 in the Western Division.
We have also recorded 533 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Hospitalisations
There are currently 48 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 29 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 19 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 3 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 3 are in critical condition.
Screening Update
A total of 461 individuals were screened and 74 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 753,309 individuals screened and 105,416 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 68 individuals and swabbed a total of 68 over the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 856,388 individuals screened and 77,974 swabbed by our mobile teams.
Testing Update
A total of 379,155 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 422,016 tested since testing began in March 2020. 567 tests have been reported for October 9th, 2021. The 7-day daily test average is 976 tests per day or 1.1 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 7.5 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 tests per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 4.4%, which is on a downward trend, and below the WHO recommendation of 5%. We will continue to monitor the trend to better interpret the status of community transmission with other indicators.
Vaccination Update
A total of 594,872 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 496,091 have received their second doses. Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over (adults), the vaccination coverage rates are 96.2% for adults who have received at least one dose, and 80.3% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. Please do note that since dose one is beyond 95%, a verification exercise for dose one is ongoing which may result in minor changes.
As for children, 25,457 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of 09/10/2021. We will be tracking our vaccine coverage rates once we have firmed up our 15 to 17-year-olds age group denominator.
For persons who are currently ill or have valid reasons for delaying their vaccination, we request you to apply for possible temporary exemptions through covidexemptionreq@gmail.com.
Epidemic Outlook
The 7-day average of new cases per day is 42 cases per day or 48 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers are currently not being used as the sole indicator to monitor the progress of the outbreak. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations, and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak.
With the decrease in testing numbers, our testing remains above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1,000 population per week (or approx. 3,500 tests per week). We will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.
Maritime Update
No new case was reported on Malolo Island in the last 24 hours. Of the total of 89 cases, 78 have recovered, and 11 remain active. Daily monitoring continues for the active cases and their contacts. Vaccination of the villagers and distribution of food rations continue for the affected families. Movement restrictions remain in place.
No new case was recorded on Naviti Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 181 cases, 179 have recovered and 2 remain active. Daily monitoring of cases and their contacts by the health team continues. The villages on the island remain under strict movement restrictions.
No new case was recorded on Waya Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 51 cases on the island, there are 31 recoveries now with 20 cases remaining active and under daily monitoring by the health team. Vaccination of adults continues and the island remains on movement restriction.
No new case was recorded in the Nacula Medical Area in the last 24 hours. Of the 172 cases in the medical area, 57 have recovered, and 115 remain active. The active cases are isolated in their respective villages and are monitored daily by the health teams from the respective medical areas. Movement restrictions remain in force for the islands.
No new case was recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 253 cases on the island, 247 cases have now been recovered and 5 cases remain active. Risk assessment revealed that 1 active case is in the moderate-risk category and 4 in the low category. Vaccination continues in Naceva, Naseuseu, Rukua, Raviravi and Yanuca. Movement restriction remains in force for Yanuca Island with discontinuation of travel from Yanuca Island to Viti Levu on day 14 of 14 days.
One new case was recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 588 cases. Of these, 557 cases have recovered and the remaining 31 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team. Risk assessment revealed that 7 active cases are in the high-risk category and 24 in the low category. Three patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, are COVID positive, and are currently in stable condition. Vaccination continues by the Kadavu health teams. Movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.
Public Updates and Advice:
As many more people become vaccinated and maintain the COVID discipline and practice every day (when out of home, mask up if you walk into any indoor setting, when using public transport and when in crowded outdoor spaces), then disease spread in the community is slower and easier to control. We continue to simplify our patient care plans so those recovering at home get the appropriate care, while those needing more escalated care are identified early and moved to get the appropriate treatment in a timely manner. All deaths and severe diseases are a tragedy, but they can be prevented.
While Fiji has recorded a cumulative deaths per million population rate of 723.23, many more countries have recorded a higher deaths per million (cumulative) rate than us, which includes the USA, UK, Israel, many EU countries, and other Small Island Developing States. This is a clear indication to all the front-liners, and those in the community who supported them in this battle, and members of our community who adhered to our COVID safe protocols, that we have made and are making a difference. Our goal was to hold off the virus from our communities long enough for everyone to get protected by the vaccine. While we have lost loved ones, and people we hold dear, we have also prevented many more from catching the virus and dying from the disease in our communities, based on what we have witnessed around the world. The entirety of our actions, right from the beginning of the pandemic, made a difference.
This has been a long hard fight and it is not over yet. But we are on the right track and steadily progressing towards the new normal. Occasionally we will need to put in measures to protect our health system but as time goes on, we will gain more immunity to the virus. As one of the fastest fully vaccinated countries in the world, we have shown that we can do this together. It might take some months yet to reach the new normal but with everyone’s help, we will soon put the worst of COVID-19 behind us.