Last Updated on 2 years by Publishing Team
COVID-19 Situation Update
Monday 13th December
| Transmission Update:
Since the last update, we have recorded a total of 16 new cases; of which 7 new cases were recorded on 11/12/2021, 5 new cases were recorded on 12/12/2021, and 4 new cases in the last 24 hours ending at 8 am this morning. This epidemic curve depicts the daily positive cases since the 2nd wave of this outbreak that began in April 2021. Overall, for this 2nd wave, there have been 52,523 cases recorded, with 71% of the cases from the Central Division, 28% of the cases from the Western Division, and 1% of the cases from the Eastern and Northern Division. Our National 7- day rolling average is 5 daily cases calculated for 9th December 2021. |
| Deaths:
This curve depicts the daily death count by division since the 2nd wave of this outbreak that began in April 2021. Overall, the death rate graphs for the Central and Western Divisions indicate a declining trend. The differences between the Central and Western are similar to the incidence of the daily cases and are likely a reflection of vaccination levels, COVID mitigation measures, and differences in population density. There is no COVID-19 death to report. There have been a total of 697 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 695 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 December 9th, the national 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.0, with a case fatality rate of 1.32%. We have recorded 609 COVID-19 positive patients who died from serious medical conditions they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths. |
Epidemic Outlook:
The Ministry of Health continues to monitor the outbreak using indicators such as daily case numbers, hospitalizations, test positivity, and deaths.
Occupancy rates in health facilities, the occupancy rate of ICU beds, death rates, and vaccination coverage are indicators to monitor our health response capacity and we see a decreasing trend across indicators from our health facilities with increasing vaccination coverage for adults and 15-17-year-olds in Fiji. With the commencement of vaccination for 12-14-year-olds, we expect their coverage to contribute to reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death.
With international travel open, we anticipate our testing numbers to increase from international repatriates and travelers including Fijians visiting families and friends. With increasing COVID-19 cases in the European region and the emergence of the new variant Omicron, we anticipate continued surveillance and testing at our borders, communities, and maritime islands to monitor and detect cases for early intervention.
Public Advisory:
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services is aware of misinformation being peddled widely on social media. The evidence on the Omicron variant’s impact on the transmissibility of the virus, severity of disease, and effect of prior immunity (from vaccination or infection) is not yet conclusive. While preliminary evidence indicates that it does not make people sicker than the Delta and other strains it is important to point out that widespread transmission is still dangerous for Fiji. Even if severe disease occurs in a small percentage, a large-scale transmission will result in large numbers of sick individuals in Fiji which will stress any health system.
The Ministry has also rolled out the comprehensive surveillance program in all its subdivisions as we welcome the opening of international and local borders and travel restrictions into our community are gradually uplifted. A part of this surveillance program includes the ongoing testing conducted for patients, relatives, and staff at our main hospitals and the current restriction of visitations into hospitals. Members of the public are encouraged to assist our health teams in abiding by these visitation restrictions and to agree to be screened and tested when allowed into the hospitals.
The Ministry reiterates its advice on our maintaining adherence to the COVID safe measures of masking, physical distancing, washing hands regularly, covering our mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, and getting fully vaccinated against COVID-19. These measures remain the key to stopping any disease outbreak in our communities.
With the ongoing vaccination campaign for COVID-19 and identification of 2 cases of Measles in the Serua-Namosi Health Subdivision, the Ministry is also focused on stepping up the national immunization program for vaccine-preventable disease. A national plan has now been put together to roll out early in January for the vaccination of all children in the eligible age groups against diseases that are prevented with childhood immunization. In the meantime, all parents are encouraged to review their children’s vaccination cards, in particular those below the age of 5 years, to ensure that their vaccination is up to date. Please contact your nearest health facility if your child has missed out on any scheduled vaccination.