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Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Friday, 16h July 2021

Transmission Update

We have 1,405 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 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 the new cases on the dashboard tomorrow at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

We also have 6 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 12th July to 15th July.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 58 year old man from Tacirua. He presented to a medical facility with severe COVID-19 symptoms including shortness of breath. His condition worsened at the health facility and he died on the same day 14/7/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is an 82 year old man from Waila. He presented to a health facility in severe respiratory distress. He was retrieved by a medical team to the CWM Hospital. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died two days after admission on 12/7/2021. His family reported that he had been unwell with symptoms that included fever, and cough. He was not vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is a 34 year old man from Koronivia. He presented to a health facility in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened at the health facility and he died on the same day (12/7/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 68 year old man from Valelevu. He presented to the CWM Hospital with COVID-19 symptoms. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died on the same day 14/7/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 76 year old woman from Narere. She presented to a healthcare facility with severe COVID-19 symptoms including shortness of breath.  She was retrieved by a medical team to CWM hospital. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died on the same day (12/7/2021). She was not vaccinated.

The sixth COVID-19 death to report is a 92 year old man from Ba. He was retrieved by a medical team from an isolation facility and transferred to Lautoka Hospital. His condition worsened in hospital and he died four days after admission (15/7/2021). He was not vaccinated.

There have been three more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. Doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.

There have now been 80 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 78 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. We also have recorded 34 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.

There have been 470 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 11,959 active cases. There have been 15,221 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 15,291 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 3,218 recoveries.

There are six more deaths currently under investigation. These will be discussed once investigations (including test results) and classifications are complete.

Screening Update

A total of 10,356 individuals were screened and 1,893 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 312,572 individuals screened and 52,386 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 4,197 individuals and swabbed 435 in the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 712,328 individuals screened and 60,855 swabbed by our mobile teams to date.

Testing update

A total of 216,869 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 259,734 tested since testing began in March 2020. 3678 tests have been reported for July 14th. Testing number data for one lab is pending for July 13-14th. Based on available testing numbers, the national 7-day daily test average is 3943 tests per day or 4.5 tests per 1,000 population. These numbers are expected to increase once all lab testing number data is received. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 19.2%  and continues on an upward trend.

Vaccination Update

As of the 15th July 384,480 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 75,448 have received their second doses. This means that 66% of the target population have received at least one dose and 12.9 % 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 824 cases per day or 932 cases per million population per day.  Average daily case numbers are increasing, together with cases of severe disease and deaths.

Advice to the public

In the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone, people with severe COVID-19 are still dying at home, or they are coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness. Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease.

We need all Fijians to know the severe symptoms of COVID-19, which include the following:

  •             Difficulty breathing
  •             Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
  •             Severe headache for a few days
  •             New confusion, inability to wake or stay awake
  •             Pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds

In the Suva-Nausori Containment zone we have identified health facilities specifically designated to receive people with symptoms of severe COVID-19. If you or a loved one live in the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone and have any of these severe symptoms please go immediately to the designated health facilities listed below.

– Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH)

– FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena

Individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to:

– Nausori Health Centre

-Wainibokasi Hospital

Call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility. 

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