MHMS FIJI
MHMS FIJI

Archives 2021

COVID-19 Update – 22-11-2021

COVID-19 Situation Update

Monday 22nd November

Transmission Update:

Since the last update, we have recorded a total of 15 new cases; of which 7 new cases were recorded on 20/11/2021, nil new case was recorded on 21/11/2021 and 8 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 52,398 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 9 daily cases calculated for 18th November 2021.
Deaths:

This curve depicts the weekly death rate per 1000 population by divisions 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 weekly 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 695 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 693 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 November 18th, 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 598 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. There is a downward trend across all indicators of the COVID-19 epidemic in Fiji, indicating a positive response to our overall COVID containment and mitigation response.

With borders opening soon, we anticipate our testing numbers to increase from local and international repatriates as well as visitors entering the country.

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.

Our weekly testing numbers of over 4,000 are still above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1,000 population per week (or approx. 3,500 tests per week) and we anticipate continued surveillance and testing in our communities and maritime islands to monitor and detect cases for early intervention.

Public Advisory:

The rise in vaccination rates for eligible adults continues to rise at a very slow rate. Our vaccination rate among children aged 15 to 17, however, continues to progress at a reassuring rate. It is also reassuring to see that more than 10,500 doses of Pfizer have been deployed over 6 days despite the many cold chain complexities involved in the Pfizer deployment. Whilst the demand for Pfizer deployment in children has been extremely encouraging and we applaud the enthusiasm of parents to get their children protected, we ask that the public be patient.  We have deliberately brought in our Pfizer stocks in small batches to ensure we stay within our ultra-cold chain capacity as we learn to adjust to the Pfizer requirements and ensure that the changes, we make are sustainable enough to ensure ongoing access to Pfizer for all our children.

There has also been the limited deployment of Moderna booster doses to all adults over 60 years, to those under 60 years with significant morbidity, and those under 60 in the frontline.

The Ministry is also reassured that at this time all our disease indicators are indicating a healthy trend. Unfortunately, we also see that COVID safe measures in public indoor spaces, in public transportation over land and sea, and organized outdoor gatherings are now being increasingly flouted and ignored. Poor compliance to COVID Safe measures is now more clearly visible in major businesses facilities. We do expect the third wave of cases because of excessive gatherings that are going to happen over Christmas and New Year and we continue to prepare to have the wave of severe cases in hospitals.

The public of Fiji needs to embrace society-wide promotion and compliance with COVID safe measures to ensure the 3rd wave is small; a wave we learn to live with and learn from. Whilst the easing of restrictions is needed to facilitate social and economic livelihood, the public must ensure that together with vaccination, we should continue to observe our COVID safe measures and avoid contained spaces and crowds to avoid the risk of increased spread of the virus.

Supporting International and Maritime Travel

As we continue in our efforts to open international and domestic travel, the Ministry has continued to be measured in putting in place the necessary support needed to facilitate COVID safe travel.

For international air travel, our efforts to ensure that in-country test is done in such a way the results can be collected and collated to inform timely action and thus have the protective public health effect envisioned is being refined over the coming days. We do expect that changes will be made to ensure that the public health objectives are maintained while at the same time making the measures more traveler-friendly.

In the same vein, our domestic travel measures are initially quite stringent as seen with our requirement to keep public shipping capacity to 50% however this will be reviewed as more of our red zone areas are protected through vaccination.

The Ministry of Health and Medical services, therefore, requests all travelers to bear with the individual inconveniences they may face as we incorporate the subtle process changes needed to ensure that the highest level of public health protection is maintained.

The public is reminded that we must continue to adhere to COVID-19 safe measures of wearing masks appropriately, especially in indoor public spaces, covering our coughs and sneezes, washing our hands regularly with soap and water, or using a hand sanitizer and maintaining a safe physical distancing of 2 meters.

COVID-19 Update – 19-11-2021
 
Transmission Update:


Since the last update, we have recorded a total of 15 new cases; of which 5 new cases were recorded on 18/11/2021, and 10 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 52,383 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 15 daily cases calculated for 15th November 2021.
Deaths:

This curve depicts the weekly death rate per 1000 population by divisions 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 weekly cases and are likely a reflection of vaccination levels, COVID mitigation measures, and differences in population density.

There is a COVID-19 death to report

The COVID-19 death to report is of a 3month infant from Naitasiri referred from Vunidawa Hospital on 30/10/21 with an acute history of cough and fast breathing. The child was taken to Vunidawa hospital in respiratory distress and shock. He was medically assessed and stabilized by the attending doctor while a medical retrieval team was sent over to Vunidawa and the baby was transferred to the CWM Hospital

As per protocol upon admission, he was tested for COVID-19 and was noted to be positive (30/10/2021). His mother reported that he had a cough and was irritable three days prior to being admitted and developed a fever on the day of presentation (31/10/2021). Sadly, he died two days after admission on 02/11/2021 He was not vaccinated as he was not in the current target population of people 12 years and over that are eligible to receive the vaccine.

There have been 695 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 693 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 November 15th, 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 598 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. There is a downward trend across all indicators of the COVID-19 epidemic in Fiji, indicating a positive response to our overall COVID containment and mitigation response.

With borders opening soon, we anticipate our testing numbers to increase from local and international repatriates as well as visitors entering the country.

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.

Our weekly testing numbers of over 4,000 are still above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1,000 population per week (or approx. 3,500 tests per week) and we anticipate continued surveillance and testing in our communities and maritime islands to monitor and detect cases for early intervention.

Public Advisory:

Changes to Curfew Hours

Curfew hours have been extended from 12am- 4am. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services wishes to thank the people of Fiji for having reached 90% vaccination coverage for vaccine-eligible adults. Our combined effort has enabled us to reach this milestone. We will continue our vaccination efforts to reach the rest of the vaccine-eligible population including the 12-14 and 15-17-year-olds.

Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI)

Following concerns raised about vaccination safety, it is very important to understand what adverse events following immunization (AEFI) are and the management by MHMS should any such event arise.

An adverse event following immunizations (AEFI) is expected with the rolling out of any vaccine. As the COVID-19 vaccines rolled out in Fiji, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services included in its COVID-19 plans, preparation, and responses to any adverse events that may arise out of the vaccination roll-out.

An AEFI includes any unexpected medical event that any individual may experience following vaccination, which may or may not be related to the vaccine.

The MHMS has in place an AEFI investigation system comprising an AEFI officer with internal (Fiji) and external (international) panels that are responsible for receiving AEFI and investigating reported events. For milder cases, the AEFI officer also facilitates follow-up via multiple means (phone calls, Viber, Messenger, or emails).

Events requiring admission in the hospital and close follow-up are done with the medical teams in the hospital are assessed by the Fiji panel, who then document case details and verify important information before they are discussed with our international panel.

Fatal events may be assessed by post mortem. For COVID positive cases where a post mortem was not possible, the health team conducts a verbal autopsy process (internal & external panel) to confirm the cause of death.

A total of 64 AEFI was reported of which 55 AEFI (85.9%) are non-serious cases and 9 AEFI (14.0%) met serious cases criteria (cases that require hospital admission and reports of deaths post-vaccination). Analysis showed that 47 AEFIs (73.4%) were reported from the medical bay at the vaccination sites, while the most common side effects reported were fever, body pain, and hives. A total of 62 cases have been completely investigated while 2 cases are still under investigation. Of these investigated cases 61 were adult cases and 1 child. TO DATE NONE OF THE REPORTED CASES OF SERIOUS AEFI WERE ASSESSED TO BE COVID-19 VACCINE-RELATED.

Supporting International and Maritime Travel

As we continue in our efforts to open international and domestic travel, the Ministry has continued to be measured in putting in place the necessary support needed to facilitate COVID safe travel.

For international air travel, our efforts to ensure that in-country test is done in such a way the results can be collected and collated to inform timely action and thus have the protective public health effect envisioned is being refined over the coming days. We do expect that changes will be made to ensure that the public health objectives are maintained while at the same time making the measures more traveler-friendly.

In the same vein, our domestic travel measures are initially quite stringent as seen with our requirement to keep public shipping capacity to 50% however this will be reviewed as more of our red zone areas are protected through vaccination.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services, therefore, requests all travelers to bear with the individual inconveniences they may face as we incorporated the subtle process changes needed to ensure that the highest level of public health protection is maintained.

The public is reminded that we must continue to adhere to COVID-19 safe measures of wearing masks appropriately, especially in indoor public spaces, covering our coughs and sneezes, washing our hands regularly with soap and water, or using a hand sanitizer and maintaining a safe physical distancing of 2 meters.

World Toilet Day: Recognizing the value of toilets in Fiji
Suva, Fiji, 19 November 2021
On this World Toilet Day, the Fijian Ministry of Health and Medical Services, together with UNICEF, is calling on the important need to continue to recognize the value of toilets and the sanitation systems that support them. Lack of access to good sanitation has devastating effects on health, economies, and the environment, particularly for the poorest and most marginalized communities.
 
“When people have better access to sanitation and water, they are healthy and can also work productively, live more fully, and contribute more to society. We thank UNICEF for the support in ensuring communities are able to have this better access,” said the Hon. Minister for Health and Medical Services, Dr. Ifereimi Waqainabete. “Our Constitution ensures adequate access to sanitation for all Fijians under the Right to Sanitation in the Bill of Rights of the 2013 Constitution.”
 
World Toilet Day is celebrated around the world to value toilets for everything they do for us – from taking away our waste to protecting our health, safety, and dignity. The day is marked to increase awareness of the 3.6 billion people globally living without access to safely managed sanitation.
 
In Fiji, over 350 communities, based on the 2017 census, still do not have access to safe and proper toilets leading to more than 50 percent of children and their families being vulnerable to preventable diseases including diarrhea and typhoid. Poor sanitation also contaminates drinking-water sources, rivers, beaches, and food crops in many Fijian communities.
 
“Toilets and the services that support their functionality are an essential pre-requisite for healthy and happy communities, but too often toilets are undervalued,” said UNICEF Pacific Representative, Jonathan Veitch. “UNICEF is working closely with the Fijian Ministry of Health and Medical Services to ensure that communities and households, especially in the most remote areas, can access good toilets and sanitation, as well as value the importance of this for good health.”
 
When some people in a community do not have safe toilets, everyone’s health is threatened. Globally, at least two billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces. Every day, over 700 children under five years old die from diarrhoea linked to unsafe water, sanitation, and poor hygiene.
 
For women and girls, not having proper toilets at home, school, or at work limits them in fulfilling their potential and playing their full role in society, especially during menstruation and pregnancy.
 
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services is working together with UNICEF to support the improvement of sanitation status for rural communities and decrease the incidence of water, sanitation, and hygiene-related diseases in the country. This is with the focus on ensuring that communities have improved access to basic drinking water and sanitation, including in schools and health facilities.
 
UNICEF is currently supporting the Ministry in their ‘Tarova Programme’ which aims to install 1000 field latrine units in vulnerable communities across northern, western, and central divisions.
 
The Ministry, together with UNICEF, urges everyone to value good toilets and sanitation as an investment in public health and economic resilience.
90% Full Vaccination

Fiji achieves 90% full vaccination status

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services thanks all vaccine-eligible individuals who have stepped forward and received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.  As of 17th November 2021, 600, 140 (97.1%) vaccine eligible individuals have received dose 1 of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 556,322 (90%) individuals have been fully vaccinated with two doses.

In accordance with the Honorable Prime Minister’s speech on 10th October 2021, once 90% of adults are fully vaccinated, the curfew hours will be from midnight to 4 am. This new curfew time is effective from tonight, Thursday 18th November 2021.

Although the achievement of these vaccination milestones results in the easing of restrictions, COVID-19 is still here and we must exercise caution to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our Fiji.

The public is reminded that we must continue to adhere to COVID-19 safe measures of wearing masks appropriately, especially in indoor public spaces, covering our coughs and sneezes, washing our hands regularly with soap and water, or using a hand sanitizer and maintaining a safe physical distancing of 2 meters.

COVID-19 Update – 17-11-2021

Transmission Update:

In the past 7 days, 46 cases were recorded in the Central division, 35 new cases in the Western division, 1 new case in the Eastern Division, and 14 new cases in the northern division. The Central division cases constitute 71% of the cumulative total cases nationally, with the Western division making up 28% and 1% in the Northern and Eastern Divisions. The 14 new cases recorded in the north are quarantine cases that are part of the repatriation program for the Northern division.

Since the last update, we have recorded 15 new cases of which 7 new cases were recorded on 16/11/2021 and 8 new cases in the last 24 hours ending at 8 am this morning.

The national 7-day rolling average of cases as of 13th November is 18 daily cases.

The weekly incidence rate graph by division indicates a continually declining trend. Furthermore, the peak weekly incidence in the western division was approximately a third of that in the central division, and the cumulative case numbers are also reflecting a similar difference.
Deaths:

This curve depicts the weekly death rate per 1000 population by divisions 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 weekly 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 for today.

There have been 694 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 692 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 November 13th, 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 596 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.
Hospitalisation:

 

The downward trend in both the new hospital admissions and total admissions in all hospitals admitting COVID-19 patients across the country is consistent with the cases and death trends. The hospital admissions continue on a downward trend indicating a sustained positive response to COVID mitigation measures, Population density differences, and differential Vaccination rates.
Testing:

610 tests have been reported for November 16th, 2021. The 7-day daily test average is 664 tests per day or 0.8 tests per 1,000 population.

The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 1.9%, which is below the WHO recommendation of 5%, and this is illustrated by the lab testing graph. Though we continue testing in high-risk areas, our case numbers and test positivity rate indicate a better control of the community transmission in Fiji through the combined efforts of containment and mitigation measures with ongoing community surveillance.

Epidemic Outlook:

The Ministry of Health continues to monitor the outbreak using indicators such as daily case numbers, hospitalizations, test positivity, and deaths. There is a downward trend across all indicators of the COVID-19 epidemic in Fiji, indicating a positive response to our overall COVID containment and mitigation response.

With borders opening soon, we anticipate our testing numbers to increase from local and international repatriates as well as visitors entering the country.

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.

Our weekly testing numbers of over 4,500 are still above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1,000 population per week (or approx. 3,500 tests per week) and we anticipate continued surveillance and testing in our communities and maritime islands to monitor and detect cases for early intervention.

Public Advisory:

Changes to Curfew Hours

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services had expected to fully vaccinate 90% of the eligible adult population in Fiji by 13th November 2021. Pending confirmation of the 90% threshold, the curfew hours were to move to 12 am – 4 am from Sunday 14th November 2021.

Unfortunately, logistical issues posed challenges in vaccinating the remaining 10% of vaccine-eligible adults. The MHMS expectation of reaching 90% was not achieved over the weekend.  We will continue our vaccination efforts from tomorrow onwards and review the data mid-week. Curfew hours will remain from 11 pm – 4 am.

Quarantine-free Domestic Travel

Given the improvement in vaccination coverage, all quarantine measures are lifted for domestic travel. This means registration and travel passes are no longer required. We are now transitioning into COVID-19 risk reduction protocols for domestic travel. This means that travel is restricted to fully vaccinated individuals with strict compliance to passenger capacity of 50% in vessels servicing to and from Vanua Levu and the maritime islands, together with the stringent application of COVID-19 safety measures.

The responsibility for ensuring the above restrictions will be with shipping owners. Our border health teams will continue to monitor the oversight provided by the shipping companies and ensure that COVID-19 safety measures are followed and travel guidelines are adhered to.

Low Vaccination Areas (<60%)

In the maritime islands with low vaccination coverage, the public is advised to adhere strictly to the COVID-19 safety measures of social distancing, hand washing, and appropriate masking to mitigate the risks of community transmission. A 7-day quarantine period will be instituted for all travelers into these pockets of communities with low vaccination coverage rates. The quarantine requirement for low coverage areas will be further assessed once vaccination coverage rates have improved.

Low vaccination areas can be viewed at the following link: https://bit.ly/3ln8jqx

Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI)

Following concerns raised about vaccination safety, it is very important to understand what adverse events following immunization (AEFI) are and the management by MHMS should any such event arise.

An adverse event following immunizations (AEFI) is expected with the rolling out of any vaccine. As the COVID-19 vaccines rolled out in Fiji, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services included in its COVID-19 plans, preparation, and responses to any adverse events that may arise out of the vaccination roll-out.

An AEFI includes any unexpected medical event that any individual may experience following vaccination, which may or may not be related to the vaccine.

The MHMS has in place an AEFI investigation system comprising an AEFI officer with internal (FIJI) and external (international) panels that are responsible for receiving AEFI and investigating reported events. For milder cases, the AEFI officer also facilitates follow-up via multiple means (phone calls, Viber, Messenger, or emails).

Events requiring admission in the hospital and close follow-up are done with the medical teams in the hospital are assessed by the Fiji panel, who then document case details and verify important information before they are discussed with our international panel.

Fatal events may be assessed by post mortem. For COVID positive cases where a post mortem was not possible, the health team conducts a verbal autopsy process (internal & external panel) to confirm the cause of death.

A total of 64 AEFI was reported of which 55 AEFI (85.9%) are non-serious cases and 9 AEFI (14.0%) met serious cases criteria (cases that require hospital admission and reports of deaths post-vaccination). Analysis showed that 47 AEFIs (73.4%) were reported from the medical bay at the vaccination sites, while the most common side effects reported were fever, body pain, and hives. A total of 62 cases have been completely investigated while 2 cases are still under investigation. Of these investigated cases 61 were adult cases and 1 child. TO DATE NONE OF THE REPORTED CASES OF SERIOUS AEFI WERE ASSESSED TO BE COVID-19 VACCINE-RELATED.