Archives 2021

Media Release                                                                 

COVID-19 Update

Monday April 26th 2021

As announced by the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services today, we have 12 new cases to report.

The first case is a soldier working in a border quarantine facility, and is the roommate of case 73, the first border quarantine soldier announced to have been infected by the virus on Sunday April 18^th. This new case had tested negative on his first test, and does not pose a transmission risk to the public as he has been contained within the government quarantine facility since Sunday April 18^th, and tested positive now after 7 days in quarantine.

Four of the new cases are close contacts of the hotel quarantine staff who travelled to the funeral in Tavakubu. The 4 tested negative when they entered quarantine but have now tested positive. This indicates that they were not infectious while in the community.

The next seven new cases are related, and are all close household contacts of the 29-year old female from Makoi who we revealed yesterday was potentially our first case of community transmission. By community transmission we mean a case that cannot be linked to other cases or to international travel. As mentioned yesterday, finding a case of community transmission is of great concern, because it indicates that an outbreak is widespread and uncontrolled, with a devastating outbreak imminent. However, further investigation has revealed that the infected woman’s husband is a 30-year old soldier who works in a border quarantine facility in Nadi, and he has tested positive. As per protocol this soldier was tested for the virus on April 10^th before being released to return home to Suva on April 12^th, and he had tested negative. We can confirm that, between the negative test result on April 10^th and returning home on April 12^th, he had close contact with case 73, the border quarantine soldier who had also tested negative on 10^th April and likely got infected shortly after swabbing. Unfortunately this soldier, who is the husband of the Makoi case, came into contact with case 73, before case 73 was found to be positive.

The entire family was transferred to a government supervised quarantine facility yesterday.

Establishing this link between the Makoi case back to case 73 means that this case will now be re-classified as a case of local transmission, and not community transmission.

With these latest cases there are now 36 active cases in isolation. Five are older border quarantine cases announced before Sunday April 18th. Nine are recently announced border quarantine cases, and 22 are locally transmitted cases.

Fiji has had 103 cases in total, with 65 recoveries and 2 deaths, since our first case was reported on March 19^th 2020. 63 of these cases have been international travel associated cases detected in border quarantine. 22 cases reported since Sunday April 18^th are our first locally transmitted cases in over 1 year.

A total of 48,167 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted, with a daily average of 738 tests per day over the last 7 days. Daily testing has increased in line with the response to the recent local cases, with 737 tests conducted yesterday. Our overall test positivity is 0.2% and our 7 day average daily test positivity is 0.7%.

Statement by Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr. James Fong.

Yesterday we recorded four new cases of COVID in Fiji. Two of those cases are in Nadi, one in Lautoka and one in Makoi, Suva. Three of the cases involved persons who attended the funeral that we have identified as a super-spreader event, including a husband and wife who circulated through the community. They were placed in quarantine on Friday, and the Ministry of Health is tracking their movements and contacts for the five days before they went into quarantine.

Regarding the Makoi case, we are not certain of the source of her infection, but the Ministry of Health is busy doing contact tracing to determine who she may have been in contact with before or after she was infected. She and her husband have been placed in quarantine, but prudence requires us to treat this case as a possible community transmission.

Because we cannot yet pin down the movements of these people and identify all their contacts, we are forced to take strict precautionary measures against the possibility that the virus has spread within the Lami- Suva Nausori areas and within the Nadi-Lautoka area. Once we receive further information regarding the Makoi case, there will be appropriate variations to these measures.

We have experienced this situation before, so it should be familiar to everyone. Our purpose is to keep people from circulating unnecessarily. If people don’t move, the virus won’t move.

Beginning at 4:00 a.m. Monday, when the curfew period ends, and for the next 14 days, the greater public will not be allowed in or out of the following containment zones. — -Lami- Suva Nausori areas. For a period of 14 days, we will be closing off exits at the following checkpoints, starting from 4 am tomorrow morning, the 26^th of April: beginning from Wainadoi to Tamavua- I- Wai–Tamavua-I- Wai to 8 Miles bridge, — 8 Miles bridge to Logani Village on Kings Road. Similarly, the Nadi-Lautoka will be divided into two zones—Nadi Zone will begin from Momi Junction to Lomolomo Police Post and from Lomolomo Police Post to Nacilau. The current free movement between Lautoka to Nadi will no longer be allowed.

Only persons traveling for medical purposes will be allowed through checkpoints.

All non-essential businesses must remain closed.

Supermarkets and shops selling food and other essential items will remain open so that people can buy these essential items within their respective containment zones. Similar to other essential services, markets will remain open only in and for the respective containment zones. Pharmacies will also remain open. The point is, food and essential goods will remain on the shelves of our shops, markets, and supermarkets. Do not run to the supermarkets and bulk buy goods this afternoon – doing so will crowd these stores and put every shopper at risk.

Restaurants can remain open but only for takeaway and delivery orders within and for the containment zones.

Limited banking services will be available, as will FNPF and FRCS.

Public transportation within the different zones will be available but limited to 50% seating capacity.  We have made arrangements through LTA for this to be practically implemented.

Civil service employees will be authorized to work from home at the discretion of their respective Permanent Secretaries

Essential businesses will remain open, as they did during our lockdown period last year. That list includes air and rescue services, air traffic control services, ports services, civil aviation, telecommunication services, food, and sanitary manufacturing plants, electricity services, emergency services, fire services, health, and hospital services, lighthouse services, meteorological services, mine pumping, ventilation and winding, sanitary services, supply and distribution of fuel and gas, power, telecommunications, garbage collection, transport services, water and sewage services, FNPF and FRCS, civil service, private security services, and roading services. If your business is not on this list, close it down.

The ports of Lautoka and Suva will remain open for international freight shipping and inter-island cargo shipping.  Any inter-island passenger travel from the ports of Suva, Denarau, Vuda, and Lautoka remain prohibited. We will implement the previous Agriculture Marketing Authority arrangements to get food and produce into the respective containment zones. At all checkpoints, suppliers can arrange with a police driver to ensure that produce still comes into the respective containment zones, and we don’t let the virus escape the containment zones.

Employers in the listed essential businesses need to arrange a permission document for their employees in order to pass through the checkpoints, as was the case during the previous lockdown.  Employers should also try and make arrangements for their critical workers to move into the zones for the 14 day period. Please contact 158 to acquire the permission documents which are your passes. The Fiji Police Force will efficiently facilitate responses.

For employees, if there is no branch of your company which you can report to in your containment zones, please contact your employer. For those who cannot attend work at all because of the set-up of the containment zones, they will be able to access 220 dollars a fortnight from their FNPF. If funds are insufficient, the government will top up the accounts.

Even within the respective containment zones, residents are again advised to avoid large social gatherings, particularly indoors.

Stay home. Your interactions should be limited entirely to those already living in your households. If you’re missing a friend or loved one, do the safe thing and call them on the phone. If you need to walk around or exercise you may do so, but wear masks and maintain social distance when you must be out.  It is particularly important to download the careFIJI app and keep your phone Bluetooth turned on. And wash your hands regularly. We were approaching the finish line, and we’ve had a setback. Let’s get back on track–together.

We are taking these early measures to prevent the spread of this virus throughout the country. We have done great work together to keep Fiji safe so far, and we have seen how opportunistic this virus is. One small, innocent lapse or a careless attitude to our health measures by one person can start a chain of infection that can spread rapidly and sicken thousands. Fortunately, we have the knowledge, the infrastructure, the people, and the Will to stop it. So I urge all Fijians to keep making this effort. Adhere to these health protocols. These protocols will be implemented and enforced by our health and police officials. These new protocols will be gazetted today.

I’m confident the vast majority of people watching know we cannot afford to lose the war against this virus. I know most Fijians are following and respecting the rules we’ve put in place – but too many still aren’t. So, if you’ve been thinking that this virus isn’t your problem, or that somehow your behavior hasn’t needed to change- get a grip. This virus is here and it is serious. Anyone anywhere could be a carrier. If people follow the government’s directives, we will lock this virus down and win this war. If people don’t, many people will die. It is just that simple.

Report any symptoms you’re feeling as soon as they develop by calling our COVID-19 Call Centre on toll-free number 158. Stop sharing bilos and takis. Stop shaking hands, touching and embracing. Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, multiple times a day. But we must take every day one at a time, not as a reason for despair but as an opportunity for containment. Our greatest hope is in the hands of every Fijian; please for the fate of our country and those we love, do what we’ve directed you to do. Don’t let this opportunity go to waste.

Media Release                                                                   

COVID-19 Update

Sunday, April 25th, 2021

As announced by the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services today, we have 4 new cases of COVID-19. The first case is a 30-year-old female known close contact of case 74 (hotel quarantine worker case) who has been in quarantine since Monday 19^th April. She tested negative on her first test upon entering quarantine and has now tested positive after 4 days in quarantine.

The next 2 cases are a couple, a 52-year-old male and a 51-year-old female, who attended the funeral at Tavakubu together on April 16^th and 17th and had contact with case 74. They were transferred into a government-supervised quarantine facility on Thursday, April 22^nd after developing symptoms. Their movement between the funeral and when they were transferred into the quarantine facility is currently the subject of contact tracing investigations.

The 4^th case is a 29-year-old female from Makoi in Nasinu. Her link to the current cluster of local cases is not yet clear and investigations are ongoing. At this stage, she is being considered a case of community transmission (a case with no known link to other cases or international travel) pending further investigation. Please refer to the Permanent Secretary’s statement today for more information.

With this latest case, there are now 24 active cases in isolation. Five are older border quarantine cases announced before Sunday, April 18th. Nine are recently announced border quarantine cases, and 10 are locally transmitted cases.

Fiji has had 91 cases in total, with 65 recoveries and 2 deaths, since our first case was reported on March 19^th, 2020. 63 of these cases have been international travel-associated cases detected in border quarantine.

A total of 47,430 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted, with a daily average of 653 tests per day over the last 7 days. Daily testing has increased in line with the response to the recent local cases, with 1007 tests conducted yesterday. Our overall test positivity is 0.2% and our 7-day average daily test positivity is 0.5%.

-ENDS-

Statement by Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr James Fong.

Bula Vinaka, everyone.

We’ve run another 828 tests since yesterday with 1 new positive result. This is a new locally transmitted case of COVID-19. The patient is the 14-year-old daughter of the hotel staff who has been the central focus of our contact tracing. This daughter did travel with her mum to the funeral at Tavakubu on April 16th and 17th –– however she had no symptoms and tested negative when entered into quarantine on Sunday, April 18th. And now she has tested positive at day 4 of quarantine. This indicates that she was entered into quarantine before she became infectious. Let me explain: We know that this virus has an incubation period of up to 14 days. So a person may take up to 14 days to have enough virus in their bodies to develop symptoms or trigger a positive test result. Importantly, the level of virus that becomes detectable on a test also relates to how infectious that person is at the time. If someone has no symptoms and tests negative in the community, it is very unlikely that they were infectious, even if they later test positive during the 14-day quarantine period.

So we now have 6 locally transmitted cases that can all be traced back to the soldier who caught the virus while working in a border quarantine facility. 3 of these latest local cases were not infectious while they were in the community, we know this because they had no symptoms at the time, and were negative on their first test when they entered quarantine. It was only on their second test in quarantine that they tested positive.

Apart from the 6 locally transmitted cases, we have 14 from border quarantine. So we now have 20 active cases in isolation,

Our teams across Viti Levu have told us they are seeing a notable increase in mask-wearing among members of the public. That is great news and it means a great deal to us at the Ministry to see so many Fijians share our mission to keep Fiji safe. Our masks –– when we wear them properly–– are badges of compassion and concern for those around us. Homemade or store-bought, wearing masks lets our doctors, nurses, lab technicians, and members of our disciplined forces all know that –– through the long days and sleepless nights –– we are not alone in our work to stop the spread of COVID-19, the nation is with us; you are with us. And we will defeat this outbreak together.

Remember the guidance we have announced and published for homemade masks — it requires at least two layers of cloth for these masks to offer protection. We’ve announced that before, I just want to remind everyone again. Some people have asked about mask-wearing in their own personal vehicles. If you are alone in your personal vehicle, or with other members of your household, you do not need to wear a mask. But when you exit the vehicle, please place one on.

There is a nationwide curfew between 11 pm and 4 am every night. As announced yesterday, we are asking for restricted movement outside of the curfew hours from 7 pm tonight until 11 pm on Sunday evening. That means everyone should stay in their homes and only spend time with members of their household. It’s important that you do because my teams are going to use that window to conduct health screenings in targeted regions throughout Viti Levu. Health officials will also be checking Fijians for COVID-like symptoms and making sure they have not had contact with someone who was contagious for the virus.

During this window of restricted movement, businesses such as supermarkets and pharmacies may open at the discretion of their management. Public transportation may run, with mask-wearing enforced.

No other workplaces should open. So, save for shopping for food or medicine, or traveling for a medical emergency, there are no other reasons to leave your home. If you are out and about without an essential reason, the police will ask you to go back to where you reside. As we’ve seen before, this brand of early, decisive action is key to saving lives –– but it only works well when the public works with us. So please stay home as much as possible. Again, please remember that the normal curfew hours from 11 pm to 4 am are still in effect.

As I’ve said before, if these protocols are not followed, I will have to recommend lockdown measures for entire towns and cities.

There are still too many unknowns to determine how long the rest of our health restrictions will remain in place. More tests must be run; more time must be given to confirm that the virus is not lurking in some communities. If the numbers point to a wider outbreak, we won’t hesitate to escalate our response. But what we do know is that by staying home, you give us a much better chance at stopping the spread. If you are watching this from home, wonderful. If you aren’t, please start making arrangements to head home now. We’re urging businesses to close up shop well before 7pm so that staff and customers have time to head home. And remember, if you are heading home using public transportation –– wear a mask, and wear it properly.

The members of the media here today and around the country have a special responsibility in carrying these messages to the public. I hope the media have taken note by now: Reporting the facts is more important than reporting first. When you are in these briefings, please listen carefully to what I am saying. Our strategy is based on science. It carefully harnesses the resources at our disposal, and targets them where they can make the greatest difference. If you have a question about something I have said, ask it. Don’t put words in my mouth or ask me what you may wish I had said –– all that does is confuse well-meaning members of the public.

I was a bit disturbed by a couple of tweets that went out from a reporter who freelances for a number of media organizations outside of Fiji. Yesterday the reporter posted an incorrect tweet saying Fiji would be under a nationwide curfew starting tonight. That was wrong. We asked her to remove that tweet. Thankfully, she did. An apology tweet was posted however it also stated that the police would arrest people who were out without an essential reason which was misleading. During the window of restricted movement, the Fiji Police will be asking people to stay home. That is where we want you, at home.

I know that as a nation we can rise to meet this challenge. Most of us are abiding by the protocols we have in place. The vast majority of Fijians are doing the right things. But we have had a few instances of rule-breaking. After we established Moturiki Island as a screening zone, a gentleman was picked up on Ovalau after he swam across the channel. He’s with the Police now, and he won’t be swimming anywhere for the next 14 days until he is cleared from the screening zone. I know that may be funny to some people, but it is a real problem for our health officials. The nature of this pandemic can induce anxiety in a lot of people. It is a scary time, but don’t let that fear drive you towards bad decision-making. I want everyone watching to know, if my teams are in your community, they are there because they care. They care about you, they care about your family, they care about keeping our country safe. So please offer whatever cooperation and assistance that you can.

Today I was sent some awesome photos of food items –– donated by Mr Billy Singh of Kundan Singh –– being delivered to the families within the screening zone at Wainitarawau Settlement. Hotels –– like the Tanoa and the Crow’s nest –– have supported our surgical teams working in Sigatoka and Rakiraki. The Holiday Inn has helped provide meals and catering to our health officials. I want to thank Women in Business and the Fiji Chamber of Commerce and Industry for reaching out to their members — and to other businesses — to adhere to our health protocols. I make special mention of Tanoa Hotel. They have been with us from the very beginning and have supported us in many different ways. I hope to see other business organizations step up and do the same.

There are other operators out there aiding us at every turn. And across the country, small gestures of solidarity are taking place every day, most of which occur with little fanfare. Big or small, there is something all of us can do to ease the burden of this outbreak on those worst affected. This is a national team effort –– we’re all working to overcome the same mountain of adversity for the benefit of every family, business, and industry in Fiji, as well as the Fijian economy. So, if you are a business, and you know of some way you can help us, please call 158.

As I had announced, we are deploying COVID-19 vaccines to targeted groups in the West and Suva. As of this morning, we have begun administering vaccines to Parliamentary staff and Members of Parliament. Members of the media as well are being called to come forward to be vaccinated. I hope by this time next week, you’ve all joined us in receiving your first dose.

To the rest of Fiji: Stay safe, stay home, and, if you have an essential reason to leave the house, mask up!

Thank you.

Media Release                       

COVID-19 Update

Saturday, April 24th 2021

As announced by the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services today, we have 1 new case of COVID-19. This is the 14-year-old daughter of the hotel staff who has been the central focus of our contact tracing (case 74). This daughter travelled with her mother to the funeral at Tavakubu on April 16th and 17th –– however, she had no symptoms and tested negative when entered into quarantine on Sunday, April 18th. And now she has tested positive on day 4 of quarantine. This indicates that she was entered into quarantine before she became infectious. As mentioned, she has been in quarantine since April 18th and will be transferred to an isolation unit in line with our protocol for positive cases.

With this latest case, there are now 20 active cases admitted into hospital isolation units. Five are older border quarantine cases announced before Sunday, April 18th. Nine are recently announced border quarantine cases, and six are locally transmitted cases linked back to the soldier who was infected while working in a border quarantine facility. Three of these latest local cases were not infectious while they were in the community, we know this because they had no symptoms at the time, and were negative on their first test when they entered quarantine. It was only on their second test in quarantine that they tested positive.

Fiji has had 87 cases in total, with 65 recoveries and 2 deaths, since our first case was reported on March 19th, 2020. 63 of these cases have been international travel-associated cases detected in border quarantine. And 6 recently announced cases are our first cases of local transmission in over 1 year.

A total of 46,423 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted, with a daily average of 562 tests per day over the last 7 days. Daily testing has increased in line with the response to the recent local cases, with 828 tests conducted yesterday. Our overall test positivity is 0.2% and our 7-day average daily test positivity is 0.5%.

-ENDS-