All posts by superadmin

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Wednesday, 18 August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 653 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 462 cases are from the Western Division and 191 cases are from the Central Division. A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard. You will also be able to view the approximate locations of new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

There have been 1,088 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 21,304 active cases. 13,652 active cases are in the Central Division, 7,651 active cases in the Western Division and 1 active case in the Northern Division. We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with recoveries and as a result we expect the recovery numbers to increase in the coming weeks.

There have been 41,760 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 41,830 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 19,883 recoveries.

Deaths

We have 8 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of August 14th-18th. 5 deaths were reported from the Central Division and 3 deaths were reported from the Western Division.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 54 year old woman from Tailevu. She presented to the Korovou Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day (16/08/2021). She received the first dose of the vaccine in early-August. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 54 year old man from Lautoka. He presented to the Lautoka Hospital on the 15/08/2021 in severe respiratory distress and tested positive for COVID-19. He had a history of a cough and fever for three days prior (12/08/2021). Sadly, he died one day after admission on the 16/08/2021. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early-June. He received the second dose of the vaccine on 02/08/2021. However, as he got sick with COVID-19 less than 2 weeks after receiving the second dose, he was not fully vaccinated when he got infected with the virus. A person must have two doses of the vaccine and wait at least two weeks (14 days) after the second dose to be considered fully vaccinated and to get the full protective effect of the vaccine.

The third COVID-19 death to report is an 86 year old woman from Sigatoka who died at home on the 16/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 40 year old man from Nausori. He presented to the CWM hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died sixteen days after admission (18/08/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 78 year old man from Tailevu who died at home on the 14/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The sixth COVID-19 death to report is a 72 year old man from Sigatoka who died at home on the 17/08/2021. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early-August. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

The seventh COVID-19 death to report is an 84 year old man from Navua who died at home on the 15/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The eighth COVID-19 death to report is a 75 year old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died two days after admission (18/08/2021). He received the first dose in late July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

There have been 7 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.

With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 413 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 411 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. As of 17th August the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 10. The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the  Central Division is 4 and in the Western Division is 6 .We also have recorded 230 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.

Hospitalisations

There are currently 327 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital. 124 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 44 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 159 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 54 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 15 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 5,102 individuals were screened and 876 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 462,637 individuals screened and 80,563 swabbed to date. As of the 17th August our mobile screening teams screened a total of 505 individuals and swabbed 212. This brings our cumulative total to 792,353 individuals screened and 70,291 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update

A total of 311,742 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 354,603 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1664 tests have been reported for August 17th. The 7-day daily test average is 1513 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 33.3%.

Vaccination Update

As of the 17th August 537,704 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 220,034 have received their second doses. This means that 91.7% of the target population have received at least one dose and 37.5% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. We are currently doing a mop up exercise of our first dose campaign, which will allow us to specifically target specific communities with low coverage, and subsequently also correct and update the total eligible population for our current vaccination program.

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 488 cases per day or 552 cases per million population per day. We have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, our daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori. As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori. This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.

We are likely seeing the effect of this testing policy change now in Suva-Nausori with the drop in daily reported cases. This does not mean that the outbreak is on a downward trend in the Suva-Nausori community. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, daily case numbers in Suva-Nausori are currently not being used as an indicator to monitor progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori.

We are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in that division.  Deaths per day at a 7 day average in the Western Division now surpass the Central Division.

The Northern Division has 1 active case, and the Eastern Division has 0 active cases.

Advice to the public

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. We are now seeing this happening in the Western Division as deaths are increasing in that division.

Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease. You are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 if you are over the age of 50 or have a non-communicable disease or chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease, or if you are obese or pregnant. If you are at high risk of severe disease and have any symptoms of COVID-19 such as a cough, runny nose, fever, sore throat, body ache, headache, loss of taste/smell – please come to your nearest screening clinic to be checked and tested by our medical teams.

We need also 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 Suva-Nausori we have identified health facilities specifically designated to receive people with symptoms of severe COVID-19. If you or a loved one live in Suva-Nausori 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

In the Western Division, please go to your nearest healthcare facility if you have any symptoms of COVID-19.

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

The public in the North are being reminded that with one active case identified in Nabouwalu, it is important that people throughout Vanua Levu listen to advice and continue to practice COVID-19 safety measures. We are screening and swabbing persons within the containment zone and any modification of our containment strategies will depend on the results of the screening swab tests.

The public is requested to practice COVID-19 safety measures of wearing a mask when leaving your home, wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use a hand sanitiser, practice safe physical distancing of 2m, ensure that the careFIJI app is downloaded on your phone and enabled and remember to get vaccinated”.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Tuesday, 17 August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 590 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 420 cases are from the Western Division and 170 cases are from the Central Division. A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard. You will also be able to view the approximate locations of new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

There have been 1,304 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 21,754 active cases. 14,554 active cases are in the Central Division, 7,199 active cases in the Western Division and 1 active case in the Northern Division. We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with recoveries and as a result we expect the recovery numbers to increase in the coming weeks.

There have been 41,107 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 41,177 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 18,795 recoveries.

Deaths

We have 11 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of August 13th-15th. 5 deaths were reported from the Central Division and 6 deaths were reported from the Western Division.

The first COVID-19 death to report is an 85 year old man from Naitasiri who died at home on the 13/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is an 83 year old woman from Naitasiri who died at home on the 13/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is an 82 year old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Hospital. This means that he died on his way to the hospital or at home (15/08/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 68 year old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died one day after admission on the 15/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 57 year old woman from Tailevu who died at home on the 15/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The sixth COVID-19 death to report is a 68 year old woman from Tailevu who died at home on the 15/08/2021. She received the 1^st dose of the vaccine in early-July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The seventh COVID-19 death to report is a 79 year old man from Rakiraki who died at home on the 15/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The eighth COVID-19 death to report is a 72 year old woman from Tavua. She presented to the Tavua Sub-Divisional Hospital on Sunday (15/08/2021) with a fever, cough and shortness of breath. Sadly, she died a few hours later in the early hours of 16/08/2021. She received the first dose of the vaccine in early-June. She received the second dose of the vaccine on 05/08/2021. However, as she got sick with COVID-19 less than 2 weeks after receiving the second dose, she was not fully vaccinated when she got infected with the virus. A person must have two doses of the vaccine and wait at least two weeks after the second dose to be considered fully vaccinated and to get the full protective effect of the vaccine.

The ninth COVID-19 death to report is a 72 year old man from Tavua. He presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day (14/08/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The tenth COVID-19 death to report is an 86 year old man from Tavua. He presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day (13/08/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The eleventh COVID-19 death to report is an 88 year old man from Lautoka who died at home on the same day (15/08/2021). He received the first dose of the vaccine in late-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 405 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 403 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 9. The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths in the Central Division is 4 and in the Western Division is 5.  We also have recorded 223 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.

Hospitalisations

There are currently 320 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital. 115 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 43 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 162 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 39 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 13 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 5,102 individuals were screened and 876 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 462,637 individuals screened and 80,563 swabbed to date. As of the 16th August our mobile screening teams screened a total of 1,438 individuals and swabbed 147. This brings our cumulative total to 791,848 individuals screened and 70,079 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update

A total of 309,940 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 352,801 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1370 tests have been reported for August 16th. Testing number data for one lab is still being received and so the testing number is expected to increase once updated. The 7-day daily test average is 1507 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 32.8%.

Vaccination Update

As of the 16th August 536,123 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 216,012 have received their second doses. This means that 91.4% of the target population have received at least one dose and 36.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. We are currently doing a mop up exercise of our first dose campaign, which will allow us to specifically target specific communities with low coverage, and subsequently also correct and update the total eligible population for our current vaccination program.

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 476 cases per day or 538 cases per million population per day. We have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, our daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori. As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori. This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.

We are likely seeing the effect of this testing policy change now in Suva-Nausori with the drop in daily reported cases. This does not mean that the outbreak is on a downward trend in the Suva-Nausori community. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, daily case numbers in Suva-Nausori are currently not being used as an indicator to monitor progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori.

We are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in that division.

The Northern Division has 1 active case, and the Eastern Division currently has no active cases.

Advice to the public

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. We are now seeing this happening in the Western Division as deaths are increasing in that division.

Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease. You are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 if you are over the age of 50 or have a non-communicable disease or chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease, or if you are obese or pregnant. If you are at high risk of severe disease and have any symptoms of COVID-19 such as a cough, runny nose, fever, sore throat, body ache, headache, loss of taste/smell – please come to your nearest screening clinic to be checked and tested by our medical teams.

We need also 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 Suva-Nausori we have identified health facilities specifically designated to receive people with symptoms of severe COVID-19. If you or a loved one live in Suva-Nausori 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

In the Western Division, please go to your nearest healthcare facility if you have any symptoms of COVID-19.

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

The public in the North are being reminded that with one active case identified in Nabouwalu, it is important that people throughout Vanua Levu listen to advice and continue to practice COVID-19 safety measures.

The public is requested to practice COVID-19 safety measures of wearing a mask when leaving your home, wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use a hand sanitiser, practice safe physical distancing of 2m, ensure that the careFIJI app is downloaded on your phone and enabled and remember to get vaccinated”.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Monday, 16 August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 350 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 242 cases are from the Western Division and 108 cases are from the Central Division. A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard. You will also be able to view the approximate locations of new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

As an update to the case in Nabouwalu in the Northern Division reported in previous updates: contact tracing has identified 33 primary contacts and 70 secondary contacts of the case. All contacts have tested negative for COVID-19 so far and remain under quarantine. As a precaution an area of restricted movement will be initiated from 12 midnight tonight within Nabouwalu for the next 14 days. The containment area will extend from Raralevu-i-Cake to Wainisevu and along the coast of Nabouwalu Village. The two checkpoints maintained in the containment will be checkpoint one opposite the Nabouwalu market controlling movement into the main road that runs into the containment area and checkpoint two at Raralevu-I-cake past Nabouwalu village towards Wainunu.

The objectives of this containment zone protocol is to facilitate heightened Community Surveillance, conduct more contacts tracing, escalate our COVID Safe community engagement program and to implement a program to increase vaccination coverage in targeted areas throughout the Nabouwalu containment zone. Movement into and out of the containment area will be restricted to facilitate essential service provision and access to groceries and post office services. The office of the Provincial Administrator and Subdivisional Medical Teams have been carrying out community awareness on other specific movement restriction protocols and will continue this awareness exercise throughout the day tomorrow.  For health services, the Northern health team is setting up clinic sites at the Solevu Immaculate Conception Junior Secondary School, the Bua Nursing Station, and the Lekutu Health Centre to cater for the health needs of those living outside the containment area. Nabouwalu hospital will be used by the health teams for emergency care only.

There have been 1,650 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 22,494 active cases. 15,692 active cases are in the Central Division, 6,801 active cases in the Western Division and 1 active case in the Northern Division. We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with recoveries and as a result we expect the recovery numbers to increase in the coming weeks.

There have been 40,517 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 40,587 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 17,491 recoveries.

Deaths

We have 23 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of August 11th-15th. 20 deaths were reported from the Western Division and 3 deaths were reported from the Central Division.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 66 year old woman from Suva who died at home on the 15/08/2021. She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in late-June. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 52 year old woman from Sigatoka. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Sub-Divisional Hospital. This means that she died on her way to the hospital or at home (11/08/2021). She was not vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is an 81 year old man from Ba. He presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day (13/08/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 73 year old man from Lautoka. He presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died two days after admission (13/08/2021). He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in late-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 62 year old man from Lautoka. He presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died four days after admission (12/08/2021). He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early-May. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

The sixth COVID-19 death to report is an 85 year old woman from Ba. She presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She was transferred from the Ba Mission Hospital to the Lautoka Hospital. She died two days after admission (13/08/2021). She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in late-July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The seventh COVID-19 death to report is a 77 year old woman from Lautoka. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital Emergency Department. This means that she died on her way to the hospital or at home (12/08/2021). She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in late-July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The eighth COVID-19 death to report is a 63 year old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died one day after admission on the 13/08/2021. She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early-August. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The ninth COVID-19 death to report is a 78 year old man from Lautoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital Emergency Department. This means that he died on his way to the hospital or at home (13/08/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The tenth COVID-19 death to report is a 59 year old woman from Ba. She presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died two days after her admission (15/08/2021). She received her 1st dose of the vaccine in early-June. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The eleventh COVID-19 death to report is a 75 year old man from Tavua. He presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died sixteen days after his admission (14/08/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The twelfth COVID-19 death to report is an 86 year old man from Tavua. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Tavua Hospital. This means that he died on his way to the hospital or at home (13/08/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The thirteenth COVID-19 death to report is a 77 year old woman from Nadi. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Nadi Hospital. This means that she died on her way to the hospital or at home (13/08/2021). She was not vaccinated.

The fourteenth COVID-19 death to report is an 84 year old man from Sigatoka. He presented to the Sigatoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died five days after admission (14/08/2021). He received the first dose of the vaccine in late-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

The fifteenth COVID-19 death to report is a 79 year old man from Sigatoka. He presented to the Sigatoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died five days after admission (15/08/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The sixteenth COVID-19 death to report is an 81 year old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Hospital. This means that he died on his way to the hospital or at home (14/08/2021). He received the first dose of the vaccine in late-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

The seventeenth COVID-19 death to report is a 62 year old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Hospital. This means that he died on his way to the hospital or at home (14/08/2021). He received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-June. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

The eighteenth COVID-19 death to report is a 46 year old woman from Sigatoka. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Hospital. This means that she died on her way to the hospital or at home (14/08/2021). She was not vaccinated.

The nineteenth COVID-19 death to report is a 43 year old man from Nadi. He presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day (15/08/2021). He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in late-June. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

The twentieth COVID-19 death to report is a 70 year old woman from Tacirua who died at home on the 14/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The twenty-first COVID-19 death to report is a 56 year old man from Tailevu who died at home on the 13/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The twenty-second COVID-19 death to report is a 65 year old man from Ba who died at home on the 13/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The twenty-third COVID-19 death to report is a 74 year old man from Nadi who died at home on the 12/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 394 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 392 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 8. The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths in the Central Division is 5 and in the Western Division is 3.  We also have recorded 208 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.

Hospitalisations

There are currently 309 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital. 118 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 49 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 142 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 38 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 15 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 652 individuals were screened and 179 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 456,883 individuals screened and 79,508 swabbed to date. As of the 15^th August our mobile screening teams screened a total of 41 individuals and swabbed 7. This brings our cumulative total to 790,410 individuals screened and 69,932 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update

A total of 308,570 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 351, 431 tested since testing began in March 2020. 848 tests have been reported for August 15th. The 7-day daily test average is 1538 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 29.1%.

Vaccination Update

As of the 15th August 533,705 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 211,496 have received their second doses. This means that 91% of the target population have received at least one dose and 36.1% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. We are currently doing a mop up exercise of our first dose campaign, which will allow us to specifically target specific communities with low coverage, and subsequently also correct and update the total eligible population for our current vaccination program.

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 429 cases per day or 485 cases per million population per day. We have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, our daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori. As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori. This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.

We are likely seeing the effect of this testing policy change now in Suva-Nausori with the drop in daily reported cases. This does not mean that the outbreak is on a downward trend in the Suva-Nausori community. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, daily case numbers in Suva-Nausori are currently not being used as an indicator to monitor progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori. Test positivity in Suva-Nausori was between 40-50% before the change in testing policy and has remained at this high level, which is above the national average. This is one indicator of the continuing high level of community transmission in this area.

We are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in that division.  We are also noting an increasing trend of deaths in the Western Division.

The Northern Division has 1 active case, and the Eastern Division currently has no active cases.

Advice to the public

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. We are now seeing this happening in the Western Division as deaths are increasing in that division.

Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease. You are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 if you are over the age of 50 or have a non-communicable disease or chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease, or if you are obese or pregnant. If you are at high risk of severe disease and have any symptoms of COVID-19 such as a cough, runny nose, fever, sore throat, body ache, headache, loss of taste/smell – please come to your nearest screening clinic to be checked and tested by our medical teams.

We need also 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 Suva-Nausori we have identified health facilities specifically designated to receive people with symptoms of severe COVID-19. If you or a loved one live in Suva-Nausori 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

In the Western Division, please go to your nearest healthcare facility if you have any symptoms of COVID-19.

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

The public in the North are being reminded that with one active case identified in Nabouwalu, it is important that people throughout Vanua Levu listen to advice and continue to practice COVID-19 safety measures.

The public is requested to practice COVID-19 safety measures of wearing a mask when leaving your home, wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use a hand sanitiser, practice safe physical distancing of 2m, ensure that the careFIJI app is downloaded on your phone and enabled and remember to get vaccinated”.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Sunday, 15 August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 467 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 258 cases are from the Western Division and 209 cases are from the Central Division. 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 new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

There have been 231 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 23,831 active cases. 17,226 active cases are in the Central Division, 6,604 active cases in the Western Division and 1 active case in the Northern Division.

There have been 40,167 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 40,237 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 15,841 recoveries.

As mentioned yesterday, we have one case in the Northern Division. This case was picked in a routine screening program. Another 51 persons screened as part of this program had tested negative. The positive person has been securely moved to the Malau isolation facility and household members have been quarantined. Whilst the positive person does not represent a community transmission case (given we are clear that the source of transmission was from outside Vanua Levu), the risk of community transmission is high. So far, the person’s 6 household members have tested negative for the virus and a further 8 workplace contacts are negative. We are awaiting 3 more primary contact results.  The contact tracing and community surveillance efforts will continue. Furthermore, an area of restricted movement will be will be announced tomorrow to facilitate heightened Community Surveillance, conduct more contacts tracing, escalate our COVID Safe community engagement program and to plan and implement a program of targeted heightened vaccination coverage throughout the Nabouwalu containment zone

Deaths

We have 3 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of August 11th-13th, and the deaths were reported from the Central Division.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 62 year old woman from Nakasi who died at home on the 13/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 79 year old man from Tailevu who died at home on the 11/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is an 80 year old woman from Suva who died at home on the 14/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 371 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 369 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.  We also have recorded 194 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.

Hospitalisations

There are currently 264 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital. 73 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 47 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 144 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 54 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 12 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 2,999 individuals were screened and 393 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 456,883 individuals screened and 79,508 swabbed to date. As of the 14^th August our mobile screening teams screened a total of 103 individuals and swabbed 41. This brings our cumulative total to 790,403 individuals screened and 69,891 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update

A total of 307,048 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 349,909 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1178 tests have been reported for August 14th. Testing data for some labs are still being received and so the testing number is expected to increase once updated. The 7-day daily test average is 1476 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 32.9%.

Vaccination Update

As of the 14th August 533,705 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 211,496 have received their second doses. This means that 91% of the target population have received at least one dose and 36.1% 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 465 cases per day or 526 cases per million population per day. We have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, our daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori. As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori. This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.

We are likely seeing the effect of this testing policy change now in Suva-Nausori with the drop in daily reported cases. This does not mean that the outbreak is on a downward trend in the Suva-Nausori community. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, daily case numbers in Suva-Nausori are currently not being used as an indicator to monitor progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori. Test positivity in Suva-Nausori was between 40-50% before the change in testing policy and has remained at this high level, which is above the national average. This is one indicator of the continuing high level of community transmission in this area.

Testing levels in the Western Division remain consistently high with 3.8-4 tests per 1000 population per day at a 7 day average. We are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in that division.  We are also noting an increasing trend of deaths in the Western Division.

The Northern Division has 1 active case, and the Eastern Division currently has no active cases.

Advice to the public

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. We are now seeing this happening in the Western Division as deaths are increasing in that division.

Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease. You are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 if you are over the age of 50 or have a non-communicable disease or chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease, or if you are obese or pregnant. If you are at high risk of severe disease and have any symptoms of COVID-19 such as a cough, runny nose, fever, sore throat, body ache, headache, loss of taste/smell – please come to your nearest screening clinic to be checked and tested by our medical teams.

We need also 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 Suva-Nausori we have identified health facilities specifically designated to receive people with symptoms of severe COVID-19. If you or a loved one live in Suva-Nausori 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

In the Western Division, please go to your nearest healthcare facility if you have any symptoms of COVID-19.

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

The public in the North are being reminded that although the case discussed in this statement was identified in Nabouwalu, it is important the members of the public throughout Vanua Levu listen to advice and continue to practice COVID-19 safety measures.

The public is requested to practice COVID-19 safety measures of wearing a mask when leaving your home, wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use a hand sanitiser, practice safe physical distancing of 2m, ensure that the careFIJI app is downloaded on your phone and enabled and remember to get vaccinated”.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Saturday, 14 August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 314 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 259 cases are from the Western Division, 54 cases are from the Central Division and 1 case from the Northern Division. 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 new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

The case from the Northern Division is a person working at the Nabouwalu wharf. Investigations into how this person got infected are still in the very early stages. However, it appears the exposure to the virus happened onboard a ship unloading cargo from Suva earlier this week. This person tested positive during routine swabbing of wharf workers yesterday. The positive person has been securely moved to the Malau isolation facility and household members have been quarantined. So far, the person’s household members have tested negative for the virus.

With the help of the careFIJI app the Ministry’s COVID-19 response team in the Northern Division have identified other primary contacts, including workplace contacts, and they have been quarantined, with test results pending. The team are continuing to trace other people that the person may have come into contact with during the infectious period. The Ministry wishes to assure the people of the North that our health team is working very closely with other local agencies and communities to prevent any further spread of the virus. The Permanent Secretary will be briefed by the Northern team on the progress of investigations and the response tomorrow, and decisions will be made about any further measures that may be required to quickly halt transmission.

There have been 987 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 23,598 active cases. 17,269 active cases are in the Central Division, 6328 active cases in the Western Division and 1 active case in the Northern Division.

There have been 39,700 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 39,770 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 15,610 recoveries.

Deaths

We have 8 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of August 11th-14th.  All deaths were reported from the Central Division.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 64 year old man from Suva. He presented to the CWMH hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died five days after admission (13/08/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is an 85 year old man from Naitasiri who died at home on the 14/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is a 63 year old man from Naitasiri who died at home on the 13/08/2021. His family reported that he had a cough and fever for two weeks prior to his presentation. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 76 year old man from Naitasiri. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Naqali Health Centre on the 12/08/2021. This means that he died at home or on his way to the health centre. He was not vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 56 year old man from Lami who died at home on the 13/08/2021. He received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

The sixth COVID-19 death to report is a 77 year old man from Nausori who died at home on the 11/08/2021. His family reported that he had generalized body weakness and a cough for one week prior. He was not vaccinated.

The seventh COVID-19 death to report is a 66 year old man from Caubati. He presented to the CWMH hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died eight days after admission (14/08/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The eighth COVID-19 death to report is a 40 year old man from Nakasi. He presented to the CWMH hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died sixteen days after admission (13/08/2021). He received the first dose of the vaccine in early June. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

There have been 2 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.

With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 368 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 366 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 9.  We also have recorded 194 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.

Hospitalisations

There are currently 274 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital. 70 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 56 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 148 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 66 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 8 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 4,914 individuals were screened and 612 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 453,884 individuals screened and 79,115 swabbed to date. As of the 13^th August our mobile screening teams screened a total of 1,738 individuals and swabbed 247. This brings our cumulative total to 790,300 individuals screened and 69,850 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update

A total of 305,870 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 348,731 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1578 tests have been reported for August 13th. Testing data for some labs are still being received and so the testing number is expected to increase once updated. The 7-day daily test average is 1529 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 33.3%.

Vaccination Update

As of the 12th August 531,546 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 206,670 have received their second doses. This means that 90.6% of the target population have received at least one dose and 35.2% 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 493 cases per day or 557 cases per million population per day. We have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, our daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori. As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori. This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.

We are likely seeing the effect of this testing policy change now in Suva-Nausori with the drop in daily reported cases. This does not mean that the outbreak is on a downward trend in the Suva-Nausori community. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, daily case numbers in Suva-Nausori are currently not being used as an indicator to monitor progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori. Test positivity in Suva-Nausori was between 40-50% before the change in testing policy and has remained at this high level, which is above the national average. This is one indicator of the continuing high level of community transmission in this area.

Testing levels in the Western Division remain consistently high with 3.8-4 tests per 1000 population per day at a 7 day average. We are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in that division.  We are also noting an increasing trend of deaths in the Western Division.

The Northern Division has 1 active case, and the Eastern Division currently has no active cases.

Advice to the public

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. We are now seeing this happening in the Western Division as deaths are increasing in that division.

Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease. You are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 if you are over the age of 50 or have a non-communicable disease or chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease, or if you are obese or pregnant. If you are at high risk of severe disease and have any symptoms of COVID-19 such as a cough, runny nose, fever, sore throat, body ache, headache, loss of taste/smell – please come to your nearest screening clinic to be checked and tested by our medical teams.

We need also 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 Suva-Nausori we have identified health facilities specifically designated to receive people with symptoms of severe COVID-19. If you or a loved one live in Suva-Nausori 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

In the Western Division, please go to your nearest healthcare facility if you have any symptoms of COVID-19.

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

The public in the North are being reminded that although the case discussed in this statement was identified in Nabouwalu, it is important the members of the public throughout Vanualevu listen to advice and continue to practice COVID-19 safety measures.

The public is requested to practice COVID-19 safety measures of wearing a mask when leaving your home, wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use a hand sanitiser, practice safe physical distancing of 2m, ensure that the careFIJI app is downloaded on your phone and enabled and remember to get vaccinated. “