Press Release

Media Release                                                                   

22^nd January 2021

There have been 0 new cases of COVID-19 since the last update on January 16^th, and there are currently 0 active cases in Fiji.

Fiji has had 55 cases in total since our first case was reported on March 19^th 2020, with 53 recoveries and 2 deaths. The last 37 cases have been international travel associated- detected in border quarantine. It has been 279 days since the last case was detected outside border quarantine.

For more information on COVID-19 in Fiji please visit the Ministry of Health and Medical Services web page http://www.health.gov.fj/covid-19-updates/

The next scheduled update will be on Monday January 25^th.

-ENDS-

By the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Saturday, January 16th, 2020

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) is announcing one new border cases of COVID-19. They are a 49 year old female and 58 year old female who arrived on flight NZ952 from New Zealand on December 24th. Both individuals tested positive during routine exit testing while undergoing mandatory quarantine in the government designated (and Republic of Fiji Military Forces supervised) border quarantine facilities in Nadi.

The individuals were safely and hygienically transferred to the isolation ward at the Lautoka hospital in accordance with the standard protocol for confirmed cases. They were asymptomatic and well since arrival in Fiji. The frontline border and quarantine staff who were directly involved with the cases have followed our standard infection prevention and control protocols, and will be monitored and tested as necessary.

Fiji has had 55 cases in total since our first case was detected on March 19th, with the last 37 cases detected in border quarantine. It has been 302 days since our first case and 272 days since the last case was detected outside border quarantine.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services and our partner agencies has reviewed our strategies at the border to ensure that the risks are negligible. The borders agents with the MHMS and RFMF continue to diligently enforce our border quarantine and infection control protocols. The public is requested to practice the hand hygiene and other COVID-19 measures as we look forward to the commencement of the 2021 school year.

-ENDS-

Media Release                          

By the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services

Wednesday January 6th, 2021

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) is announcing four new border cases of COVID-19. The 1st case is a 35 year old male. He travelled from the United Kingdom and arrived in Fiji on flight NZ 952 from Auckland on December 24th. The 2nd and 3rd cases are a 25 year old male and a 27 year old female who arrived on flight GA 8250 from New Delhi on December 21st. The 4th case is a 55 year old male who travelled from Mali and arrived on 31^st December on flight NZ952 from Auckland. All four individuals tested positive during routine testing while undergoing mandatory quarantine in the government designated (and Republic of Fiji Military Forces supervised) border quarantine facilities in Nadi.

The individuals have been safely and hygienically transferred to the isolation ward at the Lautoka hospital in accordance with the standard protocol for confirmed cases. They have been asymptomatic and well since arrival in Fiji. The frontline border and quarantine staff who were directly involved with the cases have followed our standard infection prevention and control protocols, and will be monitored and tested as necessary.

We also have another positive case that is considered a historical case. The 39 year old male arrived on flight NZ952 from Hong Kong on December 21^st, .He tested positive during routine border quarantine testing, however, this person had already tested positive between October-December while travelling in France and the United Kingdom and will not be counted as a new case for Fiji. Like another historical case announced last week – this individual had subsequently tested negative in pre-departure testing in the United Kingdom. He also tested negative during day 3 testing in border quarantine in Fiji. It is known that non-infectious particles of the COVID-19 virus can remain detectable, and result in a positive test result, long after the infection has passed, even if the person has tested negative previously; therefore it is unlikely that this person is currently infectious. He is also symptom free. However, as a precaution, he has been transferred to the isolation ward at Lautoka hospital according to our standard protocol.

Fiji has a total of 53 cases since our first case was detected on March 19^th, with the last 35 cases detected in border quarantine. Fiji now has 5 active cases and it has now been 263 days since the last case was detected outside border quarantine.

In view of an upsurge in border quarantine cases and the concerns relating to the appearance of new strains of SARS-CoV-2 worldwide, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services and our partner agencies at the borders (including hotel management, transport management, and airport management senior personnel) have made the necessary adjustments to strengthen our border quarantine and infection control protocols. These measures have been diligently enforced; therefore these border quarantine cases pose zero risks to the health and wellbeing of the Fijian public.

-ENDS-

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) is announcing three new border cases of COVID-19. They are a 32-year-old male and a 32-year-old female who arrived on flight GA8250 from New Delhi on December 21st; and a 34-year-old female who had traveled from England and arrived on flight FJ392 from Hong Kong on December 21^st. All three tested positive during routine testing while undergoing mandatory quarantine in the government designated (and Republic of Fiji Military Forces supervised) border quarantine facilities in Nadi

These new cases have been safely and hygienically transferred to the isolation ward at the Lautoka hospital according to the standard protocol for confirmed cases. They have all been asymptomatic and well since this transfer. The frontline border and quarantine staff who were directly involved with the cases have followed our standard infection prevention and control protocols and will be monitored and tested as necessary.

On another arrival on flight FJ392 from Hong Kong on December 21^st, a 31-year-old male, also tested positive during routine border quarantine testing. However, this person had already tested positive on two occasions prior to arriving in Fiji, during his travels in France and the United Kingdom from October-December. He remains symptom-free and is considered a historical case that will not be counted as a case for Fiji, as he has already been counted as a case in another country. It is known that non-infectious pieces of the virus can remain detectable, and cause a positive test result, long after the infection has passed; therefore it is unlikely that this person is currently infectious. However, as a precaution, he has been transferred to the isolation ward at Lautoka hospital according to our standard protocol.

Fiji has had 49 cases in total since our first case was detected on March 19^th, with the last 31 cases detected in border quarantine. It has now been 255 days since the last case was detected outside border quarantine.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services and our partner agencies at the borders continue to diligently enforce our border quarantine and infection control protocols, and therefore these border quarantine cases pose zero risks to the health and wellbeing of the Fijian public. I once again applaud the efforts of our Border Health Protection Unit, isolation ward staff, and our laboratory and surveillance team at Fiji CDC, in their tireless efforts to keep Fiji safe over the Christmas period.

-ENDS-

Press Release: Suspension of Inbound Passenger Flights  

Tuesday, 22 December 2020: The COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Taskforce (CRMT) is announcing a cessation of all inbound passenger flights to Fiji between Thursday, 24^th December, and Monday, 28^th December 2020. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services will use this period to conduct an extensive review of its border quarantine processes in light of the discovery of a potentially more contagious strain of the novel Coronavirus in the United Kingdom (UK). The situation will be reviewed during this period and may be extended.

While our current border quarantine protocols have been effective in maintaining Fiji’s COVID-Contained status for 246 days now, if this new strain of the virus is easier to transmit, it could potentially pose an increased risk of inflight transmission to other passengers. The review will assess what steps Fiji may need to take to proactively mitigate any increased risk from this newly-discovered strain.

Exemptions may be made by the Permanent Secretary for Health for inbound travelers from countries other than those affected by this potentially contagious strain of the Novel Coronavirus.

Several repatriation flights have been approved to land up to 24^th December. Any traveler onboard these flights coming from the UK, as well as passengers deemed as traveling contacts of UK-based travelers, will be identified and quarantined separately. The Ministry has already introduced heightened transmission precautionary measures with regards to personal protective equipment used by all border frontline workers from Monday, 21^st December.

For more information, contact the CRMT Secretariat at crmt@govnet.gov.fj

About CRMT

The COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Taskforce is a Cabinet-mandated working group consisting of the Permanent Secretaries for Economy (Chair), Health and Medical Services and Commerce, Trade, Tourism, and Transport. The Secretariat support is provided by the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport, Border Health Protection, Incident Management Team, and Republic of Fiji Military Forces Surveillance team.