Press Release

Transmission Update: We have 36 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today, out of which 72% of the new cases are from the Western Division, while 28% of the new cases are from the Central Division. This epidemic curve depicts the daily positive cases since the 2nd wave of this outbreak began in April 2021. Overall, there have been 51, 465 cases recorded, with 71% of the cases from the Central Division, 27% of the cases from the Western Division, and 2% of the cases from the Eastern and Northern Division. Our National 7- day rolling average is 54 daily cases calculated for 7th October 2021.

Deaths: We have no COVID-19 deaths to report for today. There has been one death of a COVID-19 positive patient. However, this death has been classified as a Non-COVID-19 death by the doctors as the patient died of a serious pre-existing medical condition.. There have been 653 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 651 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. Please note that due to the time required by clinical teams to investigate, classify and report deaths, a 4-day interval is given to calculate the 7 days rolling average of deaths, based on the date of death, to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of October 8th, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.1. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0.1 and 0.0 in the Western Division. We have also recorded 534 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.

Epidemic Outlook:
The 7-day average of new cases per day is 44 cases per day or 50 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers are currently not being used as the sole indicator to monitor the progress of the outbreak. The Ministry continues monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations, and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak, and it is noted that there is a downward trend across all indicators of the COVID-19 epidemic in Fiji.

With the reduction in testing numbers, which is above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1,000 population per week (or approx. 3,500 tests per week), we will transition to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.

Public Advisory:

Disease Surveillance for Maritime Communities

The indications from the Maritime islands that were affected by COVID-19 is that the situation is now under control. The Lautoka Yasawa community engagement initiative continues for another 10 days with civil servants from different Ministries helping to facilitate containment and vaccination efforts.  The Ministry is currently surveying other maritime communities and islands close to those maritime islands that are reporting cases of COVID-19. So far we have no report of outbreaks in other islands.

Local Repatriation Protocol

The Fiji Day announcements made on Sunday night have indicated 2 major changes to the local repatriation protocol from Viti Levu to Vanua Levu.

1.     The period of movement restriction within the quarantine program is now reduced to 7 days
2.     The option for home quarantine will be made more available

Please note that this means that we still have a quarantine process in place that needs to be adhered to. To facilitate the oversight and testing logistics of this quarantine protocol we will still need individuals to get a Repatriation Pass. This requires that all repatriation travelers must be registered and issued with a Registration Reference Number for Domestic Repatriation. The registered applicants are those that have been registered for domestic repatriation on #163, MCTTT Facebook Page, and via email on domesticrepat@mcttt.gov.fj. Travelers must obtain a Pass before purchasing their tickets to travel and board a vessel or aircraft. All passes will be issued by MHMS through the Office of the Commissioners (Central and Eastern Divisions). Further inquiries on obtaining a Pass can be made on the 158 covid helpline, the contact number 3475190  which will be active from 8 am to 9 pm daily or through the emails ccdrepat@gmail.com or covidpassmoh@gmail.com.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Saturday 10^th October 2021

Transmission Update

We have 16 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.

There have been 62 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 2,636 active cases. There have been 51,429 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 51,499 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 47,677 recoveries.

We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with deaths and recoveries and as a result, we expect the death and recovery numbers to intermittently change as verifications are made.

Deaths

We have no COVID-19 deaths to report today.

There have been 3 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as Non-COVID-19 deaths by the doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths have been caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.

There have been 653 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 651 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. Please note that due to the time required by clinical teams to investigate, classify and report deaths, a 4-day interval is given to calculate the 7 days rolling average of deaths, based on the date of death, to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of October 7th, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.8. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0.7 and 0.1 in the Western Division.

We have also recorded 533 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.

Hospitalisations

There are currently 48 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 29 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 19 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 3 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 3 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 461 individuals were screened and 74 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 753,309 individuals screened and 105,416 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 68 individuals and swabbed a total of 68 over the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 856,388 individuals screened and 77,974 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing Update

A total of 379,155 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 422,016 tested since testing began in March 2020. 567 tests have been reported for October 9th, 2021. The 7-day daily test average is 976 tests per day or 1.1 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 7.5 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 tests per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 4.4%, which is on a downward trend, and below the WHO recommendation of 5%. We will continue to monitor the trend to better interpret the status of community transmission with other indicators.

Vaccination Update

A total of 594,872 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 496,091 have received their second doses. Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over (adults), the vaccination coverage rates are 96.2% for adults who have received at least one dose, and 80.3% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. Please do note that since dose one is beyond 95%, a verification exercise for dose one is ongoing which may result in minor changes.

As for children, 25,457 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of 09/10/2021. We will be tracking our vaccine coverage rates once we have firmed up our 15 to 17-year-olds age group denominator.

For persons who are currently ill or have valid reasons for delaying their vaccination, we request you to apply for possible temporary exemptions through covidexemptionreq@gmail.com.

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 42 cases per day or 48 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers are currently not being used as the sole indicator to monitor the progress of the outbreak. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations, and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak.

With the decrease in testing numbers, our testing remains above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1,000 population per week (or approx. 3,500 tests per week). We will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.

Maritime Update

No new case was reported on Malolo Island in the last 24 hours. Of the total of 89 cases, 78 have recovered, and 11 remain active. Daily monitoring continues for the active cases and their contacts.  Vaccination of the villagers and distribution of food rations continue for the affected families. Movement restrictions remain in place.

No new case was recorded on Naviti Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 181 cases, 179 have recovered and 2 remain active. Daily monitoring of cases and their contacts by the health team continues. The villages on the island remain under strict movement restrictions.

No new case was recorded on Waya Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 51 cases on the island, there are 31 recoveries now with 20 cases remaining active and under daily monitoring by the health team. Vaccination of adults continues and the island remains on movement restriction.

No new case was recorded in the Nacula Medical Area in the last 24 hours. Of the 172 cases in the medical area, 57 have recovered, and 115 remain active. The active cases are isolated in their respective villages and are monitored daily by the health teams from the respective medical areas. Movement restrictions remain in force for the islands.

No new case was recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 253 cases on the island, 247 cases have now been recovered and 5 cases remain active. Risk assessment revealed that 1 active case is in the moderate-risk category and 4 in the low category. Vaccination continues in Naceva, Naseuseu, Rukua, Raviravi and Yanuca. Movement restriction remains in force for Yanuca Island with discontinuation of travel from Yanuca Island to Viti Levu on day 14 of 14 days.

One new case was recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 588 cases. Of these, 557 cases have recovered and the remaining 31 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team. Risk assessment revealed that 7 active cases are in the high-risk category and 24 in the low category. Three patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, are COVID positive, and are currently in stable condition. Vaccination continues by the Kadavu health teams. Movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.

Public Updates and Advice:

As many more people become vaccinated and maintain the COVID discipline and practice every day (when out of home, mask up if you walk into any indoor setting, when using public transport and when in crowded outdoor spaces), then disease spread in the community is slower and easier to control. We continue to simplify our patient care plans so those recovering at home get the appropriate care, while those needing more escalated care are identified early and moved to get the appropriate treatment in a timely manner. All deaths and severe diseases are a tragedy, but they can be prevented.

While Fiji has recorded a cumulative deaths per million population rate of 723.23, many more countries have recorded a higher deaths per million (cumulative) rate than us, which includes the USA, UK, Israel, many EU countries, and other Small Island Developing States. This is a clear indication to all the front-liners, and those in the community who supported them in this battle, and members of our community who adhered to our COVID safe protocols, that we have made and are making a difference. Our goal was to hold off the virus from our communities long enough for everyone to get protected by the vaccine. While we have lost loved ones, and people we hold dear, we have also prevented many more from catching the virus and dying from the disease in our communities, based on what we have witnessed around the world. The entirety of our actions, right from the beginning of the pandemic, made a difference.

This has been a long hard fight and it is not over yet. But we are on the right track and steadily progressing towards the new normal. Occasionally we will need to put in measures to protect our health system but as time goes on, we will gain more immunity to the virus. As one of the fastest fully vaccinated countries in the world, we have shown that we can do this together. It might take some months yet to reach the new normal but with everyone’s help, we will soon put the worst of COVID-19 behind us.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Saturday 09^th October 2021

Transmission Update

We have 57 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.

There have been 48 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 2,685 active cases. There have been 51,413 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 51,483 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 47,615 recoveries.

We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with deaths and recoveries and as a result, we expect the death and recovery numbers to intermittently change as verifications are made.

Deaths

We have no COVID-19 deaths to report today.

There have been 653 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 651 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. Please note that due to the time required by clinical teams to investigate, classify and report deaths, a 4-day interval is given to calculate the 7 days rolling average of deaths, based on the date of death, to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of October 5th, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 1.2. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0.9 and 0.3 in the Western Division.

We have also recorded 530 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.

Hospitalisations

There are currently 49 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 30 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 19 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 3 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 3 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 6,372 individuals were screened and 359 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 752,848 individuals screened and 105,342 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 320 individuals and swabbed a total of 5 over the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 856,320 individuals screened and 77,906 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing Update

A total of 378,588 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 421,449 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1,059 tests have been reported for October 8th, 2021. The 7-day daily test average is 985 tests per day or 1.1 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 7.5 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 tests per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 4.8%, which is on a downward trend, and below the WHO recommendation of 5%. We will continue to monitor the trend to better interpret the status of community transmission with other indicators.

Vaccination Update

An update of the vaccination status will be provided after the Hon. Prime Minister addresses the nation tomorrow at 4 pm.

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 45 cases per day or 51 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers are currently not being used as the sole indicator to monitor the progress of the outbreak. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations, and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak.

With the decrease in testing numbers, our testing remains above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1,000 population per week (or approx. 3,500 tests per week). We will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.

No new cases were reported on Malolo Island in the last 24 hours. Of the total of 89 cases, 78 have recovered, and 11 remain active. Daily monitoring continues for the active cases and their contacts.  Vaccination of the villagers and distribution of food rations continue for the affected families. Movement restrictions remain in place.

No new cases were recorded on Naviti Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 181 cases, 179 have recovered and 2 remain active. Daily monitoring of cases and their contacts by the health team continues. The villages on the island remain under strict movement restrictions.

No new cases were recorded on Waya Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 51 cases on the island, there are 31 recoveries now with 20 cases remaining active and under daily monitoring by the health team. Vaccination of adults continues and the island remains on movement restriction.

Two new cases were recorded in the Nacula Medical Area in the last 24 hours. Of the 172 cases in the medical area, 57 have recovered, and 115 remain active. The active cases are isolated in their respective villages and are monitored daily by the health teams from the respective medical areas. Movement restrictions remain in force for the islands.

No new case was recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 253 cases on the island, 243 cases have now been recovered and 9 cases remain active, of which 5 are on Beqa Island and 9 on Yanuca Island. Vaccination continues in Naceva, Naseuseu, Rukua, Raviravi and Yanuca. Movement restriction remains in force for Yanuca Island with discontinuation of travel from Yanuca Island to Viti Levu on day 13 of 14 days.

No new case was recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 587 cases. Of these, 557 cases have recovered and the remaining 30 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team. Risk assessment revealed that 6 active cases are in the high-risk category and 24 in the low category. Eight patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, of which 2 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition, and 6 are negative for COVID-19. Vaccination continues by the Vunisea health teams and the Kavala health teams. Movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.

Public Updates and Advice:

COVID-19 Endemic:

A disease becomes endemic when it is expected to remain persistently present in the community. Some diseases endemic to Fiji are dengue fever and the common cold. These diseases persist at some level in the community and become epidemics when levels go beyond what is determined to be expected and acceptable. Determining what that acceptable level of disease is for COVID-19, is a work in progress but in general, it will be at the level which triggers additional control measures, Because COVID-19 is a vaccine-preventable disease, and the vaccines are very good at preventing severe disease and death, in a highly vaccinated population determining and monitoring acceptable levels, or thresholds, goes beyond case numbers. A disease that causes frequent cases in the community (like the common cold) but has a small impact on the numbers of people needing hospitalization or death, and minimal impact on the health system, will require less intervention.  This is why, we will be closely monitoring the following indicators: cases, test positivity, hospitalisations, and deaths.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Friday 08^th October 2021

Transmission Update

We have 40 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.

There have been 252 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 2,676 active cases. There have been 51,356 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 51,426 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 47,567 recoveries.

We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with deaths and recoveries and as a result, we expect the death and recovery numbers to intermittently change as verifications are made.

Deaths

We have four COVID-19 deaths to report for the period 28th June 2021 to 12th July 2021. The three COVID-19 deaths have been reported from the Central Division. Kindly note that one death is being reported from June and two deaths from July today due to a delay in the issuance of the official death certificates.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 55-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 28/06/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 68-year old woman from Suva. She had presented to FEMAT Hospital in severe respiratory distress and died a few hours later on 10/07/21. She was not vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is a 57-year old man from Suva. He had presented to FEMAT Hospital in severe respiratory distress and was admitted. Sadly he died 2 days later on 09/07/21.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 52-year old man who presented to FEMAT Hospital in severe respiratory distress. Sadly he died a few hours later on 12/07/21.

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

There have now been 653 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 651 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. Please note that due to the time required by clinical teams to investigate, classify and report deaths, a 4-day interval is given to calculate the 7 days rolling average of deaths, based on the date of death, to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of October 4th, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 1.3. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0.9 and 0.4 in the Western Division.

We have also recorded 530 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 57 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 30 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 27 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 3 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 3 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 9,555 individuals were screened and 431 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 746,476 individuals screened and 104,552 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 377 individuals and swabbed a total of 304 over the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 856,000 individuals screened and 77,901 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing Update

A total of 377,529 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 420,390 tested since testing began in March 2020. 985 tests have been reported for October 7th, 2021. The 7-day daily test average is 1007 tests per day or 1.1 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 7.5 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 tests per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 4.4%, which is on a downward trend, and below the WHO recommendation of 5%. We will continue to monitor the trend to better interpret the status of community transmission with other indicators.

Vaccination Update

A total of 594,690 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 489,389  have received their second doses. Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over (adults), the vaccination coverage rates are 96.2% for adults who have received at least one dose, and 79.2% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. Please do note that since dose one is beyond 95%, a verification exercise for dose one is ongoing which may result in minor changes.

As for children, 23,175 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of 07/10/2021. We will be tracking our vaccine coverage rates once we have firmed up our 15 to 17-year-olds age group denominator.

For persons who are currently ill or have valid reasons for delaying their vaccination, we request you to apply for possible temporary exemptions through covidexemptionreq@gmail.com.

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 42 cases per day or 48 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers are currently not being used as the sole indicator to monitor the progress of the outbreak. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations, and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak.

With the decrease in testing numbers, our testing remains above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1,000 population per week (or approx. 3,500 tests per week). We will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.

No new cases were reported on Malolo Island in the last 24 hours. Of the total of 89 cases, 78 have recovered, and 11 remain active. Daily monitoring continues for the active cases and their contacts.  Vaccination of the villagers and distribution of food rations continue for the affected families. Movement restrictions remain in place.

No new cases were recorded on Naviti Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 181 cases, 179 have recovered and 2 remain active. Daily monitoring of cases and their contacts by the health team continues. The villages on the island remain under strict movement restrictions.

No new cases were recorded on Waya Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 51 cases on the island, there are 31 recoveries now with 20 cases remaining active and under daily monitoring by the health team. Vaccination of adults continues and the island remains on movement restriction.

Two new cases were recorded in the Nacula Medical Area in the last 24 hours. Of the 170 cases in the medical area, 57 have recovered, and 113 remain active. The active cases are isolated in their respective villages and are monitored daily by the health teams from the respective medical areas. Movement restrictions remain in force for the islands.

One new case was recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 253 cases on the island, 243 cases have now been recovered and 9 cases remain active, of which 5 are on Beqa Island and 9 on Yanuca Island. Vaccination continues in Naceva, Naseuseu, Rukua, Raviravi and Yanuca. Movement restriction remains in force for Yanuca Island with discontinuation of travel from Yanuca Island to Viti Levu on day 12  of 14 days.

No new case was recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 587 cases. Of these, 557 cases have recovered and the remaining 30 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team. Risk assessment revealed that 6 active cases are in the high-risk category and 24 in the low category. Eight patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, of which 2 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition, and 6 are negative for COVID-19. Vaccination continues by the Vunisea health teams and the Kavala health teams. Movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.

Public Updates and Advice:

COVID 19 will be endemic in Fiji

Going forward, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services public health team will be monitoring for COVID-19 transmission and disease and intervening when disease indicators cross beyond acceptable levels. It is expected that in the short to medium term, unknown chains of transmission will persist in parts of Fiji and may not be picked up by our routine community surveillance program. They will only be revealed when an outbreak becomes large enough to be visible to our screening. Therefore, having no cases reported does not necessarily mean that the virus has been eliminated, it implies that the spread of the virus has been successfully contained. Further to community surveillance, remodeling health service provision is also a key strategy in our response.

The public is further reminded that while we have introduced several mandatory and punitive measures to promote adherence to COVID safe measures, public engagement and compliance remains the main determining factor to preventing further transmission and preventing the need for severe restrictions and lockdown.

As such whilst we are doing well with steady reductions in disease cases, admissions, severe disease, and death, this is a time for cautious reassurance and optimism.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Thursday 07^th October 2021

Transmission Update

We have 58 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.

There have been 24 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 2,895 active cases. There have been 51,316 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 51,386 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 47,315 recoveries.

We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with deaths and recoveries and as a result, we expect the death and recovery numbers to intermittently change as verifications are made.

Deaths

We have two COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 15th July 2021 to 1st October 2021. Both of the COVID-19 deaths have been reported from the Central Division. Kindly note one death is being reported from July today due to a delay in the issuance of the official death certificate.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 70-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 15/07/21. He was not vaccinated

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 65-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 01/10/21. She was not vaccinated

There has been one more death of a COVID-19 positive patient. However, this death has been classified as non-COVID death by the doctors. The doctors have determined that this death was caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.

There have now been 649 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 647 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. Please note that due to the time required by clinical teams to investigate, classify and report deaths, a 4-day interval is given to calculate the 7 days rolling average of deaths, based on the date of death, to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of October 2nd, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 1.3. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0.7 and 0.6 in the Western Division.

We have also recorded 527 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 63 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 31 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 32 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 2 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 4 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 6,092 individuals were screened and 391 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 736,921 individuals screened and 104,552 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 2,894 individuals and swabbed a total of 40 over the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 855,623 individuals screened and 77,597 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing Update

A total of 376,153 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 419,014 tested since testing began in March 2020. 985 tests have been reported for October 6th, 2021. The 7-day daily test average is 996 tests per day or 1.1 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 7.5 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 tests per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 5.2%, which is on a downward trend, but it still is indicating a high level of community transmission.

Vaccination Update

A total of 594,542 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 484,195  have received their second doses. Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over (adults), the vaccination coverage rates are 96.2% for adults who have received at least one dose, and 78.3% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. Please do note that since dose one is beyond 95%, a verification exercise for dose one is ongoing which may result in minor changes.

As for children, 23,029 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of 05/10/2021. We will be tracking our vaccine coverage rates once we have firmed up our 15 to 17-year-olds age group denominator.

For persons who are currently ill or have valid reasons for delaying their vaccination, we request you to apply for possible temporary exemptions through covidexemptionreq@gmail.com.

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 52 cases per day or 59 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers are currently not being used as the sole indicator to monitor the progress of the outbreak. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations, and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak.

With the decrease in testing numbers, our testing remains above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1,000 population per week (or approx. 3,500 tests per week). We will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.

No new cases were reported on Malolo Island in the last 24 hours. Of the total of 89 cases, 70 have recovered, and 19 remain active. Daily monitoring continues for the active cases and their contacts.  Vaccination of the villagers and distribution of food rations continue for the affected families. Movement restrictions remain in place.

No new cases were recorded on Naviti Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 181 cases, 178 have recovered and 3 remain active. Daily monitoring of cases and their contacts by the health team continues. The villages on the island remain under strict movement restrictions.

No new cases were recorded on Waya Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 51 cases on the island, there are 31 recoveries now with 20 cases remaining active and under daily monitoring by the health team. Vaccination of adults continues and the island remains on movement restriction.

No new cases were recorded in the Nacula Medical Area in the last 24 hours. Of the 168 cases in the medical area, 50 have recovered, and 118 remain active. The active cases are isolated in their respective villages and are monitored daily by the health teams from the respective medical areas. Movement restrictions remain in force for the islands.

No new case was recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 252 cases on the island, 225 cases have now been recovered and 26 cases remain active, of which 21 are on Beqa Island and 5 on Yanuca Island. Vaccination continues in Naceva, Naseuseu, Rukua, Raviravi and Yanuca. Movement restriction remains in force for Yanuca Island with discontinuation of travel from Yanuca Island to Viti Levu on day 10  of 14 days.

No new case was recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 587 cases. Of these, 557 cases have recovered and the remaining 30 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team. Risk assessment revealed that 6 active cases are in the high-risk category and 24 in the low category. Six patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, of which 2 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition, and 4 are negative for COVID-19. Vaccination continues by the Vunisea health teams and the Kavala health teams. Movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.

Public Updates and Advice:

Daily Statement

From next week, our MOHMS updates will be provided on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Furthermore, the report will be in the form of a dashboard and public advice will be provided as needed.

Adjusting Our Quarantine Protocols

Our quarantine protocols to support local repatriation and international travel will be adjusted to take into account the increasing protection gained by having fully vaccinated persons traveling with other vaccinated persons to highly vaccinated destinations. This will involve less stringent conditions with more priority given to the testing protocols that ensure early identification and isolation of positive travelers.

Social Gathering Protocols

Social gatherings including the house of worship gatherings have been recognized as avenues for high-level transmission of SARS-CoV-2 ever since the beginning of this pandemic. The issues of contained space, crowding, and loud vocalization have contributed to facilitate high levels of transmission.  We have reviewed our house of worship protocols and we will be providing an update after a meeting with religious leaders today. We appeal to the public and community leaders to remain patient in the early days of implementing these protocols and to remain focused on the overall objective of creating covid safe conditions around all Social gatherings including the house of worship gatherings.

Vaccination for Eligible Children

Vaccination of eligible children aged 15 to 17 years with the Moderna vaccine continues till Friday 08th October 2021 throughout the country at designated vaccination sites for children. Parents and guardians are encouraged to register their children on the Vaccination Registration System (VRS) before the vaccination. The vaccination sites for children can be obtained from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services Facebook page as well as the Government Facebook page. Parental or guardian consent is mandatory before vaccination, and no vaccine will be administered to any child without the consent of the parent or guardian.

Vaccination for children aged 12 to 17 years is safe. Similar to adults, children can also experience the side effects of COVID-19 vaccination such as pain, swelling at the jab site, fever, and body aches. These symptoms should subside over a few days. Severe side effects are rare and the risk of getting a severe infection and succumbing to COVID-19 is still higher than the risk of adverse events from vaccination. Therefore, parents and guardians are encouraged to agree for their children to be vaccinated to protect them from COVID-19.

While the incidence and severity of the infection are lower in children, we have recorded severe disease in children in Fiji. Furthermore, children can carry and spread the infection to others. Apart from vaccination, children are also protected when adults around them are vaccinated and continue to practice COVID safe measures.