Press Release

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Sunday 26^th September 2021 

Transmission Update

We have 54 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.

There have been 99 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 13,022 active cases. There have been 50,685 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 50,755 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 36,707 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 new COVID-19 deaths to report today.

There have now been 590 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 588 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 September 21st, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.3. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0 and 0.3 in the Western Division.

We have also recorded 436 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 93 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 43 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 50 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 10 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 4 are in critical condition.

 Screening Update

A total of 3,539 individuals were screened and 220 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 662,467 individuals screened and 100,213 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 24 individuals and swabbed 185. This brings our cumulative total to 846,881 individuals screened and 76,727 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing Update

A total of 364,723 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 407,584 tested since testing began in March 2020. 651 tests have been reported for September 25th. Lab testing data from one lab is still being received. Therefore, lab testing data is expected to increase. The 7-day daily test average is 1,182 tests per day or 1.3 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 9.7 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 9.8%, which is on a downward trend, but it still is indicating a high level of community transmission.

Vaccination Update

As of the 25th September 2021: 591,293 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 425,902 have received their second doses. Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over (adults), the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.7% for adults who have received at least one dose, and 68.9% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

As for children, 17,996 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of the 24th of September. We will be tracking our vaccine coverage rates once we have firmed up our 15 to 17-year-old 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 114 cases per day or 129 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 1000 population per week (or approx. 3500 tests per week). We will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.

One new case was recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours bringing the total number of cases to 556. Of these, 536 cases have recovered and the remaining 18 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team. Seven patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, of which 3 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition, and 4 are negative for COVID-19. Vaccination was conducted by 5 teams from the Vunisea health team and 2 teams from the Kavala health team. Vaccination for children will commence on Monday 27 September 2021. Movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.

No new cases have been reported in Malolo Island, Naviti Island, Waya Island, and the Nacula Medical Area in the last 24 hours. The active cases are isolated in their respective villages and monitored daily by the health teams from the respective medical areas. Movement restrictions remain in force for the islands.

Six new cases were recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours.  Of the new total of 248 cases on the island, 44 cases have recovered and 203 are active cases who are under home isolation and daily monitoring from the health team. The positive cases are distributed in the villages of Dakuibeqa, Dakuni, Soliyaga, Naceva, Nawaisomo, Lalati, Raviravi, and 2 new cases on Yanuca Island. Risk assessment for the active cases revealed that 51 cases are of the high-risk category, and 78 cases are in the moderate category. Vaccination for the villagers will commence once the 14 days lockdown for the island is completed. Movement restriction remains in force for the whole island.

No new cases were recorded on Ovalau Island in the last 24 hours. The 2 positive cases are in the Isolation facility and monitored by the health team in Levuka. Contact tracing continues for the new cases who are monitored daily by the Levuka health team. Internal repatriation to Ovalau has been put on hold for now.

Public Updates and Advice:

As the second dose coverage increases and a greater portion of our population become fully vaccinated against COVID-19, local and international travel restrictions and other social and workplace engagement restrictions will be gradually lifted. However, we wish to advise that members of the public must remain cautious about how they engage in the greater freedoms that they will enjoy. Whilst the easing of restrictions is needed to facilitate social and economic livelihood, the public must ensure that together with vaccination, we should continue to observe our COVID safe measures and avoid contained spaces and crowds to avoid the risk of increased spread of the virus.

There will always be people vulnerable to the virus even as we increase our vaccinations coverage. We have one-third of the population under 18 years and who will soon be eligible for vaccination. We will have older people with comorbidities who, although having better protection with vaccination, their ability to build up vaccine immunity is not as good as younger and healthier persons. Also of concern is that we will have unvaccinated people in our communities who are also not exposed to the virus, and hence do not have any protection against the disease, and among them are elderly persons and those with serious comorbidities

The potential for transmission in any community will be slower, and the ability to contain the outbreak better, when we achieve a high vaccination rate and also maintain strict adherence to COVID safe measures. So we encourage the public to persist in the practice of COVID-19 safe measures of wearing a mask when leaving your home, washing your hands regularly with soap and water or using a hand sanitizer, practicing the correct coughing and sneezing etiquette, maintaining safe physical distancing of 2 meters, ensuring that the careFIJI app is downloaded on your phone and enabled, and last but not least, getting all eligible individuals fully vaccinated. When we do this we not only protect ourselves but also protect all those around us especially the vulnerable, those not eligible for vaccination, and those who are not yet vaccinated.

As we prepare for more industry and workplaces to open, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services reiterate our plea for all workplaces and business places to establish strategies to ensure personal COVID safe practices continue and are monitored and improved and escalated. We also remind all businesses and workplaces that there is an urgent need to refocus on improving ventilation and air quality to support their current COVID safe measures. There is increasing scientific evidence that improvement in ventilation and air quality in workplaces is a prerequisite to COVID safe conditions whilst sanitization of all contact surfaces provides secondary support in reducing the transmission of the SARS COV.  Maximizing natural ventilation by opening windows, doors, and vents when conditions allow (not posing a safety risk), or mechanical ventilation using fans and ducts, or a combination of both is important. Any poorly ventilated spaces in the workplace must be identified and steps are taken to improve fresh air flow in these areas. The use of portable air cleaners with High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters in spaces with high occupancy or limited ventilation is strongly recommended. In buildings with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, it is important to ensure that:

1. These systems are operating in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and design specifications,
2. All regularly scheduled inspections and maintenance procedures are conducted,
3. Maximize the amount of outside air supplied,
4. Where feasible, installing air filters with a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) of 13 or higher.

While we strive to free the country of the heavy burden of the COVID-19 disease and enter into the new normal way of living, we must move ahead and approach the future with caution and care, as in the words of a leading infectious disease expert, “with our eyes wide open and with a great deal of humility”.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Saturday 25^th September 2021 

Transmission Update

We have 161 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.

There have been 84 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 13,067 active cases. There have been 50,631 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 50,701 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 36,608 recoveries.

We have one new border quarantine case to announce today. This case is a 23-year-old man from Tokyo. He arrived in Fiji on the 12^th of September 2021 at the Nadi Airport. His entry swab on the 16^th of September 2021 was noted to be negative. He was observing the mandatory 14-day quarantine in a managed Quarantine Facility when he reported becoming symptomatic on day 9 (21^st September 2021). He was swabbed on day 11 and his swab came back positive for COVID-19 (23/09/2021). As per protocol he has been retrieved and transferred to a managed Isolation Facility in Nadi. He is currently noted to be in a stable condition and the disinfection process of his room and linen have been completed by the onsite health quarantine officer. All frontline workers and accompanying passengers who were in contact with this individual have been included in the routine weekly swabbing schedules and the front-liner surveillance schedules.

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 six COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 09^th July- 24^th September 2021. Four COVID-19 deaths were reported from the Central Division and two COVID-19 deaths were reported from the Western Division. Kindly note four deaths from July are being reported today due to the delay in the issuance of the official death certificates.

The first COVID-19 death to report is an 80-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 09/07/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 91-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 16/07/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is a 65-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 16/07/2021. She received the first 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 fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 67-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 16/07/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 78-year-old man from Ba. He presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. Sadly, he died on the same day (24/09/2021). 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 67-year-old woman from Nadi. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Nadi Hospital on (24/09/2021). This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She was not vaccinated.

There have been 3 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their 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 590 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 588 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 September 20th, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.3. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0 and 0.3 in the Western Division.

We have also recorded 436 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 98 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 42 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 56 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 8 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 3 are in critical condition.

 Screening Update

A total of 3,150 individuals were screened and 526 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 658,928 individuals screened and 99,993 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 2,431 individuals and swabbed 61. This brings our cumulative total to 846,857 individuals screened and 76,542 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing Update

A total of 363,601 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 406,462 tested since testing began in March 2020. 957 tests have been reported for September 24th. The 7-day daily test average is 1,163 tests per day or 1.3 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 9.7 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 10.4%, which is on a downward trend, but it still is indicating a high level of community transmission.

Vaccination Update

As of the 24th September 2021: 590,881 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 425,120 have received their second doses. Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over (adults), the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.6% for adults who have received at least one dose, and 68.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

As for children, 17,996 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of the 24th of September. We will be tracking our vaccine coverage rates once we have firmed up our 15 to 17-year-old 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 117 cases per day or 133 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers in the Suva-Nausori corridor 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 1000 population per week (or approx. 3500 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 recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 556 positive cases on the island, 536 cases have recovered and the remaining 17 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team. Seven patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, of which 3 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition, and 4 are negative for COVID-19. Vaccination was conducted by 5 teams from the Vunisea health team and 2 teams from the Kavala health team. Vaccination for children will commence on Monday 27 September 2021. Movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.

Ten new cases have been reported in the village of Yaro in Malolo Island in the last 24 hours bringing the total number of cases to 82.  Of the 72 cases on the island, 57 cases have recovered and the 25 remaining active cases are monitored daily by the health team. Contact tracings continue for the village of Solevu and rations have been distributed to affected families. One high-risk case is admitted at Lautoka Hospital. Movement restrictions remain in force for all villages on Malolo Island.

No new cases were recorded for Naviti Island in the last 24 hours. 86 cases remain active and under surveillance by the health team. Movement restrictions are in place for all villages.

Thirteen new cases were recorded in the villages of Nalawaki, Yalobi, Naboro, and Namara villages on Waya Island in the last 24 hours bringing the total number of cases to 44. Of these, 26 have recovered to date and 18 remain active cases and are under home isolation in their villages with a daily assessment conducted by the Yalobi nursing station health team. The island is still under strict movement restrictions.

Eleven new cases were reported in the Nacula Medical Area in the village of Nacula in the last 24 hours bringing the total to 149 cases for the medical area. The 149 active cases remain in home isolation in their respective villages and are monitored daily by the health team from the Nacula health center. The health team is visiting villages in the medical area and conducting monitoring for the contact cases and screening for the villagers. Strict movement restriction remains in place for the whole island.

No new cases were recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours.  Of the 242 cases on the island, 41 cases have recovered and 201 are active cases who are under home isolation and daily monitoring from the health team. The positive cases are distributed in the villages of Dakuibeqa, Dakuni, Soliyaga, Naceva, Nawaisomo, Lalati, and Raviravi. Vaccination for the villagers will commence once the 14 days lockdown for the island is completed. Movement restriction remains in force for the whole island.

Ovalau Island recorded no new cases in the last 24 hours. The 2 positive cases are in the Isolation facility and monitored by the health team in Levuka. Contact tracing is underway for the new cases who remain in the isolation facility and monitored by the Levuka health team. Internal repatriation to Ovalau has been put on hold for now.

Public Updates and Advice:

As already announced, as the second dose coverage increases, local and international travel restrictions, and other social and workplace engagement restrictions will be eased. However, the public must remain cautious about how they engage in the greater freedoms that they will enjoy. Whilst the easing of restrictions is needed to facilitate social and economic livelihood, the public must ensure that together with vaccination, we should continue to closely observe our COVID safe measures and avoid contained spaces and crowds to avoid the risk of increased spread of the virus.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services in preparation for easing of restrictions has remodeled health service provision to ensure:

1. Strengthened quarantine capacity;
2. Greater capacity for community surveillance through test trace and track protocols;
3. Registration and line listing of vulnerable persons especially in poorly vaccinated areas;
4. Monitoring of positive cases and vulnerable persons to ensure better access to appropriate care plans;
5. Reviewing and strengthening clinical care protocols for severe disease;

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services Communication team together with our multi-agency community engagement team are working with community leaders to identify and strengthen mechanisms that will facilitate a person with covid like symptoms seeking and engaging health care services early so that medical teams have a greater opportunity to provide timely treatment.

The potential for transmission in any community will be slower, and the ability to contain the outbreak better, when we achieve a high vaccination rate and also maintain strict adherence to COVID safe measures.

We encourage the public to persist in the practice of COVID-19 safety measures of wearing a mask when leaving your home, washing your hands regularly with soap and water or using a hand sanitizer, practicing the correct coughing and sneezing etiquette, maintaining safe physical distancing of 2 meters, ensuring that the careFIJI app is downloaded on your phone and enabled, and last but not least, getting all eligible individuals fully vaccinated.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Friday 24^th September 2021 

Transmission Update

We have 93 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today. 

There have been 64 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 12,999 active cases. There have been 50,470 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 50,540 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 36,524 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 one new COVID-19 death to report today. This COVID-19 death was reported from the Central Division. 

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 73-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 22/09/2021. She was not vaccinated. 

There have been 8 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their 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 584 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 582 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 September 19th, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.3. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0 and 0.3 in the Western Division.

We have also recorded 433 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 111 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 46 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 65 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 8 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 4 are in critical condition. 

 Screening Update

A total of 5,209 individuals were screened and 334 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 655,778 individuals screened and 99,467 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 1,985 individuals and swabbed 67. This brings our cumulative total to 844,426 individuals screened and 76,481 swabbed by our mobile teams. 

Testing Update

A total of 362,644 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 405,505 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1287 tests have been reported for September 23rd. The 7-day daily test average is 1,206 tests per day or 1.4 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 9.7 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 9.9%, which is on a downward trend, but it still is indicating a high level of community transmission.

Vaccination Update

As of the 23^rd September 2021: 590,386 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 419,065 have received their second doses. Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over (adults), the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.5% for adults who have received at least one dose, and 67.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

As for children, 14,680 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of the 23^rd of September. We will be tracking our vaccine coverage rates once we have firmed up our 15 to 17-year-old 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 117 cases per day or 133 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers in the Suva-Nausori corridor 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 1000 population per week (or approx. 3500 tests per week). We will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.

Six new cases were recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours bringing the total number of cases on the island to 556. Of these, a total of 535 cases have recovered and the remaining 18 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team. Five patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, of which 3 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition, and 2 are negative for COVID-19. Vaccination conducted by 5 teams from the Vunisea health team and 2 teams from the Kaval health team commenced today. Vaccination for children will commence on Monday 27 September 2021. Movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua. 

No new cases have been reported in the village of Yaro in Malolo Island in the last 24 hours.  Of the 72 cases on the island, 57 cases have recovered and the 15 remaining active cases are monitored daily by the health team. One high-risk case is admitted at Lautoka Hospital. Movement restrictions remain in force for all villages on Malolo Island.

Naviti Island did not record any new cases in the last 24 hours. 86 cases remain active and under surveillance by the health team. Movement restrictions are in place for all villages.

No new cases were recorded on Waya Island in the last 24 hours. Five active cases are under home isolation in their villages with a daily assessment conducted by the Yalobi nursing station health team. The island is still under strict movement restrictions.

Twenty-five new cases were reported in the Nacula Medical Area in the villages of Nacula and Naisisili in the last 24 hours bringing the total to 138 cases for the medical area. The 138 active cases remain in home isolation in their respective villages and are monitored daily by the health team from the Nacula health center. The health team visited Naisisili village and conducted monitoring for the contact cases and screening for the rest of the village. Strict movement restriction remains in place for the whole island.

Forty-two new cases were recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours bringing the total number of cases to 242. Of these 238 are active cases who are under home isolation and daily monitoring from the health team. Vaccination for the villagers will commence once the 14 days lockdown for the island is completed. Movement restriction remains in force for the whole island.

Ovalau Island in the Lomaiviti group is the new area of interest after 2 positive cases who were under quarantine in the Levuka quarantine facility and tested on 20 September 2021 were reported as positive on 23 September 2021. Another four quarantine cases that also tested positive are confirmed as historical cases. Contact tracing is underway for the new cases who remain in the isolation facility and monitored by the Levuka health team. Internal repatriation to Ovalau has been put on hold for now.

Public Updates and Advice:

Vaccination of Eligible Children

Vaccination of children aged 15 to 17 years with the Moderna vaccine will cease over the weekend to allow the Ministry to take stock of the progress of the campaign. We will advise on the resumption date of the vaccination campaign, and the vaccination sites for children will be advertised on the Ministry of Health and Medical Services Facebook page as well as the Government Facebook page. Parental or guardian consent remains 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.

Vaccination for adults aged 18 years and over will continue and the vaccination sites can be obtained from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services Facebook page as well as the Government Facebook page. For the Rewa subdivision, the drive-through vaccination site at Hexagon plaza will cease from tomorrow Saturday 25 September 2021. The vaccination site at the Vunimono Hall will relocate to the Parish Hall behind Nausori Market from Monday 27 September 2021 from 9 am to 3 pm.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Thursday, 23^rd September 2021 

Transmission Update

We have 177 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.

There have been 170 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 12,979active cases. There have been 50,377 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 50,447 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 36,460 recoveries.

We have two new border quarantine cases to announce today. A first case is a 20-year-old man from Nadi and a second case is a 22-year-old man from Lautoka. They both arrived in Fiji on the 19^th September 2021 at the Lautoka Seaport in a vessel that visited several other seaports. Although both individuals reported to have not disembarked the vessel at any of these ports due to COVID-19 restrictions, however, crew change over at one port is the possible source of infection transmission. The Fiji Border Health Protection Unit is currently investigating this. They have been retrieved as per protocol and transferred to our managed isolation facilities. Both individuals were noted to be symptomatic for COVID-19 but are currently stable. As per protocol, the disinfection process of rooms and linen has been completed by the onsite health quarantine officer and all frontline workers who were in contact with these two individuals have been included on the routine weekly swabbing schedule and the front-liner surveillance schedule.

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 of 21st July- 18th August 2021. All four COVID-19 deaths reported today are from the Central Division. Kindly note these deaths are being reported today due to the delay in the issuance of the official death certificates.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 72-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 18/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 68-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 07/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is an 84-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 21/07/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is an 82-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 22/07/2021. She was not vaccinated.

There have been 6 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their 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 583 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 581 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 September 18th, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.6. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0.3 and 0.3 in the Western Division.

We have also recorded 425 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 110 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 41 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 69 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 7 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 2 are in critical condition.

 Screening Update

A total of 9,191 individuals were screened and 715 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 650,569 individuals screened and 99,133 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 740 individuals and swabbed 400. This brings our cumulative total to 842,441 individuals screened and 76,414 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing Update

A total of 361,357 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 404,218 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1426 tests have been reported for September 22nd. The 7-day daily test average is 1,245 tests per day or 1.4 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 9.7 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 10%, which is on a downward trend, but it still is indicating a high level of community transmission.

Vaccination Update

As of the 22^nd September 2021: 589,830 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 412,897 have received their second doses. Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over (adults), the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.4% for adults who have received at least one dose, and 66.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

As for children, 11,409 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of the 22nd of September. We will be tracking our vaccine coverage rates once we have firmed up our 15 to 17-year-old 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 123 cases per day or 139 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers in the Suva-Nausori corridor 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 1000 population per week (or approx. 3500 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 recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours. 12 cases have recovered in the last 24 hours and the remaining 25 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team. Six patients are currently admitted at the Vunisea hospital, of which 4 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition, and 2 are negative for COVID-19. Education, awareness sessions, surveillance, and vaccination continue for the villages and communities. Movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.

Two new cases have been reported in the village of Yaro in Malolo Island in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases on the island to 72. Of these, a total of 57 cases have recovered and the 15 remaining active cases are monitored daily by the health team. One high-risk case has been transferred for admission at Lautoka Hospital. The screening was conducted at Yaro village and 14 NP swabs were taken for testing. 23 adults and 30 children were vaccinated in the last 24 hours. Movement restrictions remain in force for all villages on Malolo Island.

No new cases were recorded on Naviti Island in the last 24 hours. 86 cases remain active and under surveillance by the health team. Movement restrictions are in place for all villages.

One new case was recorded in Nalawaki village on Waya Island in the last 24 hours. 25 cases have recovered and the 5 active cases are under home isolation in their villages with a daily assessment conducted by the Yalobi nursing station health team. The community engagement and health team visited Wayalevu village and conducted 40 NP swabbing and vaccination for 39 adults and 10 children. The clinical team also reviewed 32 NCD cases and 6 Paediatric cases in the village. The island is still under strict movement restrictions.

No new cases were reported in the Nacula Medical Area in the last 24 hours. The 113 active cases remain in home isolation in their respective villages and are monitored daily by the health team from Nacula health center. Strict movement restriction remains in place for the whole island.

No new cases were recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours. Risk assessment for the 199 active cases revealed that 64 cases were in the moderate risk category and 24 cases in the high-risk category. 318 primary contacts are also under home isolation and daily monitoring from the health team. Vaccination for the villagers will commence once the 14 days lockdown for the island is completed. 150 food packs have been distributed for the villages of Raviravi, Dakuni, Nawaisomo, and Lalati. The rations need for other villages will be addressed in the coming days. Meanwhile, movement restriction remains in force for the whole island.

Public Updates and Advice:

Vaccination of Eligible Children

Vaccination of eligible children aged 15 to 17 years with the Moderna vaccine continues throughout the country at designated vaccination sites for children, and parents are encouraged to register their children before 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. 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.

Border Health Protection

The 2 new border quarantine cases highlight once again our efforts to anticipate and be ready for quarantine operations as we relook at international travel. The Border Health Protection Unit (BHPU) has been established to oversee and facilitate the health protection activities and programs conducted at our border and ports of entry to ensure our protection against trans-border infectious disease spread. The unit will work together with the relevant military, police, and border control units providing the leadership and support needed to strengthen our quarantine operations. Our quarantine protocols are currently undergoing review to define green list countries and/or areas and revise the pre-departure and in-country quarantine and testing protocols for fully vaccinated travelers. In keeping with the science, it is anticipated that pre-departure, quarantine, and in-country testing conditions for fully vaccinated persons from “green” listed countries will be less stringent than then-current conditions.

The BHPU Facility has been established in the CAAF compound in Namaka, Nadi, and this facility will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing quarantine operations.  Their function will be supplemented by a container laboratory that has arrived and is situated close to the border health protection facility.  As a result of an ongoing collaborative effort between WHO, DFAT, ADB, Fiji Airways, and the Government, the laboratory will have the capacity to process around 500 tests per day. In addition, the Unit will also facilitate the following programs and actions at the border:

1. Establish a Slot Management System with the support of Fiji Airways to manage our quarantine capacity at designated quarantine facilities;
2. Enforce the restriction on inbound international travelers to only fully vaccinated individuals (except in some emergencies);
3. Enforce the requirement for all quarantine personnel engaged in quarantine operations to be fully vaccinated;
4. Engage advanced technologies and CCTV support that support and facilitate improved border health surveillance and oversight.
5. Establish and inculcate a no-blame work culture and environment that allow quarantine officers to freely report on breaches of COVID safe protocols or symptoms of disease identified in any individual at the border.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Wednesday, 22^nd September 2021 

Transmission Update

We have 72 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.

There have been 32 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 12,982 active cases. There have been 50,200 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 50,270 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 36,290 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 new 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 deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.

We have an additional 3 COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 15th July 2021- 16^th July 2021. All three deaths were reported from the Central Division. An analysis of the 3 deaths has highlighted that individuals were aged between 59 to 66 years, 67% (n=2) were males, all of the individuals died at home or on their way to the hospital and all three individuals were unvaccinated. This means that there were no deaths of individuals who were fully vaccinated.

There have now been 579 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 577 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 September 17th, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.7. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0.3 and 0.4 in the Western Division.

We have also recorded 419 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 108 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 40 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 68 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 9 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 2 are in critical condition.

 Screening Update

A total of 6,917 individuals were screened and 465 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 641,378 individuals screened and 98,418 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 2373 individuals and swabbed 57. This brings our cumulative total to 841,701 individuals screened and 76,014 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing Update

A total of 359,931 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 402,792 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1282 tests have been reported for September 21st. The 7-day daily test average is 1,248 tests per day or 1.4 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 8 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 10.2%, which is on a downward trend, but it still is indicating a high level of community transmission.

Vaccination Update

New target population set for COVID-19 vaccination

Following the mop-up vaccination program for the first dose, and the review of the target population, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services has updated its total target population of adults aged 18 and over for the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign. The new target population of adults aged 18 years and over is 618,173.

In the review which is routinely undertaken in mass vaccination programs, the Ministry used the health zones generated profiling data for its target population to ensure that medical area targets are relevant to medical teams looking after the area. To mitigate the risks associated with areas of high population mobility such as in urban areas and highly populated peri-urban areas, the review incorporated the following:

1. For larger urban and peri-urban areas where profiling is a challenge due to ongoing population mobility and increased internal migration, and considered unreliable, the WHO approved census-based estimate of the adult population (63% of the total population) has been taken for these medical areas.
2. In areas with lower population density, the actual profile data have been used and they reflect the true presence of individuals and arms to be jabbed for vaccination.
3. Allowances have also been made to include individuals who have work visas, student visas, and temporary visa permits and have gotten vaccinated in Fiji. This data was provided by the Immigration department.

When calculating the national vaccination coverage as a percentage, the total adults vaccinated is divided by the total adult population.  Therefore, the increase in the total number for the adult population (the denominator of the calculation) at the national level has reduced the percentage of vaccination coverage nationally by 4%. At the subnational level, while in some places there was an increase in the denominator especially in Rewa, Naitasiri, Nadroga, and Ba, other areas like Nasinu and the maritime islands have seen a decrease.

The review of our vaccination denominator will remain ongoing as we reconcile profiling data with census-based estimates, however, no major impact is anticipated on our national adult population vaccination age-eligible coverage rates.

Please note that this revision of the total targeted adult population does not affect the figures for the total number of adults who have gotten vaccinated in Fiji, which is the numerator for the calculation of percentage vaccination coverage. The change has just been to the denominator, which is the total population of adults in Fiji. Therefore, as of yesterday, a total of 589,301 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 405,839 have received their second doses. Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 and over (adults), the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.3% for one dose and 65.7% for the two-dose coverage.

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.

The vaccination program for children

Our 15 to 17-year vaccination program has been ongoing with much of the teething issues mitigated today. Our denominator for this phase of vaccination is 45,691 and it is subject to adjustments as target population verification is an ongoing exercise. A total of 7,102 children were vaccinated over the last 2 days. A task force has been established to look at ensuring adequate and appropriate oversight over the implementation and maintenance of all measures needed to make the school environment as safe as possible.

As emphasized in other announcements, the vaccination coverage rate in children will not determine the school starting dates. The children vaccination rate also does not impact our current social relaxation and/or economic recovery program.

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 126 cases per day or 142 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers in the Suva-Nausori corridor 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 1000 population per week (or approx. 3500 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 recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours. 17 cases have recovered in the last 24 hours and the remaining 37 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team. Nine patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, of which 5 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition, and 4 are negative for COVID-19. Education, awareness sessions, surveillance, and vaccination continue for the villages and communities. Movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.

Four new cases have been reported in the village of Yaro in Malolo Island in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases on the island to 70. Of these, a total of 51 cases have recovered and the 19 remaining active cases are monitored daily by the health team. Four high-risk cases are stable and remain in home isolation. Movement restrictions remain in force for all villages on Malolo Island.

Naviti Island did not report any new cases in the last 24 hours. Of the total of 179 cases on the island, 93 individuals have recovered while 86 cases remain active and under surveillance by the health team. Movement restrictions are in place for all villages.

Four new cases were recorded on Waya Island in the last 24 hours – 2 cases at Nalawaki village and 2 at Namara village. 25 cases have recovered and the 4 new active cases are under home isolation in their villages with a daily assessment conducted by the Yalobi nursing station health team. The community engagement and health team visited Yalobi village and conducted 50 NP swabbing and vaccination for 10 individuals. The clinical team also reviewed 17 NCD cases in the village. The island is still under strict movement restrictions.

Sixteen new cases were reported in the Nacula Medical Area in the last 24 hours in the village of Nacula. This brings the total number of cases on the island to 113. All active cases remain in home isolation in their respective villages and are monitored daily by the health team from the Nacula health center. Strict movement restriction remains in place for the whole island.

Twenty new cases were recorded on Beqa Island in the villages of Dakuibeqa, Dakuni, and Lalati in the last 24 hours. Risk assessment for the 199 active cases revealed that 64 cases were in the moderate risk category and 24 cases in the high-risk category. Vaccination for the villagers will commence once the 14 days lockdown for the island is completed. Meanwhile, movement restriction remains in force for the whole island.

Public Updates and Advice:

Vaccination of Eligible Children

Vaccination of eligible children aged 15 to 17 years with the Moderna vaccine continues throughout the country at designated vaccination sites for children, and parents are encouraged to register their children before 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. 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.