Press Release

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Tuesday, 24^th August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 302 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 148 cases are from the Western Division and 154 cases are from the Central Division. A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard. You will also be able to view the approximate locations of new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

There are two individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Cubi Settlement, Malolo Island. Early investigations reveal that these two individuals travelled to Malolo Island from Viti Levu without proper authorization. They are currently isolated. Further details will be provided once investigations are complete.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services is again urging all Fijians not to engage in unauthorized travel to and from Viti Levu. All our current protocols to regulate domestic movements must be followed to prevent spread of the virus beyond Viti Levu. The remoteness of the maritime islands, and their  limited resources, mean that any outbreak with severe cases will be very challenging to manage. We need the people in our maritime islands fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to help protect them from severe disease and death  before any movement occurs beyond the current controlled repatriation.

Furthermore, we repeat our call to all village leaders and elders to support our current efforts to protect our maritime islands and to immediately report any suspicious movements into your community.

There have been 430 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 18,916 active cases. 9,653 active cases are in the Central Division, 9,127 active cases in the Western Division, 1 active case in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu) and 135 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu). We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with recoveries and as a result we expect the recovery numbers to increase in the coming weeks.

There have been 44,420 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 44,490 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 24,855 recoveries.

Deaths

We have 9 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 18^th – 23^rd August. Four deaths were reported from the Central Division and five deaths were reported from the Western Division.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 60 year old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in respiratory distress. She reported to have a fever, cough and shortness of breath for one week prior to presentation. She died 11 days after admission on the 21/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 67 year old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day (20/08/2021). She was not vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is a 66 year old woman from Navua who died at home on the 18/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 66 year old man from Naitasiri. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died 10 days after admission on the 23/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is an 84 year old woman from Navua who died at home on the 21/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The sixth COVID-19 death to report is a 57 year old man from Nadi. He presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day 23/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The seventh COVID-19 death to report is an 80 year old man from Nadi. He presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. His family reported that he had shortness of breath for one week prior to presentation. He died on the same day 23/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The eighth COVID-19 death to report is a 72 year old woman from Suva. She presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died 16 days after admission on the 23/08/2021. She received the 1^st dose of the vaccine in late July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The ninth COVID-19 death to report is a 49 year old man from Ba who died at home on the 20/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

There have been 9 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.

With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 453 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 451 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 required to calculate the 7 day rolling average of deaths, based on date of death, in order to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of August 19th, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 10. The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 4 and in the Western Division is 6.

We also have recorded 266 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.

Hospitalisations

There are currently 264 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital. 111 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 38 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 115 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 24 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 10 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 5,415 individuals were screened and 712 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 488,763 individuals screened and 85,776 swabbed to date. As of the 23^rd August our mobile screening teams screened a total of 1524 individuals and swabbed 73. This brings our cumulative total to 801,862 individuals screened and 70,941 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing Update

A total of 322,144 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 365,005 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1,533 tests have been reported for August 23rd. The testing data from one lab is still being received. Therefore, testing data numbers are expected to increase. The 7-day daily test average is 1724 tests per day or 1.9 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 27.9%.

Vaccination Update

As of the 23^rd August, 545,459 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 241,027 have received their second doses. This means that 93% of the target population have received at least one dose and 41.1% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. We are currently doing a mop up exercise of our first dose campaign, which will allow us to specifically target communities with low coverage, and subsequently also correct and update the total eligible population for our current vaccination program.

Fijians can check the Ministry’s vaccine dashboard to find real-time data on first-dose and second-dose numbers at the national, divisional and sub-divisional levels. You can access the live dashboard at http://bit.ly/3h2JfCZ

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 473 cases per day or 535 cases per million population per day. We have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, our daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori. Since July 21st, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori. This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death. We will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.

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

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

The Northern Division remains with one active case, with all contacts in quarantine so far testing negative, and swabbing results from within the containment area, and nearby communities also returning negative. The situation in Kadavu in the Eastern Division continues to remain a concern.

Advice to the public

People with severe COVID-19 are still dying at home, or are coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness.

Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease. You are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 if you are over the age of 50 or have a non-communicable disease or chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease, or if you are obese or pregnant.

If you are at high risk of severe disease and have any symptoms of COVID-19 such as a cough, runny nose, fever, sore throat, body ache, headache, loss of taste/smell – please come to your nearest screening clinic to be checked and tested by our medical teams.

We need also need all Fijians to know the severe symptoms of COVID-19, which include the following:

• Difficulty breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• Severe headache for a few days
• New confusion, inability to wake or stay awake
• Pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds

In Suva-Nausori we have identified health facilities specifically designated to receive people with symptoms of severe COVID-19. If you or a loved one live in Suva-Nausori and have any of these severe symptoms please go immediately to the designated health facilities listed below.

– Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH)

– FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena

Individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to:

– Nausori Health Centre

– Wainibokasi Hospital

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

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

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

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

Kadavu Response Update

The situation in Kadavu Island remains a major concern. The clinical scoping team have put together a clinical response plan that will help to efficiently escalate our response to the expected wave of severe disease and deaths in Kadavu however we do anticipate this to be a challenging exercise. The team is expected to depart for Kadavu over the next 2 days. FEMAT response to Kadavu will involve both public health and clinical teams. The clinical team will include doctors and nurses from the clinical specialized fields of medicine. Upon arrival in Kadavu the clinical team will boost up the public health response on, case identification through rapid diagnostic tests, risk assessment and stratification, COVID awareness, Vaccination coverage and clinical case management based on the clinical care flow pathway. The aim will be to identify the extent of transmission, instituting containment strategies, early detection and retrieval of sick cases and minimizing deaths. They will also work very closely with the teams from other ministries under Provincial Administrator Kadavu on community engagement. The main goal is also to minimize severe and critical cases given the expected challenges in medical evacuation. While they commit towards community response and engagement the logistic teams will be setting up the COVID wards and the intermediate care facilities in readiness for patients with severe COVID-19 disease.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Sunday, 22^nd August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 303 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 185 cases are from the Western Division, 33 cases are from the Central Division and 85 cases from the Eastern Division (Kadavu). A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard. You will also be able to view the approximate locations of new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

There have been 1,468 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 19,097 active cases. 10,252 active cases are in the Central Division, 8,713 active cases in the Western Division, 1 active case in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu) and 131 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu). We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with recoveries and as a result we expect the recovery numbers to increase in the coming weeks.

There have been 43,527 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 43,597 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 23,809 recoveries.

Deaths

We have 5 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 19^th – 22^nd August. 1 death was reported from the Central Division and 4 deaths were reported from the Western Division.

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

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 61 year old woman from Tavua. She presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She reported to have shortness of breath two days prior to her presentation. She died 5 days after admission on the 21/08/2021. She received the dose of the vaccine in mid-July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is a 56 year old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She reportedly had a cough and shortness of breath for two days prior to her presentation. She died 7 days after admission on the 21/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 56 year old man from Ba. He presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He was reported to have a fever, cough and shortness of breath two days prior to his presentation. He died 1 day after admission on the 22/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 50 year old man from Nadi. He presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He was transferred by a medical team from the Nadi Hospital to the Lautoka Hospital. Sadly, he died 3 days after admission (22/08/2021). His family reported that he had a cough, shortness of breath and generalized weakness one week prior to his presentation. He received the first dose of the vaccine in late-May. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

There have been 4 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.

With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 438 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 436 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 required to calculate the 7 day rolling average of deaths, based on date of death, in order to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of August 18th, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 8. The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 2 and in the Western Division is 6.

We also have recorded 253 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 296 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital. 114 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 38 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 144 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 20 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 20 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 1,083 individuals were screened and 253 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 482,540 individuals screened and 84,918 swabbed to date. As of the 21^st August our mobile screening teams screened a total of 2082 individuals and swabbed 73. This brings our cumulative total to 800,267 individuals screened and 70,834 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update

A total of 318,146 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 361,007 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1,613 tests have been reported for August 21st. The testing data from some labs are still being received. Therefore, testing data numbers are expected to increase. The 7-day daily test average is 1489 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 32.8%.

Vaccination Update

As of the 21^st August, 543,254 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 234,905 have received their second doses. This means that 92.6% of the target population have received at least one dose and 40% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. We are currently doing a mop up exercise of our first dose campaign, which will allow us to specifically target communities with low coverage, and subsequently also correct and update the total eligible population for our current vaccination program.

Fijians can check the Ministry’s vaccine dashboard to find real-time data on first-dose and second-dose numbers at the national, divisional and sub-divisional levels. You can access the live dashboard at http://bit.ly/3h2JfCZ

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 480 cases per day or 542 cases per million population per day. We have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, our daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori. As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori. This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.

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

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

Advice to the public

People with severe COVID-19 are still dying at home, or are coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness.

Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease. You are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 if you are over the age of 50 or have a non-communicable disease or chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease, or if you are obese or pregnant.

If you are at high risk of severe disease and have any symptoms of COVID-19 such as a cough, runny nose, fever, sore throat, body ache, headache, loss of taste/smell – please come to your nearest screening clinic to be checked and tested by our medical teams.

We need also need all Fijians to know the severe symptoms of COVID-19, which include the following:

• Difficulty breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• Severe headache for a few days
• New confusion, inability to wake or stay awake
• Pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds

In Suva-Nausori we have identified health facilities specifically designated to receive people with symptoms of severe COVID-19. If you or a loved one live in Suva-Nausori and have any of these severe symptoms please go immediately to the designated health facilities listed below.

• Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH)
• FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena

Individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to:

• Nausori Health Centre
• Wainibokasi Hospital

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

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

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

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

The situation in Kadavu Island remains a major concern. The clinical scoping team in Kadavu have begun to put together a clinical response plan that will help to efficiently escalate our response to the expected wave of severe disease and deaths in Kadavu however we do anticipate this to be a challenging exercise. The public health team is continuing with screening and isolation protocols. A key part of the response will be to identify persons vulnerable to severe COVID and to pre-emptively engage them in a care plan that allows early identification of danger symptoms and signs and access to clinical care in a timely manner. Another important part of the response to mitigate severe disease will be community wide engagement to establish specific plans that help maintain oversight over vulnerable persons, and facilitate their timely transfer to a health care facility when required.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services reiterates its call for maritime islanders not to engage in unauthorized travel to and from Viti Levu. All our current protocols to regulate domestic movements must be adhered to in order to prevent spread of the virus beyond Viti Levu. Furthermore, we repeat our call to all village leaders and elders to support our current efforts to protect our maritime islands and to immediately report any suspicious movements into your community.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Saturday, 21^st August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 198 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 52 cases are from the Western Division and 146 cases are from the Central Division. A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard. You will also be able to view the approximate locations of new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

There have been 516 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 20,271 active cases. 11,684 active cases are in the Central Division, 8,540 active cases in the Western Division, 1 active case in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu) and 46 active cases in the Eastern Division (Kadavu). We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with recoveries and as a result we expect the recovery numbers to increase in the coming weeks.

There have been 43,224 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 43,294 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 22,341 recoveries.

Deaths

We have one COVID-19 death to report for the 16th August. This death which was previously under investigation in the Eastern Division has now been classified as a COVID-19 death. A detailed investigation by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services’s clinical team has determined that the death was caused by COVID-19. She was a 63 year old woman from Rakiraki Village, in Yale, Kadavu. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Vunisea Hospital in Kadavu on the 16/08/2021. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. Her family reported that she had symptoms of cough, fever and shortness of breath. She was swabbed as per protocol and tested positive for COVID-19 (17/08/2021). She was not vaccinated.

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

With today’s newly reported deaths, there are now 433 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 431 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 required to calculate the 7 day rolling average of deaths, based on date of death, in order to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of August 17th, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 9. The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 2 and in the Western Division is 7.

We also have recorded 249 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 322 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital. 118 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 38 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 166 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 37 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 14 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 3,408 individuals were screened and 552 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 481,457 individuals screened and 84,665 swabbed to date. As of the 20th August our mobile screening teams screened a total of 2002 individuals and swabbed 231. This brings our cumulative total to 798,185 individuals screened and 70,761 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update

A total of 316,402 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 359,263 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1,392 tests have been reported for August 20th. The testing data from one lab is still being received. Therefore, testing data numbers are expected to increase. The 7-day daily test average is 1,423 tests per day or 1.6 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 35.5%.

Vaccination Update

As of the 19th August, 541,611 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 228,799 have received their second doses. This means that 92.3% of the target population have received at least one dose and 39% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. We are currently doing a mop up exercise of our first dose campaign, which will allow us to specifically target communities with low coverage, and subsequently also correct and update the total eligible population for our current vaccination program.

Fijians can check the Ministry’s vaccine dashboard to find real-time data on first-dose and second-dose numbers at the national, divisional and sub-divisional levels. You can access the live dashboard at http://bit.ly/3h2JfCZ

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 503 cases per day or 569 cases per million population per day. We have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, our daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori. As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori. This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.

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

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

Advice to the public

People with severe COVID-19 are still dying at home, or are coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness.

Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease. You are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 if you are over the age of 50 or have a non-communicable disease or chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease, or if you are obese or pregnant.

If you are at high risk of severe disease and have any symptoms of COVID-19 such as a cough, runny nose, fever, sore throat, body ache, headache, loss of taste/smell – please come to your nearest screening clinic to be checked and tested by our medical teams.

We need also need all Fijians to know the severe symptoms of COVID-19, which include the following:

• Difficulty breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• Severe headache for a few days
• New confusion, inability to wake or stay awake
• Pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds

In Suva-Nausori we have identified health facilities specifically designated to receive people with symptoms of severe COVID-19. If you or a loved one live in Suva-Nausori and have any of these severe symptoms please go immediately to the designated health facilities listed below.

• Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH)
• FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena

Individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to:

• Nausori Health Centre
• Wainibokasi Hospital

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

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

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

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

The situation in Kadavu Island remains a major concern. The clinical scoping team in Kadavu have begun to put together a clinical response plan that will help to efficiently escalate our response to the expected wave of severe disease and deaths in Kadavu however we do anticipate this to be a challenging exercise. The public health team is continuing with screening and isolation protocols. A key part of the response will be to identify persons vulnerable to severe COVID and to pre-emptively engage them in a care plan that allows early identification of danger symptoms and signs and access to clinical care in a timely manner. Another important part of the response to mitigate severe disease will be community wide engagement to establish specific plans that help maintain oversight over vulnerable persons, and facilitate their timely transfer to a health care facility when required.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services reiterates its call for maritime islanders not to engage in unauthorized travel to and from Viti Levu. All our current protocols to regulate domestic movements must be adhered to in order to prevent spread of the virus beyond Viti Levu. Furthermore, we repeat our call to all village leaders and elders to support our current efforts to protect our maritime islands and to immediately report any suspicious movements into your community.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Friday, 20 August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 485 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 251 cases are from the Western Division, 188 cases are from the Central Division and 46 cases from the Eastern Division. A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard. You will also be able to view the approximate locations of new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

The 46 new cases reported from the Eastern Division are all contacts of the index case from Rakiraki Village, Yale, Kadavu. 45 of these new cases are from the same village, while one case is from Naioti Village. All of these cases have been isolated.

There have been 1,080 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 20,591 active cases. 12,050 active cases are in the Central Division, 8,494 active cases in the Western Division, 1 active case in the Northern Division and 46 active cases in the Eastern Division. We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with recoveries and as a result we expect the recovery numbers to increase in the coming weeks.

There have been 43,026 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 43,096 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 21,825 recoveries.

Deaths

We have 11 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of August 13th-18th. All deaths were reported from the Western Division.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 68 year old man from Sigatoka. He presented to the Sigatoka Sub-Divisional Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He was transferred from Sigatoka Sub-Divisional Hospital to Lautoka Hospital. Sadly, he died seven days after admission on the 17/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 68 year old man from Lautoka. He presented to the Lautoka Hospital in respiratory distress. His family reported that he had cough and shortness of breath three days prior to presentation. He died three days after admission (18/08/2021). He received the first dose of the vaccine in early-August. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

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

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is an 84 year old man from Rakiraki who died at home on the 17/08/2021.  He was not vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 72 year old woman from Sigatoka who died at home on the 17/08/2021.  She was not vaccinated.

The sixth COVID-19 death to report is a 59 year old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Sub-Divisional Hospital on the 18/08/2021. This means that he died on his way to the hospital or at home. He was not vaccinated.

The seventh COVID-19 death to report is a 64 year old man from Nadi. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Nadi Hospital on the 18/08/2021. This means that he died on his way to the hospital or at home. He was not vaccinated.

The eighth COVID-19 death to report is a 52 year old man from Nadi. He was transferred from an Isolation facility in Nadi on the 15/08/2021 to the Lautoka Hospital. He was noted to be in severe respiratory distress. Sadly, he died three days after admission on the 18/08/2021 at the Lautoka Hospital. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

The ninth COVID-19 death to report is a 95 year old woman from Sigatoka who died at home on the 17/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The tenth COVID-19 death to report is a 57 year old woman from Nadi. She presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died five days after admission on the 17/08/2021. She received the first dose of the vaccine in late-July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The eleventh COVID-19 death to report is an 86 year old man from Lautoka who died at home on the 17/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

There have been 14 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.

With today’s newly reported deaths, there are now 432 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 430 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, at least a 4 day interval will be given to calculate the 7 day rolling average of deaths, based on date of death, in order to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of August 16th, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 11. The 7 day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 5 and in the Western Division is 6.

We also have recorded 247 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. A death announced yesterday 19 August 2021 from the Eastern Division is currently under investigation.

Hospitalisations

There are currently 310 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital. 114 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 38 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 158 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 31 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 15 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 5,004 individuals were screened and 652 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 478,049 individuals screened and 84,113 swabbed to date. As of the 19th August our mobile screening teams screened a total of 1,695 individuals and swabbed 168. This brings our cumulative total to 796,183 individuals screened and 70,530 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update

A total of 314,945 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 357,806 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1,626 tests have been reported for August 19th. The 7-day daily test average is 1,466 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 36.2%.

Vaccination Update

As of the 19th August 541,611 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 228,799 have received their second doses. This means that 92.3% of the target population have received at least one dose and 39% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. We are currently doing a mop up exercise of our first dose campaign, which will allow us to specifically target communities with low coverage, and subsequently also correct and update the total eligible population for our current vaccination program.

Fijians can check the Ministry’s vaccine dashboard to find real-time data on first-dose and second-dose numbers at the national, divisional and sub-divisional levels. You can access the live dashboard at http://bit.ly/3h2JfCZ

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 520 cases per day or 588 cases per million population per day. We have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, our daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori. As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori. This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.

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

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

Advice to the public

Update on investigations in the Northern division

Today is day 3 of the containment zone in Nabouwalu. Day 4 tests for all except 2 primary contacts of the case reported from Nabouwalu  have returned negative. Results of the remaining 2 primary contacts are pending. Meanwhile, the health service set up at the Immaculate Junior Secondary School is working well. Health teams from Labasa Hospital are travelling daily to Bua Nursing Station and Lekutu Health Centre to provide health services to the community outside the containment zone. And border controls at Nabouwalu and all other Northern ports have been reinforced.

Activities that will be carried out inside the Nabouwalu containment zone include:

1. 3 phases of screening and swabbing for the containment zone population. In the first phase of screening, 367 persons were swabbed. All have tested negative. A second round of swabbing for 217 people has been conducted with results pending.
2. Daily symptoms checks and swabbing
3. House to house covid safe awareness program
4. Vaccination for target population in containment zone area

Over 1000 swabs have also been collected for people outside the containment zone in the villages of Nasavu, Naviqiri, and Nawailevu.

Update on investigations in Kadavu

As regards to  the case reported from Rakiraki Village in Yale, Kadavu,  given the clinical details of the case, and the link to persons who are believed to have made unauthorised travels between Suva and Kadavu,  we have to assume there is community transmission on the island of Kadavu. To help with our public health containment measures, shipping services to and from Kadavu have been suspended for the week commencing 19th of August to the 26th of August 2021.

A 14-day  containment zone has been established for the Gasele Nursing Zone in Kadavu. This is to localize the disease to the nursing zone area for one incubation period of 14 days and to monitor incidence and disease trend in the lockdown area within this period. The following is in place within the containment zone:

1. Movement between the 7 villages in the containment zone is restricted to reduce further spread
2. Home quarantine of the primary contacts is enforced
3. Contact tracing of primary contacts and secondary contacts
4. The identification and monitoring of vulnerable persons initiated and strengthened
5. Community  engagement program escalated to foster covid safe behaviour with specific focus on protecting the vulnerable persons
6. Vaccination education and rollout escalated and targeted to vulnerable persons

Further to this a clinical scouting team will be deployed over this weekend to assist our health team in Kadavu in mapping out a plan to escalate clinical care capability and strengthen care access especially to the identified vulnerable persons.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services reiterates its call for maritime islanders not to engage in unauthorized travel to and from Viti Levu. All our current protocols to regulate domestic movements must be adhered to in order to prevent spread of the virus beyond Viti Levu. Furthermore, we repeat our call to all village leaders and elders to support our current efforts to protect our maritime islands and to immediately report any suspicious movements into your community.