Press Release

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Sunday, 15 August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 467 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 258 cases are from the Western Division and 209 cases are from the Central Division. A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard and on the Fijian Government Facebook page. You will also be able to view the approximate locations of new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

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

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

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

Deaths

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

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

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

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

With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 371 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 369 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.  We also have recorded 194 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.

Hospitalisations

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

Screening Update

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

Testing update

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

Vaccination Update

As of the 14th August 533,705 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 211,496 have received their second doses. This means that 91% of the target population have received at least one dose and 36.1% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

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

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 465 cases per day or 526 cases per million population per day. We have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, our daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori. As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori. This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.

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

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

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

Advice to the public

People with severe COVID-19 are still dying at home, or they are coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness. We are now seeing this happening in the Western Division as deaths are increasing in that division.

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

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

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

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

– Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH)

– FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena

Individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to:

– Nausori Health Centre

– Wainibokasi Hospital

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

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

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

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

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Saturday, 14 August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 314 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 259 cases are from the Western Division, 54 cases are from the Central Division and 1 case from the Northern Division. A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard and on the Fijian Government Facebook page. You will also be able to view the approximate locations of new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

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

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

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

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

Deaths

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 368 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 366 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 9.  We also have recorded 194 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.

Hospitalisations

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

Screening Update

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

Testing update

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

Vaccination Update

As of the 12th August 531,546 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 206,670 have received their second doses. This means that 90.6% of the target population have received at least one dose and 35.2% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

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

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 493 cases per day or 557 cases per million population per day. We have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, our daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori. As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori. This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.

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

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

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

Advice to the public

People with severe COVID-19 are still dying at home, or they are coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness. We are now seeing this happening in the Western Division as deaths are increasing in that division.

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

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

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

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

– Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH)

– FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena

Individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to:

– Nausori Health Centre

– Wainibokasi Hospital

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

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

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

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

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Friday, 13 August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 644 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 87 cases are from the Western Division and 557 cases are from the Central Division. A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard and on the Fijian Government Facebook page. You will also be able to view the approximate locations of new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

There have been 322 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 24,281 active cases. 18,210 active cases are in the Central Division and 6071 active cases in the Western Division. All cases that were recorded in the Northern and Eastern Divisions (cases that were imported from Viti Levu) have recovered and there are no active cases currently in those divisions.

There have been 39,386 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 39,456 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 14,623 recoveries.

Deaths

We have 15 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of August 9th-12th.  One death was reported from the Central Division and fourteen deaths were reported from the Western Division.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 67 year old man from Tailevu. He presented to the CWMH hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died one day after admission (11/08/2021). 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 second COVID-19 death to report is a 49 year old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died five days after admission (11/08/2021). She received the first dose of the vaccine in early-April. 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 60 year old man from Lautoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital on 09/08/2021. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He received his first dose of the vaccine in early July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is an 81 year old woman from Lautoka. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital on 10/08/2021. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. 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 fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 69 year old man from Lautoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital on 10/08/2021. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He was not vaccinated.

The sixth COVID-19 death to report 65 year old woman from Ba. She presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day (09/08/2021). She was not vaccinated.

The seventh COVID-19 death to report is an 85 year old woman from Nadi. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Nadi Hospital on the 11/08/2021. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She was not vaccinated.

The eighth COVID-19 death to report 60 year old man from Tavua. He presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day (12/08/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The ninth COVID-19 death to report is an 80 year old man from Rakiraki. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Rakiraki Hospital on 10/08/2021. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He was not vaccinated.

The tenth COVID-19 death to report is a 56 year old woman from Sigatoka. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Hospital on 09/08/2021. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She was not vaccinated.

The eleventh COVID-19 death to report is a 58 year old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Hospital on 10/08/2021. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He was not vaccinated.

The twelve COVID-19 death to report is a 69 year old woman from Nadi. She presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day (12/08/2021). She received the first dose of the vaccine in early June. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The thirteenth COVID-19 death to report 61 year old woman from Nadi. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died one day after admission on the (12/08/2021). She received one 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 fourteenth COVID-19 death to report 56 year old woman from Rakiraki. She presented to the Rakiraki Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She was transferred by a medical team from the Rakiraki hospital to the Lautoka Hospital. She died on the same day (12/08/2021). She received the first dose in late July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The fifteen COVID-19 death to report is a 51 year old woman from Ba. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Ba Mission Hospital on the 10/08/2021. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She received the first dose of the vaccine in early June. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

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

With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 360 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 358 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.  The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 4 deaths and the Western Division is 3 deaths. We also have recorded 192 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.

To date no one in Fiji has died due to COVID-19 after they have been fully-vaccinated. A fully vaccinated person has had 2 doses of the vaccine and at least two weeks (14 days) have passed after the second dose. If a person becomes infected with the virus within those 2 weeks after the final dose, they will likely not have the full protective effect of the vaccine.

Hospitalisations

There are currently 291 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital. 72 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 62 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 157 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 58 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 9 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 4,766 individuals were screened and 594 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 448,970 individuals screened and 78,503 swabbed to date. As of the 12^th August our mobile screening teams screened a total of 1,527 individuals and swabbed 157. This brings our cumulative total to 788,562 individuals screened and 69,603 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update

A total of 303,951 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 346,812 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1618 tests have been reported for August 11th and 1322 tests have been reported for August 12th. Testing data for some labs for both dates are still being received and so the testing number is expected to increase once updated. The 7-day daily test average is 1562 tests per day or 1.8 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 36.4%.

Vaccination Update

As of the 12th August 531,546 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 206,670 have received their second doses. This means that 90.6% of the target population have received at least one dose and 35.2% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

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

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 545 cases per day or 616 cases per million population per day. We have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, our daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori. As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori. This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.

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

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

The Northern and Eastern Divisions currently have no active cases.

Advice to the public

People with severe COVID-19 are still dying at home, or they are coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness. We are now seeing this happening in the Western Division as deaths are increasing in that division.

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

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

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

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

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

Individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to:

• Nausori Health Centre
• Wainibokasi Hospital

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

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

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Thursday, 12 August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 398 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 254 cases are from the Western Division and 144 cases are from the Central Division. A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard and on the Fijian Government Facebook page. You will also be able to view the approximate locations of new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

There have been 703 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 23,981 active cases. 17,999 active cases are in the Central Division and 5,982 active cases in the Western Division. All cases that were recorded in the Northern and Eastern Divisions (cases that were imported from Viti Levu) have recovered and there are no active cases currently in those divisions.

There have been 38,742 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 38,812 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 14,301 recoveries.

Deaths

We have 5 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of August 10th-12th.  Three deaths were reported from the Central Division and two deaths were reported from the Western Division.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 91 year old woman from Navua who died at home on the 10/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is an 86 year old woman from Rakiraki. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Rakiraki Hospital on 10/08/2021. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She was not vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is a 30 year old man from Ba. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Ba Mission Hospital on 10/08/2021. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He was not vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 71 year old man from Naitasiri who died at home on the 11/08/2021. His family reported that he had a cough and fever two days prior. He was not vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 76 year old man from Naitaisiri who died at home on the 12/08/2021. He 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. 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 345 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 343 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 9.  The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 6 deaths and the Western Division is 3 deaths. We also have recorded 185 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.

To date no one in Fiji has died due to COVID-19 after they have been fully-vaccinated.

Hospitalisations

There are currently 291 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital. 72 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 60 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 159 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 67 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 14 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 5,916 individuals were screened and 671 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 444,204 individuals screened and 77,909 swabbed to date. As of the 11^th August our mobile screening teams screened a total of 1,514 individuals and swabbed 124. This brings our cumulative total to 787,035 individuals screened and 69,446 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update

A total of 301,011 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 343,872 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1622 tests have been reported for August 10th. The 7-day daily test average is 1968 tests per day or 2.2 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 34.5%.

Vaccination Update

As of the 11th August 528,706 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 202,334 have received their second doses. This means that 90.1% of the target population have received at least one dose and 34.5% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

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

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 561 cases per day or 634 cases per million population per day. We have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, our daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori. As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori. This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death.

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

Testing levels in the Western Division remain consistently high with 3.8-4 tests per 1000 population per day at a 7 day average. We are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in that division.  We are also recording increasing numbers of people with severe disease, and deaths in the West. The Northern and Eastern Divisions currently have no active cases.

Advice to the public

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

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Wednesday, 11 August 2021

Transmission Update

We have 568 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today. 262 cases are from the Western Division and 306 cases are from the Central Division. A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard and on the Fijian Government Facebook page. You will also be able to view the approximate locations of new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.

There have been 664 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 24,299 active cases. 18,566 active cases are in the Central Division and 5,733 active cases in the Western Division. All cases that were recorded in the Northern and Eastern Divisions (cases that were imported from Viti Levu) have recovered and there are no active cases currently in those divisions.

There have been 38,344 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 38,414 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 13,598 recoveries.

Deaths

We have 13 new COVID-19 deaths to report tonight.  Six deaths were reported from the Central Division and seven deaths were reported from the Western Division.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 41-year-old man from Sigatoka. He presented to the Sigatoka Sub-divisional Hospital on 04/08/2021 in severe respiratory distress. His family reported that he had a cough, fever, and shortness of breath for six days. He was retrieved from the Sigatoka Sub-divisional Hospital and brought to the Lautoka Hospital on the same day, where he tested positive for COVID-19. He died four days after admission on 08/08/2021. He received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-April. He received the second dose on 29/07/20201. However, as he had symptoms of COVID-19 before or shortly after he received the 2nd dose- it is clear that he was infected with the virus before getting the 2nd dose of the vaccine. Therefore, this person was not fully vaccinated when he got infected. A person must have two doses of the vaccine and wait at least two weeks after the second dose to be considered fully vaccinated and to get the full protective effect of the vaccine.

The second COVID-19 death to report is an 86 year old woman from Tamavua. She presented to the CWM hospital in severe respiratory distress and tested positive for COVID-19 on 05/08/21. She died 3 days after admission on 08/08/2021. She received her 1^st dose in late May. She received the second dose on 26/07/2021. However, as she got sick with COVID-19 less than 2 weeks after receiving the second dose, she was not fully vaccinated when she got infected with the virus.  A person must have two doses of the vaccine and wait at least two weeks after the second dose to be considered fully vaccinated and to get the full protective effect of the vaccine.

The third COVID-19 death to report is a 25-year-old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital on 06/08/2021 in severe respiratory distress. Her family reported that she had a cough, sore throat, and shortness of breath one week prior to her presentation to the hospital. Sadly, she died two days after admission on 08/08/2021. She received the first dose of the vaccine in early June. She received the second dose on 30/07/2021. However, as she had symptoms of COVID-19 before or shortly after she received the 2nd dose, it is clear that she was infected with the virus before getting the 2nd dose of the vaccine. Therefore, this person was not fully vaccinated when she got infected with the virus. A person must have two doses of the vaccine and wait at least two weeks after the second dose to be considered fully vaccinated and to get the full protective effect of the vaccine.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 39-year-old man from Lami who presented to the FEMAT field hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day of admission (08/07/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is an 88-year-old woman from Lami who died at home on 10/08/2021. 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 sixth COVID-19 death to report is an 88-year-old man from Ba. He presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died one day after admission on 10/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The seventh COVID-19 death to report is an 86 year old woman from Ba. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Ba Mission Hospital on 07/08/2021. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She was not vaccinated.

The eighth COVID-19 death to report is a 60-year-old woman from Ba. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Ba Mission Hospital on 08/08/2021. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She was not vaccinated.

The ninth COVID-19 death to report is an 82-year-old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Sub-Divisional Hospital on 07/08/2021. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He was not vaccinated.

The tenth COVID-19 death to report is an 84-year-old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Sub-Divisional Hospital on 08/08/2021. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He was not vaccinated.

The eleventh COVID-19 death to report is a 56-year-old man from Nasinu who died at home on 10/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The twelfth COVID-19 death to report is a 57-year-old man from Nasinu who died at home on 10/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The thirteenth COVID-19 death to report is a 77-year-old man from Nausori. He presented to the CWM hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died 6 days after admission. He was not vaccinated.

There have been 6 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 340 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 338 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.  The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 5 deaths and the Western Division is 2 deaths. We also have recorded 177 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.

To date, no one in Fiji has died due to COVID-19 after they have been fully vaccinated.

Hospitalizations

There are currently 300 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 70 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 68 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 162 were admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 62 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 12 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 6,114 individuals were screened and 776 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 438,288 individuals screened and 77,238 swabbed to date. As of the 10^th August, our mobile screening teams screened a total of 1,812 individuals and swabbed 116. This brings our cumulative total to 785,521 individuals screened and 69,322 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update

A total of 299,389 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 342,250 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1588 tests have been reported for August 9th. The 7-day daily test average is 2215 tests per day or 2.5 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 34.5%.

Vaccination Update

As of the 10th of August, 523,285 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 196,873 have received their second doses. This means that 89.2% of the target population have received at least one dose and 33.6% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

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

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 642 cases per day or 726 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 the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalizations, and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori. Test positivity in Suva-Nausori was between 40-50% before the change in testing policy and has remained at this high level, which is above the national average. This is one indicator of the continuing high level of community transmission in this area.

Testing levels in the Western Division remain consistently high with 3.8-4 tests per 1000 population per day at a 7-day average. We are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in that division.  We are also recording increasing numbers of people with severe disease and deaths in the West. The Northern and Eastern Divisions currently have no active cases.

Advice to the public

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