Media Release
COVID-19 Update
Tuesday, 29th June 2021
Transmission Update
We have confirmed 312 cases of COVID-19 and 4 COVID-19 deaths in the 24 hour reporting period that ended at 8am today.
17 cases are from the Western Division: 4 are from the existing containment zones of Tramline and Qima Settlement in Nadi. 1 is a prison officer from Suva in the Tavua prison compound, he was undergoing quarantine as part of movement from red zone to green zone – similar to the prison officers reported positive in Rakiraki yesterday. The 2nd case in Tavua lives at the PWD Quarters and his source of transmission is under investigation. There are also 4 new cases from Lovu Lautoka with unknown sources of transmission. 7 contacts of these Lovu cases in Lautoka have also tested positive.
The remaining 295 cases are from the Lami-Nausori containment area. There are 165 from existing areas of interest and 10 from new areas of interest: Cost U Less supermarket, Golden Manufacturers, and the Kidney Foundation of Fiji.
The remaining cases are contacts of known cases, cases that were seen in screening clinics and were swabbed, and cases under investigation to determine possible sources of transmission. A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the COVID-19 dashboard and on the Fijian Government Facebook page. You can also view the approximate locations of the new cases at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.
We have confirmed four new COVID-19 deaths. The first was a case that was previously announced as under investigation to determine if COVID-19 was the cause of death. This is a 82-year-old woman from Qauia in Lami. She had pre-existing medical conditions, was bedridden, and died at home. According to protocol she was swabbed and tested positive for COVID-19. She was declared dead by the attending medical officer and after investigation it has been determined that the cause of death was COVID-19. Other members of her household have also tested positive. She was not vaccinated.
The second death was a 68 year old man from Toorak, who was admitted to CWM Hospital after presenting to the FEMAT field hospital on 24 June in severe respiratory distress and testing positive. He died yesterday in the intensive care unit. His doctors have determined that his death was caused by COVID-19. He was not vaccinated.
The third death was a 39-year-old woman from Knolly St. who tested positive and was admitted to CWM Hospital after having severe symptoms of COVID-19 at home, including shortness of breath. She died yesterday in the intensive care unit, and her doctors have determined that her death was caused by COVID-19. She had received her first dose of the vaccine this month. She was not fully vaccinated.
The fourth is a 70-year-old man from Veisari Lami who presented in respiratory distress and died last night at the Raiwaqa Health Centre. According to protocol he was swabbed and tested positive. His doctors have determined that his death was caused by COVID-19. He was not vaccinated.
A 54-year-old male who tested positive for COVID-19 at CWMH has also died. He was admitted at the hospital for a severe pre-existing non-COVID-19 illness and it has been determined by his doctors that he died due to that illness and not due to COVID-19. He was not vaccinated.
There have now been 21 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 19 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. We also have recorded 9 COVID-19 positive patients that died from the pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses that they had been receiving treatment for at the CWM Hospital.
There have been 29 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 3306 active cases in isolation. There have been 4074 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 4144 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 808 recoveries.
Screening Update
A total of 5,186 individuals were screened and 957 swabbed at our stationery screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 216,660 individuals screened and 28,555 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 1,658 individuals and 353 individuals swabbed in the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 661,584 individuals screened and 53,587 swabbed by our mobile teams to date.
Testing update
A total of 154,009 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 196,870 tested since testing began in early 2020. 3073 tests have been reported for 27 June. Updated testing numbers from the Nadi Hospital Laboratory have been received for 26-27th June, therefore the total testing numbers for those days have been updated. The national 7-day daily test average is 3026 tests per day or 3.4 tests per 1000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 8.3% and continues on an upward trend.
Vaccination Update
A total of 8,194 first doses and 1,794 second doses of the vaccine were administered nationally in the last 24 hours. To-date, 287,148 adults in FIji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 45,139 have received their second doses. This equates to 49% of the target population having had at least one dose and 7.69% being fully-vaccinated nationwide.
We have launched a vaccine dashboard that provides real-time data on first dose and second dose numbers at the national, divisional and sub-divisional levels. Additionally, the dashboard offers eight different map overlays that show the number of first and second doses given, as well as the percentage of the target population that have received each dose. You can access the live dashboard here: http://bit.ly/3h2JfCZ
Epidemic Outlook
The 7 day average of new cases per day has increased to 269 cases per day or 304 cases per million population per day. There has also been a notable increase in positive patients with severe disease, as well as an increase in deaths. The steady increase in average daily case numbers in combination with other indicators suggest higher daily numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the coming weeks, particularly in the Central and Western divisions.
Until more Fijians are protected through vaccination, there are important steps that must be taken to strengthen our capacity to identify and treat those most vulnerable to the severe disease and death due to COVID-19, including efforts to raise public awareness of COVID-like symptoms. The symptoms of COVID-19 may start mild, with runny nose, nasal congestion, cough, sore throat, fever, headache, bodyache, or diarrhoea. However, for some people this could quickly worsen into severe COVID. Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency and we should all know symptoms. The symptoms include:
- Difficulty breathing
- Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
- Severe headache for a few days
- New confusion, inability to wake or stay awake; and
- Pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
If you or a loved one have any of these symptoms please go to your nearest health centre immediately.
The Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services will be making an announcement tomorrow to outline the next phase of the mitigation strategy.