Press Release

Media Release

COVID-19 Update

Thursday May 20th 2021

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services is announcing 1 new case of COVID-19. The new case is a household contact of the latest Vunimono/Nadali cases announced yesterday. Contact tracing investigations are ongoing for this individual.

1 patient has recovered, which means there are now 57 active cases in isolation facilities. 2 are border quarantine cases, 45 were locally transmitted, and 10 are under investigation to determine the source of transmission. Cases under investigation are considered as community transmission until proven otherwise.

Fiji has had 190 cases in total, with 129 recoveries and 4 deaths, since our first case was reported on March 19^th 2020.

A total of 80,946 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted since we started testing in early 2020. Due to the recent temporary shutdown of Fiji CDC, testing numbers have dropped, with the daily average of testing over the last 7 days at 1317 tests per day, compared to over 1700 per day before the shutdown. With the resumption of testing at Fiji CDC, and delivery of new GeneXpert machines to the divisional labs, a total of 2622 samples were tested yesterday. The 7 day average daily test positivity is at 0.8%, with test positivity at 0.04% in the last day. An average of 1.5 tests per 1000 population were conducted daily over the last 7 days, with 3 tests per 1000 population in the last day.

-ENDS-

COVID-19 Update

Thursday, May 20th, 2021

The Ministry of Health will begin to publish an update early each afternoon giving basic data available as of 6 am that morning. The more detailed evening statement will also continue as and when required. After today, we will be reliably on a 24-hour cycle, reporting updates for a 24-hour period, from 6:00 am to 6:00 am.

Case and Transmission Update

We have no new cases to report as of 6 am today. There are currently 57 active cases in isolation. We have recorded 189 cases and four deaths in Fiji since recording our first case on March 19th 2020.

Screening and Testing Update

The latest testing data will be reported once a day during the evening update. As announced earlier, we have a backlog of approximately 11,000 swab samples due to the temporary shutdown of Fiji CDC. 7,000 backlogged swabs were flown out to Australia today, with another 4,000 expected to depart on Saturday.

Please note that we will be lifting restrictions on specific lockdown areas as results become available. Decisions about containment areas will also await results from the backlog of tests.

COVID Reminder

COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Some people become very ill and die. Others become very ill and recover. Some people have suffered serious health effects for many months after being infected. And some people are asymptomatic, meaning they show no symptoms at all. Asymptomatic infected persons are of particular concern because they carry the virus and can pass it on to others, but they don’t show any signs that would serve as a warning to others or even to themselves. It is essential to locate, test and isolate anyone who may be infected with the virus and not show symptoms. This one of the many reasons we have been tracing, testing, and quarantining contacts of cases so thoroughly since the very first case in Fiji.

Media Release

COVID-19 Update

Wednesday May 19th 2021

As announced by the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services today, we have 11 new cases to report. The first six are related to the Vunimono/Nadali cluster and were in quarantine. The next 5 are household contacts of a previous case. They have been in a quarantine facility in Nausori, and tested negative for their entry swabs while being admitted to the facility, but now have tested positive for their 2nd swabs in quarantine.

Three patients have recovered, which means there are now 57 active cases in isolation facilities. 2 are border quarantine cases, 44 local transmission, and 11 are under investigation to determine the source of transmission. Cases under investigation are considered as community transmission until proven otherwise.

Fiji has had 189 cases in total, with 128 recoveries and 4 deaths, since our first case was reported on March 19^th 2020.

A total of 78,324 COVID-19 laboratory tests had been conducted since we started testing in early 2020. Due to the recent temporary shutdown of Fiji CDC, testing numbers have dropped, with the daily average of testing over the last 7 days at 1058 tests per day, compared to over 1700 per day before the shutdown. With the resumption of testing at Fiji CDC, and delivery of new GeneXpert machines to the divisional labs, a total of 2974 samples were tested yesterday, a new daily record. Also as a result of the shutdown the 7 day average daily test positivity has risen to 0.8%, with test positivity at 0.4% in the last day. An average of 1.2 tests per 1000 population was conducted daily over the last 7 days, with 3.4 tests per 1000 population in the last day.

-ENDS-

19 May 2021

We appreciate the cooperation of the people of Fiji in staying at home, avoiding unnecessary contacts outside the immediate family, quickly reporting symptoms and potential contacts with infected persons, and using the careFIJI app. All of these actions will help us contain this virus. We also appreciate the cooperation of the business houses and employers in working with Government to implement strict Covid safe protocols and measures. The details of how businesses can access approvals to operate under the strict Covid safe protocols and measures are available on the Fijian Government Facebook. You can also email covidbizpass@mcttt.gov.fj for further information.

Transmission Update

After another 2974 tests, we have recorded 11 new positive cases. The first six are related to the Vunimono/Nadali cluster and were in home isolation. The next 5 are household contacts of a previous case. They have been in a quarantine facility in Nausori, and tested negative for their entry swabs while being admitted to the facility, but now have tested positive for their 2nd swabs in quarantine.

Three previously infected patients have recovered, which means there are currently 57 active cases in home isolation or quarantine facilities.

Vaccine Update

We now have more vaccines through COVAX and will receive further deliveries from Australia later this week. By the end of the week, we will have approximately 86,000 doses and will be able to begin our next round of inoculation by next week. Our priority will be to provide first-dose inoculation to the rest of the frontline workers including those who have a high level of public contact in their employment such as taxi and bus drivers and those working in supermarkets; Fijians living in densely populated areas; and to individuals who are particularly vulnerable because of age, compromised immunity and certain chronic illnesses. Furthermore, we will complete the vaccination process for those who have already received their first dose.

The vaccination plan includes taking vaccines to Fijians through mobile units. This will ensure that all Fijians will be able to access the vaccine without having to travel far or wait too long in queues. For further convenience to members of the public, we will also have drive-through vaccination sites. The locations of the mobile vaccination teams will be announced early next week.

Media Release

COVID-19 Update

Tuesday May 18th 2021

As announced by the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services today, we have 4 new cases to report. These cases are all close contacts of existing cases from the Nadali cluster.

Six patients have recovered, which means there are now 49 active cases in isolation facilities. 3 are border quarantine cases, 34 local transmission, and 12 are under investigation to determine the source of transmission. Cases under investigation are considered as community transmission until proven otherwise.

Total active cases in isolation = 49 (3 border quarantine cases, 34 locally transmitted cases, 12 under investigation)

Fiji has had 178 cases in total, with 125 recoveries and 4 deaths, since our first case was reported on March 19th 2020.

A total of 75,260 COVID-19 laboratory tests had been conducted since we started testing in early 2020. Due to the recent temporary shutdown of Fiji CDC, testing numbers have dropped, with the daily average of testing over the last 7 days at 920 tests per day, compared to approximately 1700 per day before the shutdown. With the resumption of testing at Fiji CDC, a total of 2522 samples were tested yesterday, a new daily record. Also as a result of the shutdown the 7 day average daily test positivity has also risen to 0.8%. An average of 0.9 tests per 1000 population was conducted daily over the last 7 days, with 2.9 tests per 1000 population yesterday.

-ENDS-