Statement from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services

Last Updated on 2 years by Publishing Team

We have two new cases of COVID-19 to confirm today. These are both cases of local transmission.

The first is the husband of case number 159 from the Vunimono cluster. He has been in isolation since 12th May 2021. The second case is a healthcare worker from the Colo-i-Suva isolation ward who registered a positive COVID-19 test result during a routine swabbing. He has since been entered into isolation. Both patients are asymptomatic, which means they are not displaying COVID-like symptoms. Contact tracing is ongoing for both cases.

There are currently 51 active cases of COVID-19 in the country. Four are border quarantine cases, 35 are local cases, and 12 are currently classified as cases of community transmission. Two patients have been entered into intensive care after their condition deteriorated. They are receiving the best possible care from their attending physicians.

Fiji has now had 174 cases in total since our first case was detected on March 19th 2020, with 119 recoveries, and four deaths.

The lockdown for Suva and Nausori is scheduled to expire at 0400 hours on Wednesday, the 19th of May. The Ministry is collecting data through screening, contact tracing, and testing to inform its recommendation on the next steps for the containment strategy for the Suva and Nausori Lockdown Zone, as well as the containment areas in Nadi, Lautoka, Lami and Rakiraki.

“The strict lockdown currently enforced in the Suva-Nausori corridor is the most stringent containment measure in our toolkit, and my teams are making the best possible use of this window of opportunity to firm our grip on this outbreak. With everyone in Suva and Nausori at home under a 24-hour curfew, our contact tracing, screening, and testing is progressing rapidly. The primary and secondary contacts we need to find are being found quickly before they can pose a wider risk of transmission,” said the Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services, Dr James Fong.

“Our game plan will continue to evolve alongside the facts we gather from our testing and tracing, taken together with the best available medical and scientific information. What it is clear at this stage is that our war against the virus will not be won in four days. For the foreseeable future, we still need people to remain at home as much as possible. For our containment to be effective from a socioeconomic and epidemiological standpoint, we are developing new COVID-safe measures to allow access to food, other essential items and services, as well as sustainable livelihoods. We will announce these protocols tomorrow afternoon as part of the next phase of COVID containment for Suva, Nausori, and the rest of Viti Levu.”