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Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Monday 04^th October 2021

Transmission Update

We have 22 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.

There have been 3,941 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 8,898 active cases. There have been 51,154 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 51,224 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 41,189 recoveries.

We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with deaths and recoveries and as a result, we expect the death and recovery numbers to intermittently change as verifications are made.

Deaths

We have one new COVID-19 death to report today. The COVID-19 death has been reported from the Central Division.

The COVID-19 death to report is a 58-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 01/10/2021. He was not vaccinated.

There have been 10 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.

There have now been 634 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 632 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 given to calculate the 7 days rolling average of deaths, based on the date of death, to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of September 29th, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.6. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0 and 0.6 in the Western Division.

We have also recorded 503 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 74 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 37 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 37 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 8 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 7 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 571 individuals were screened and 154 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 706,348 individuals screened and 103,216 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 81 individuals over the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 851,800 individuals screened and 77,390 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing Update

A total of 372,631 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 415,492 tested since testing began in March 2020. 312 tests have been reported for October 3rd, 2021. Lab testing data for two labs are still being received. Therefore, lab testing data is expected to increase. The 7-day daily test average is 1,000 tests per day or 1.1 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 9.7 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 tests per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 6%, which is on a downward trend, but it still is indicating a high level of community transmission.

Vaccination Update

As of 03/10/2021: 593,442 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 462,441 have received their second doses. Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over (adults), the vaccination coverage rates are 96% for adults who have received at least one dose, and 74.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. Please do note that since dose one is beyond 95%, a verification exercise for dose one is ongoing which may result in minor changes.

As for children, 17,996 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of 24/09/2021. We will be tracking our vaccine coverage rates once we have firmed up our 15 to 17-year-olds age group denominator.

For persons who are currently ill or have valid reasons for delaying their vaccination, we request you to apply for possible temporary exemptions through covidexemptionreq@gmail.com.

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 60 cases per day or 67 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers are currently not being used as the sole indicator to monitor the progress of the outbreak. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations, and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak.

With the decrease in testing numbers, our testing remains above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1,000 population per week (or approx. 3,500 tests per week). We will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.

No new cases were reported on Malolo Island in the last 24 hours. Of the total of 89 cases, 70 have recovered, and 19 remain active. Daily monitoring continues for the active cases and their contacts. Investigations continue for the two new cases reported over the weekend in Yanuya village as to their source of infection. Vaccination of the villagers and distribution of food rations continue for the affected families. Movement restrictions remain in place.

No new cases were recorded on Naviti Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 181 cases, 178 have recovered and 3 remain active. Daily monitoring of cases and their contacts by the health team continues. The villages on the island remain under strict movement restrictions.

No new cases were recorded on Waya Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 51 cases on the island, 5 new recoveries were totaling 31 recoveries now with 20 cases remaining active and under daily monitoring by the health team. Vaccination of adults continues and the island remains on movement restriction.

Thirteen new cases were recorded in the Nacula Medical Area in the last 24 hours. Of the 168 cases in the medical area, 50 have recovered, and 118 remain active. The active cases are isolated in their respective villages and are monitored daily by the health teams from the respective medical areas. Movement restrictions remain in force for the islands.

No new case was recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 252 cases on the island, 179 cases have now been recovered and 72 cases remain active. The active cases and the 93 primary contacts and 12 secondary contacts are under home isolation and daily monitoring from the health team. Vaccination continues in Naceva, Naseuseu, Rukua, Raviravi and Yanuca. Movement restriction remains in force for Yanuca Island with discontinuation of travel from Yanuca Island to Viti Levu on day 7 of 14 days.

Four new cases were recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 586 cases. Of these, 556 cases have recovered and the remaining 30 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team. Risk assessment revealed that 6 active cases are in the high-risk category and 24 in the low category. Four patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, of which 2 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition, and 2 are negative for COVID-19. Vaccination continues by the Vunisea health teams and the Kavala health teams. Movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.

Ovalau Island did not report any new cases in the last 24 hours. The 2 active cases have completed 14 days of isolation and have been cleared. Internal repatriation to Ovalau has been put on hold for now.

Public Updates and Advice:

COVID 19 will be endemic in Fiji 

Going forward, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services public health team will be monitoring for COVID-19 transmission and disease; and intervening when cases cross the beyond acceptable levels. It is expected that in the short to medium term, unknown chains of transmission will persist in parts of Fiji and may not be picked up by our routine community surveillance program. They will only be revealed when an outbreak is big enough to be visible. Therefore, having no cases reported does not necessarily mean that the virus has been eliminated, it implies that the spread of the virus has been successfully contained. Further to community surveillance, remodeling health service provision is also a key strategy in our response.

The public is further reminded that while we have instigated several mandatory and punitive measures to promote adherence to COVID safe measures, public engagement and compliance remains the main determining factor to preventing further transmission and preventing the need for severe restrictions and lockdown.

As such whilst we are doing well with steady reductions in disease cases, admissions, severe disease, and death, this is a time for cautious reassurance and optimism.

COVID-19 and vaccine immunology

The knowledge of COVID-19 and vaccine immunology will continue to evolve. Current literature indicates that natural immunity is more dangerous to acquire, the immunity acquired is more variable, and the 3 recognized vaccines in Fiji (AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna) provide long-term immunity. This consensus is based on statements released in June 2021 by the British Society for Immunology in partnership with the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium (UK-CIC). This stand is consistent with the USA CDC stand on the matter of natural immunity and is the stand promoted by the Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Sunday 03^rd October 2021

Transmission Update

We have 34 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.

There have been 80 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 12,828 active cases. There have been 51,132 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 51,202 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 37,248 recoveries.

We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with deaths and recoveries and as a result, we expect the death and recovery numbers to intermittently change as verifications are made.

Deaths

We have one COVID-19 death to report today. The one COVID-19 death was reported from the Central Division.

The COVID-19 death to report today is a 33-year-old man from Newtown who died at home on 01/10/2021. His family reported that he had a reduced appetite, generalized body weakness, and lethargy a few days prior. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early August. He received the second dose of the vaccine on 13/09/2021. Although he was fully vaccinated he had existing underlying medical conditions that would have toned down his ability to mount a good vaccine-induced immune response and thus reduced his ability to fully benefit from the protective effects of the vaccine. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services advises that we all need to continue practicing strict COVID-19 safety measures to protect our vulnerable family members, irrespective of vaccination status.

There have now been 633 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 631 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 given to calculate the 7 days rolling average of deaths, based on the date of death, to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of September 28th, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.7. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0.1 and 0.6 in the Western Division.

We have also recorded 493 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 71 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 32 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 39 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 3 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 5 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 4,719 individuals were screened and 162 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 705,777 individuals screened and 103,062 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams did not undertake any screening over the weekend, and the cumulative total remains 851,719 individuals screened and 77,390 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing Update

A total of 372,270 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 415,131 tested since testing began in March 2020. 632 tests have been reported for October 2nd, 2021. The 7-day daily test average is 1,053 tests per day or 1.2 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 9.7 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 tests per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 6%, which is on a downward trend, but it still is indicating a high level of community transmission.

Vaccination Update

To date, 593,442 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 462,441 have received their second doses. Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over (adults), the vaccination coverage rates are 96% for adults who have received at least one dose, and 74.8% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. Please do note that since dose one is beyond 95%, a verification exercise for dose one is ongoing which may result in minor changes.

As for children, 17,996 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of 24/09/2021. We will be tracking our vaccine coverage rates once we have firmed up our 15 to 17-year-olds age group denominator.

For persons who are currently ill or have valid reasons for delaying their vaccination, we request you to apply for possible temporary exemptions through covidexemptionreq@gmail.com.

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 64 cases per day or 72 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers are currently not being used as the sole indicator to monitor the progress of the outbreak. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations, and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak.

With the decrease in testing numbers, our testing remains above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1,000 population per week (or approx. 3,500 tests per week). We will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.

No new cases were reported on Malolo Island in the last 24 hours. Of the total of 89 cases, 57 have recovered, and 32 remain active. Daily monitoring continues for the active cases and their contacts. Vaccination of the villagers and distribution of food rations continue for the affected families. Movement restrictions remain in place.

No new cases were recorded on Naviti Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 181 cases, 163 have recovered and 18 remain active. Daily monitoring of cases and their contacts by the health team continues. The villages on the island remain under strict movement restrictions.

No new cases were recorded on Waya Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 51 cases on the island, 31 cases have recovered and 20 cases remain active and under daily monitoring by the health team. Vaccination of adults continues and the island remains on movement restriction.

The Nacula Medical Area did not report any new cases in the last 24 hours. Of the 155 cases in the medical area, 30 have recovered, and 125 remain active. The active cases are isolated in their respective villages and are monitored daily by the health teams from the respective medical areas. Movement restrictions remain in force for the islands.

No new cases were recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 252 cases on the island, 179 cases have now been recovered and 72 cases remain active. The active cases and the 93 primary contacts and 12 secondary contacts are under home isolation and daily monitoring from the health team. Movement restriction remains in force for Yanuca Island with the discontinuation of travel from Yanuca Island to Viti Levu for 14 days.

No new case was recorded on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 582 cases. Of these, 556 cases have recovered and the remaining 26 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team. Risk assessment revealed that 5 active cases are in the high-risk category and 21 in the low category. Four patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, of which 2 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition, and 2 are negative for COVID-19. Vaccination continues by the Vunisea health teams and the Kaval health teams. Movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.

Ovalau Island did not report any new cases in the last 24 hours. The 2 positive cases are on Day 14 in the Isolation facility and monitored by the health team in Levuka. Four other individuals in quarantine have been re-swabbed and results confirm they are historical cases. Internal repatriation to Ovalau has been put on hold for now.

Public Updates and Advice:

Vaccination for Eligible Children

Vaccination of eligible children aged 15 to 17 years with the Moderna vaccine resumes tomorrow Monday 04 October 2021 throughout the country at designated vaccination sites for children. Parents and guardians are encouraged to register their children on the Vaccination Registration System (VRS) before the vaccination. The vaccination sites for children can be obtained from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services Facebook page as well as the Government Facebook page. Parental or guardian consent is mandatory before vaccination, and no vaccine will be administered to any child without the consent of the parent or guardian.

Vaccination for children aged 12 to 17 years is safe. Similar to adults, children can also experience the side effects of COVID-19 vaccination such as pain, swelling at the jab site, fever, and body aches. These symptoms should subside over a few days. Severe side effects are rare and the risk of getting a severe infection and succumbing to COVID-19 is still higher than the risk of adverse events from vaccination. Therefore, parents and guardians are encouraged to agree for their children to be vaccinated to protect them from COVID-19.

While rates and severity of the infection are lower in children, we have experienced cases and severe disease in children. Furthermore, children do still spread the infection and occasionally develop severe disease. Apart from Vaccination, children are also protected when adults around them are vaccinated and these adults adhere to COVID safe measures.

COVID 19 will be endemic in Fiji

Going forward, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services public health team will be monitoring for COVID-19 transmission and disease; and intervening when cases cross the beyond acceptable levels. It is expected that in the short to medium term, unknown chains of transmission will persist in parts of Fiji and may not be picked up by our routine community surveillance program. They will only be revealed when an outbreak is big enough to be visible. Therefore, having no cases reported does not necessarily mean that the virus has been eliminated, it implies that the spread of the virus has been successfully contained. Further to community surveillance, remodeling health service provision is also a key strategy in our response.

The public is further reminded that while we have instigated a number of mandatory and punitive measures to promote adherence to COVID safe measures, public engagement and compliance remains the main determining factor to preventing further transmission and preventing the need for severe restrictions and lockdown.

As such whilst we are doing well with steady reductions in disease cases, admissions, severe disease, and death, this is a time for cautious reassurance and optimism.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Saturday 02^nd October 2021

Transmission Update

We have 38 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.

There have been 20 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 12,875 active cases. There have been 51,098 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 51,168 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 37,168 recoveries.

We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with deaths and recoveries and as a result, we expect the death and recovery numbers to intermittently change as verifications are made.

Deaths

We have one COVID-19 death to report today. The one COVID-19 death was reported from the Central Division.

The COVID-19 death to report is an 82-year-old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM Hospital in respiratory distress. Sadly, he died 3 days after admission on 01/10/2021. He was not vaccinated.

There has been one death of a COVID-19 positive patient. However, this death has been classified as non-COVID death by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.

There have now been 632 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 630 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 given to calculate the 7 days rolling average of deaths, based on the date of death, to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of September 27th, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.5. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0.1 and 0.4 in the Western Division.

We have also recorded 493 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 77 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 38 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 39 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 2 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 4 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 10,619 individuals were screened and 446 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 701,058 individuals screened and 102,900 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 339 individuals and swabbed 150. This brings our cumulative total to 851,719 individuals screened and 77,390 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing Update

A total of 371,638 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 414,499 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1,162 tests have been reported for October 1st. The 7-day daily test average is 1,081 tests per day or 1.2 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 9.7 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 tests per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 6.2%, which is on a downward trend, but it still is indicating a high level of community transmission.

Vaccination Update

To date, 593,042 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 460,081 have received their second doses. Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over (adults), the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.9% for adults who have received at least one dose, and 74.4% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. Please do note that since dose one is beyond 95%, a verification exercise for dose one is ongoing which may result in minor changes.

As for children, 17,996 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of 24/09/2021. We will be tracking our vaccine coverage rates once we have firmed up our 15 to 17-year-old denominator. The 15 to 17-year-old vaccination program will restart on Monday the 4th of October. A list of vaccination sites will be posted on the Ministry of Health’s official website, Facebook page, and the Fijian Government Facebook page tomorrow.

For persons who are currently ill or have valid reasons for delaying their vaccination, we request you to apply for possible temporary exemptions through covidexemptionreq@gmail.com.

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 67 cases per day or 75 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers are currently not being used as the sole indicator to monitor the progress of the outbreak. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations, and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak.

With the decrease in testing numbers, our testing remains above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1,000 population per week (or approx. 3,500 tests per week). We will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.

No new cases were reported on Malolo Island in the last 24 hours. Of the total of 89 cases, 57 have recovered, and 32 remain active. Daily monitoring continues for the active cases and their contacts. Vaccination of the villagers and distribution of food rations continue for the affected families. Movement restrictions remain in place.

No new cases were recorded on Naviti Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 181 cases, 163 have recovered and 18 remain active. Daily monitoring of cases and their contacts by the health team continues. The villages on the island remain under strict movement restrictions.

No new cases were recorded on Waya Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 51 cases on the island, 31 cases have recovered and 20 cases remain active and under daily monitoring by the health team. Vaccination of adults continues and the island remains on movement restriction.

The Nacula Medical Area did not report any new cases in the last 24 hours. Of the 155 cases in the medical area, 30 have recovered, and 125 remain active. The active cases are isolated in their respective villages and are monitored daily by the health teams from the respective medical areas. Movement restrictions remain in force for the islands.

No new cases were recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 252 cases on the island, 179 cases have now been recovered and 72 cases remain active. The active cases and the 93 primary contacts and 12 secondary contacts are under home isolation and daily monitoring from the health team. Vaccination for the villagers continue in Naceva, Naseuseu, Rukua, Raviravi and Yanuca. Movement restriction remains in force for Yanuca Island with the discontinuation of travel from Yanuca Island to Viti Levu for 14 days.

Public Updates and Advice:

Airborne transmission and Ventilation

The major role of airborne transmission of SARS CoV 2 epidemics and the need for optimal ventilation to minimize this transmission risk has been increasingly recognized by public health experts. This is the basis for our advice that vaccinated persons gathered indoors must be properly masked, with optimal ventilation for the room, and with 2 meter spacing between individuals remains the key protective measures.

Maintaining 2 meters of physical distancing is the critical public health measure in an outdoor gathering for any purpose, hence the Ministry’s instructions on adherence to the 30-persons limit with adherence to other COVID-safe measures. Mixing of vaccinated and unvaccinated persons remains a risk in any setting but more so in indoor gatherings, and should be adequately mitigated. It is the responsibility of those organizing any indoor or outdoor gatherings to ensure that the gathering is COVID-safe. Making the gatherings COVID-safe needs to be the priority whatever the purpose of the gathering.

Children ineligible for vaccination, in any gathering, are best protected by ensuring that the age-eligible adults are vaccinated and the space they are in is well ventilated.

SARS CoV will be endemic to Fiji.  This indicates that:

1. Despite our high vaccination rates, the need to adhere to COVID-safe measures is key to avoiding future restrictions and lockdowns and thus protecting our ongoing social and economic recovery.
2. The biggest threat to Fiji’s recovery plan will be to control the ongoing epidemic through our ongoing COVID-safe discipline. Of particular importance is the need for good ventilation in all social and workplace indoor gatherings, ensuring that all age-eligible individuals in these gatherings are vaccinated, and wearing a mask and facial coverings properly

For indoor settings, maximizing natural ventilation by opening windows, doors, and vents when conditions allow (not posing a safety risk), or mechanical ventilation using fans and ducts, or a combination of both is important. Any poorly ventilated spaces must be identified and steps are taken to improve fresh air flow in these areas. The use of portable air cleaners with High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters in spaces with high occupancy or limited ventilation is strongly recommended. In buildings with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, it is important to ensure that:

1.     These systems are operating in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and design specifications,
2.     All regularly scheduled inspections and maintenance procedures are conducted,
3.     The amount of outside air supplied is maximized,
4.     Where feasible, installation of air filters with a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) 13 or higher is carried out.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Friday 01^st October 2021 

Transmission Update

We have 107 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.

There have been 68 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 12,859 active cases. There have been 51,060 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 51,130 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 37,148 recoveries.

We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with deaths and recoveries and as a result, we expect the death and recovery numbers to intermittently change as verifications are made.

Deaths

We have seven COVID-19 deaths to report for the period from 08th July 2021 – 30th September 2021. Five deaths were reported from the Central Division and two deaths were reported from the Western Division. Kindly note four deaths are being reported from July due to a delay in the issuance of the official death certificate.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 71-year-old woman from Navua. She presented to the Navua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. A medical team retrieved her from the Navua Hospital and transferred her to the CWM Hospital. Sadly, she died one day after admission on 12/09/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 54-year-old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Kamikamica Health Center with a two-day history of generalized body weakness and gastrointestinal symptoms that began on 19/09/2021. She was retrieved by a medical team and transferred to the Lautoka Hospital on the same day of her presentation (21/09/2021). Sadly, she died 9 days after admission on 30/09/2021. She received the first dose of the vaccine in early May. She received the second dose of the vaccine on 08/07/2021. Although she was fully vaccinated she had underlying medical conditions and background of poor general health. These pre-existing conditions would have toned down her ability to mount a good vaccine-induced immune response and thus impair her ability to fully benefit from the protective effects of the vaccine. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services advises that we all need to continue practicing strict COVID-19 safety measures to protect our vulnerable family members, irrespective of vaccination status.

The third COVID-19 death to report is a 76-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 09/07/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 95-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 09/07/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is an 84-year-old man from Suva who died at home on 08/07/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The sixth COVID-19 death to report is a 75-year-old woman from Waila who died at home on 15/07/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The seventh COVID-19 death to report is a 59-year-old man from Rakiraki. He presented to the Rakiraki Hospital with severe respiratory distress. Sadly, he died on the same day (28/09/2021). He was not vaccinated.

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

There have now been 631 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 629 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 given to calculate the 7 days rolling average of deaths, based on the date of death, to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of September 26th, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.4. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0.1 and 0.3 in the Western Division.

We have also recorded 492 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 81 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 39 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 42 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 5 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 3 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 2,794 individuals were screened and 401 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 690,439 individuals screened and 102,454 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 3,162 individuals and swabbed 49. This brings our cumulative total to 851,380 individuals screened and 77,240 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing Update

A total of 370,476 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 413,337 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1,295 tests have been reported for September 30th. The 7-day daily test average is 1,088 tests per day or 1.2 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 9.7 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 tests per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 7.6%, which is on a downward trend, but it still is indicating a high level of community transmission.

Vaccination Update

To date, 592,628 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 454,474  have received their second doses. Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over (adults), the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.9% for adults who have received at least one dose, and 73.5% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. Please do note that since dose one is beyond 95%, a verification exercise for dose one is ongoing which may result in minor changes.

As for children, 17,996 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of 24/09/2021. We will be tracking our vaccine coverage rates once we have firmed up our 15 to 17-year-old denominator. The 15 to 17-year-old vaccination program will restart on Monday the 3rd of October. A list of vaccination sites will be posted on the Ministry of Health’s official website, Facebook page, and the Fijian Government Facebook page tomorrow.

For persons who are currently ill or have valid reasons for delaying their vaccination, we request you to apply for possible temporary exemptions through covidexemptionreq@gmail.com.

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 84 cases per day or 95 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers are currently not being used as the sole indicator to monitor the progress of the outbreak. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations, and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak.

With the decrease in testing numbers, our testing remains above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1,000 population per week (or approx. 3,500 tests per week). We will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.

Five new cases were recorded in the villages of Muani and Namalata on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 582 cases. Of these, 556 cases have recovered and the remaining 26 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team. Risk assessment revealed that 5 active cases are in the high-risk category and 21 in the low category. Seven patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, of which 2 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition, and 5 are negative for COVID-19. Vaccination continues by the Vunisea health teams and the Kaval health teams. Movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.

Two new cases were reported on Malolo Island in the last 24 hours. Of the total of 89 cases, 57 have recovered, and 32 remain active. Daily monitoring continues for the active cases and their contacts. Vaccination of the villagers and distribution of food rations continue for the affected families. Movement restrictions remain in place.

No new cases were recorded on Naviti Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 181 cases, 163 have recovered and 18 remain active. Daily monitoring of cases and their contacts by the health team continues. The villages on the island remain under strict movement restrictions.

No new cases were recorded on Waya Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 51 cases on the island, 31 cases have recovered and 20 cases remain active and under daily monitoring by the health team. Vaccination of adults continues and the island remains on movement restriction.

The Nacula Medical Area did not report any new cases in the last 24 hours. Of the 155 cases in the medical area, 30 have recovered, and 125 remain active. The active cases are isolated in their respective villages and are monitored daily by the health teams from the respective medical areas. Movement restrictions remain in force for the islands.

No new cases were recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 252 cases on the island, 176 cases have now been recovered and 75 cases remain active. The active cases and the 100 primary contacts and the 12 secondary contacts are under home isolation and daily monitoring from the health team. Vaccination for the villagers commenced today while the 14 days lockdown for affected villages with no new cases has been lifted. Movement restriction remains in force for Yanuca Island.

Ovalau Island did not report any new cases in the last 24 hours. The 2 positive cases are on Day 12 in the Isolation facility and monitored by the health team in Levuka. Four other individuals in quarantine have been re-swabbed and awaiting test results. Internal repatriation to Ovalau has been put on hold for now.

Public Updates and Advice:

We have mentioned before that we expect that Sars CoV is expected to be endemic to Fiji. Our current positivity rate indicates an ongoing community transmission despite its downward trend. This indicates that:

1. Despite our high vaccination rates, the need to adhere to COVID-safe measures is key to avoiding the need for severe restrictions and lockdowns and thus protecting our ongoing social and economic recovery.
2. Whilst much has been said about quarantine and international travel, the biggest threat to Fiji’s recovery plan will be to control our ongoing epidemic through our ongoing COVID-safe discipline. Of particular importance is the need for good ventilation in all social and workplace indoor gatherings, ensuring that all age-eligible individuals in these gatherings are vaccinated, and proper mask-wearing.
3. Children ineligible for vaccination, the elderly and all those with severe comorbidities will still need protection through the COVID -safe habits of care providers and others around them.

Media Release

COVID-19 Daily Update

Thursday 30^th September 2021

Transmission Update

We have 70 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8 am today.

There have been 103 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 12,841 active cases. There have been 50,953 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 51,023 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 37,080 recoveries.

We are currently reviewing and reconciling our active case database with deaths and recoveries and as a result, we expect the death and recovery numbers to intermittently change as verifications are made.

Deaths

We have no new COVID-19 deaths to report today.

However, there have been 7 deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. These deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. The doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.

There have now been 624 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 622 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 given to calculate the 7 days rolling average of deaths, based on the date of death, to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported. Therefore, as of September 25th, the national 7 days rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.5. The 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 0.1 and 0.4 in the Western Division.

We have also recorded 478 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 83 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital. 43 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital and 40 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 4 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 3 are in critical condition.

Screening Update

A total of 6,399 individuals were screened and 673 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 687,645 individuals screened and 102,053 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 35 individuals and swabbed 24. This brings our cumulative total to 848,218 individuals screened and 77,191 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing Update

A total of 369,157 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 412,018 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1062 tests have been reported for September 29th. The 7-day daily test average is 1,114 tests per day or 1.3 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 9.7 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 tests per 1000 population per week. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 7.4%, which is on a downward trend, but it still is indicating a high level of community transmission.

Vaccination Update

To date, 592,242 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 448,243  have received their second doses. Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over (adults), the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.8% for adults who have received at least one dose, and 72.5% are now fully vaccinated nationwide. Please do note that since dose one is beyond 95%, a verification exercise for dose one is ongoing which may result in minor changes. Furthermore, we have adjusted our second dose to correct some double counts thus the small increase of 115 which results in the same percentage coverage for dose 2 as reported yesterday

As for children, 17,996 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of 24/09/2021. We will be tracking our vaccine coverage rates once we have firmed up our 15 to 17-year-old denominator.

For persons who are currently ill or have valid reasons for delaying their vaccination, we request you to apply for possible temporary exemptions through covidexemptionreq@gmail.com.

Epidemic Outlook

The 7-day average of new cases per day is 82 cases per day or 93 cases per million population per day. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, the daily case numbers are currently not being used as the sole indicator to monitor the progress of the outbreak. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations, and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak.

With the decrease in testing numbers, our testing remains above the WHO recommended rate of 4 tests per 1,000 population per week (or approx. 3,500 tests per week). We will be transitioning to community surveillance testing as severe disease numbers and positivity rates approach the containment phase levels.

Nineteen new cases were recorded in the villages of Muani, Nakunakoro and Namalata on Kadavu Island in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 577 cases. Of these, 554 cases have recovered and the remaining 21 active cases are under daily monitoring by the health team. Risk assessment revealed that 3 active cases are in the high-risk category and 18 in the low category. Eleven patients are currently admitted at Vunisea hospital, of which 3 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition, and 8 are negative for COVID-19. Vaccination continues by the Vunisea health teams and the Kaval health teams. Movement restrictions remain in force supervised by the Police team and the Vanua.

No new cases were reported on Malolo Island in the last 24 hours. Of the total of 87 cases, 57 have recovered, and 30 remain active. Daily monitoring continues for the active cases and their contacts. Vaccination of the villagers and distribution of food rations continue for the affected families. Movement restrictions remain in place.

No new cases were recorded on Naviti Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 181 cases, 163 have recovered and 18 remain active. Daily monitoring of cases and their contacts by the health team continues. The villages on the island remain under strict movement restrictions.

No new cases were recorded on Waya Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 51 cases on the island, 31 cases have recovered and 20 cases remain active and under daily monitoring by the health team. Vaccination of adults continues and the island remains on movement restriction.

The Nacula Medical Area did not report any new cases in the last 24 hours. Of the 155 cases in the medical area, 30 have recovered, and 125 remain active. The active cases are isolated in their respective villages and are monitored daily by the health teams from the respective medical areas. Movement restrictions remain in force for the islands.

No new cases were recorded on Beqa Island in the last 24 hours. Of the 252 cases on the island, 176 cases have now been recovered and 75 cases remain active. The active cases and the 100 primary contacts and the 12 secondary contacts are under home isolation and daily monitoring from the health team. Vaccination for the villagers commenced today while the 14 days lockdown for affected villages with no new cases has been lifted. Movement restriction remains in force for Yanuca Island.

Ovalau Island did not report any new cases in the last 24 hours. The 2 positive cases are on Day 11 in the Isolation facility and monitored by the health team in Levuka. Four other individuals in quarantine have been re-swabbed and awaiting test results. Internal repatriation to Ovalau has been put on hold for now.

Public Updates and Advice:

As already announced, as the second dose coverage increases, local and international travel restrictions, and other social and workplace engagement restrictions are being eased. However, the public must remain cautious about how they engage in the greater freedoms that they will enjoy. Whilst the easing of restrictions is needed to facilitate social and economic livelihood, the public must ensure that together with vaccination, we should continue to closely observe our COVID safe measures and avoid contained spaces and crowds to avoid the risk of increased spread of the virus. The key to avoiding future restrictions and lockdowns is for the public to remain cautious about how they engage in the greater freedom they will enjoy.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services in preparation for easing of restrictions has remodeled health service provision to ensure:

1. Strengthened quarantine capacity. The BHPU Facility has been established in the CAAF compound in Namaka, Nadi, and this facility will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing quarantine operations. Their function will be supplemented by a container laboratory that is situated close to the border health protection facility.  We are reviewing our quarantine protocols and conditions based on the science around the delta variant;
2. Greater capacity for community surveillance through test trace and track protocols;
3. Registration and line listing of vulnerable persons especially in poorly vaccinated areas;
4. Monitoring of positive cases and vulnerable persons to ensure better access to appropriate care plans;
5. Reviewing and strengthening clinical care protocols for severe disease;

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services Communication team together with our multi-agency community engagement team are working with community leaders to identify and strengthen mechanisms that will facilitate the monitoring of vulnerable persons and persons with covid like symptoms and help encourage them toward timely engagement of health care services so that medical teams have a greater opportunity to provide timely treatment.

The potential for transmission in any community will be slower, and the ability to contain the outbreak better, when we achieve a high vaccination rate and also maintain strict adherence to COVID safe measures.

We encourage the public to persist in the practice of COVID-19 safety measures of wearing a mask when leaving your home, washing your hands regularly with soap and water or using a hand sanitizer, practicing the correct coughing and sneezing etiquette, maintaining safe physical distancing of 2 meters, ensuring that the careFIJI app is downloaded on your phone and enabled, and last but not least, getting all eligible individuals fully vaccinated.