Fiji reported seven new COVID-19 deaths, all in the western division, among them a 55-year-old woman from Nadi who was fully vaccinated, making her the fourth fully vaccinated person to have died in the country.
As with the three previous cases who died in August as well, Fijian health authorities said her death was compounded by existing medical conditions, issuing a reminder to the general populace of the importance of practising COVID-19 safety measures at all times, irrespective of someone’s vaccination status, to protect vulnerable family members.
“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 said in their COVID-19 update.
She had received her first dose of the vaccine in late May, and the second on 23 July. She died on 28 August, the same day she was presented to Nadi Hospital.
“Her family reported that she reported feeling unwell with generalized weakness, a cough, shortness of breath, and a reduced appetite two weeks before her presentation (14/08/2021).”
Out of the seven newly reported deaths, she was the only one who had received a dose of the vaccine, as the other six were unvaccinated.
- Details Of Other COVID-19 Deaths
- 27 August
- Male, 72, Rakiraki
- Unvaccinated
- Presented to Rakiraki Hospital in severe respiratory distres. Died on the same day.
- 29 August
- Female, 76, Ba
- Unvaccinated
- Died at home
- Female, 83, Rakiraki
- Unvaccinated
- Died two days after admission at Rakiraki Hospital
- Female, 74, Rakiraki
- Unvaccinated
- Died at home
- Female, 56, Tavua
- Unvaccinated
- Presented to Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She was transferred to Lautoka Hospital where she died seven days after admission.
- Female, 76, Ba
- 30 August
- Male, 53, Nadi
- Unvaccinated
- Presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. A medical team from Nadi transferred him to the Lautoka Hospital. He died 12 days after admission.
- Male, 53, Nadi
- 27 August
There have now been 496 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 494 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 day 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 26 August, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is six. The 7-day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the central division is two and in the western division is four.
Non-COVID19 Death
There has been one death of a COVID-19 positive patient. However, this death has been classified as a non-COVID death by their doctors.
This brings to 308, the number of COVID-19 positive patients whose death have been linked to serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
Hospitalisations
There are currently 239 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital,113 of them are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 19 at the FEMAT field hospital, and 107 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. Twenty-four (24) patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 15 are in critical condition.
