Coronavirus cases on Kadavu have increased to 131 after 85 more people from the island tested positive, less than a week of reporting its first and fatal case.
The Ministry of Health did not say where the new cases have been recorded, but it is believed to be linked to a 63-year-old woman of Rakiraki village who died of coronavirus on Monday, 16 August, but before infecting 46 others.
Averaging between 19 and 22 new cases per day since its index case, the surge in infections on Kadavu is worrying, considering that it has one of the lowest vaccination coverage.
Transmission Update
The 85 cases on Kadavu are among 303 new infections reported today, with 185 recorded in the western division and 33 in the central division.
There have been 1,468 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 19,097 active cases. 10,252 active cases are in the central division, 8,713 active cases in the western division, 1 active case in the northern division (Nabouwalu) and 131 active cases in the eastern division (all in Kadavu).
There have been 43,527 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021, and a total of 43,597 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 23,809 recoveries.
Deaths
Of the five deaths, one was reported in the central division and four, in the western division. Two of the five people died today.
- COVID-19 Deaths
- 19 August
- Male, 84, Nakasi
- Unvaccinated
- Died at home
- 19 August
- 21 August
- Female, 61, Tavua
- Partially vaccinated, having received her first dose in mid-July.
- She presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She reported having shortness of breath two days prior to her presentation. She died five days after admission.
- Female, 56, Lautoka
- Unvaccinated
- She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She reportedly had a cough and shortness of breath for two days prior to her presentation. She died 7 days after admission.
- Female, 61, Tavua
- 22 August
- Male, 56, Ba
- Unvaccinated
- He presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He was reported to have a fever, cough and shortness of breath two days prior to his presentation. He died one day after admission.
- Male, 50, Nadi
- Partially vaccinated, having received the first dose in late May.
- He presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. Three days ago, he was transferred to the Lautoka Hospital where he died.
- Male, 56, Ba
- With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 438 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 436 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. As of 18 August, the national 7-day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is eight. The 7-day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is two and in the Western Division is six.
Non-COVID Deaths
There have been four more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients due to other medical conditions and not COVID-19, bringing to 253 the number of COVID positive patients who have died in similar circumstances.
Hospitalisations
There are currently 296 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital, of which 114 are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 38 are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 144 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. Twenty (20) patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 20 are in critical condition.
Screening Update
A total of 1,083 individuals were screened and 253 swabbed at the stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total to 482,540 individuals screened and 84,918 swabbed to date. As of 21 August, Fiji’s mobile screening teams screened a total of 2082 individuals and swabbed 73. This brings the cumulative total to 800,267 individuals screened and 70,834 swabbed by our mobile teams.
Testing update
A total of 318,146 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 361,007 tested since testing began in March 2020. On 21 August, 1,613 tests were reportedly carried out. The 7-day daily test average is 1489 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 32.8%.
Vaccination Update
As of 21 August, 543,254 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 234,905 have received their second doses. This means that 92.6% of the target population have received at least one dose and 40% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Epidemic Outlook
The 7-day average of new cases per day is 480 cases per day or 542 cases per million population per day.
