Eight COVID-19 positive people died and more than 500 new coronavirus cases were recorded in Fiji in 48 hours ending at 8am yesterday, during which hospital admissions have increased by nearly 64 per cent.
Of the deaths, two were attributed to COVID and six died from serious medical conditions they had before they contracted coronavirus, taking total deaths due to COVID-19 to 704, and deaths with COVID, 627.
Both deaths due to COVID-19 were recorded in the central division where there have also been a notable increase in daily coronavirus cases as well as the number of people hospitalised. In the 24 hours ending at 8am Wednesday 5 January, of the 372 cases recorded 68 per cent were reported in the central division. Over the 48-hour period, the number of people hospitalised in the central division increased by 51 per cent.
In the western division, 103 new cases were recorded in 24 hours ending at 8am yesterday, with hospitalisation numbers over the 48-hour period increasing by 62 per cent whilst in the northern division, six cases were recorded and their hospitalisation rate increased by nearly 86 per cent.
In the eastern division however, no one has been hospitalised although there have been daily coronavirus cases.
Status of those hospitalised
Although there have been an increase in hospitalisation rate across three divisions, the Ministry of Health says much of it stem from people admitted to the hospital for non-COVID health conditions. They returned positive tests during the mandatory testing required before admission.
“The number of people being admitted because of COVID-19 remains low,” the ministry says.
Using the WHO clinical severity classification, a greater percentage, 78% (n=98) of the admissions of COVID-19 positive patients are categorized as asymptomatic and mild, 6% (n=7) are categorized as moderate and 6% (n=7) as severe with 1 case in the critical category.
Details of deaths due to COVID-19
The first COVID- 19 death to report is of a 75-year-old male from Suva who died at home on 31 December 2021. He had significant pre-existing medical conditions that also contributed to his death. He received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine mid July and second dose mid September. He was fully vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death to report is of a 56-year-old female from Korovou who died at home on 1 January 2022 in respiratory distress. She had multiple pre-existing medical conditions that also contributed to her death. She had received only one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, which means she was not fully vaccinated.
There have been 704 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 702 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April last 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 1 January 2022, the national 7 days rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day is 0.6, with a case fatality rate of 1.32%.
Active Cases
There are currently 3,009 active cases.
