Eastern, northern patients cleared as Fiji records 1285 new COVID19 cases

Fiji’s new coronavirus infections more than doubled overnight after reporting 1285 new cases, surpassing 1000 for the first time in five days, a trend the Ministry of Health says is to be expected as it cleared COVID-19 patients in the eastern and northern divisions.

Of the new cases recorded as of 8 am Monday 26 July, 202 are from the western division and 1083 from the central division, bringing up active case numbers to 17,937 having accounted for 16 new deaths (9 COVID and 7 non-COVID) and 263 new recoveries including 12 in the eastern division and five in the North.

Leading up to yesterday, case numbers had hovered between 468 and around 900 and even dropped to 626 two days ago, on Sunday. Before that, Fiji was reporting more than 1000 cases a day.

“Day to day changes in case numbers are expected, and a few days of decreased case numbers should not be misinterpreted as an overall decline in cases in the community,” Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong said. “The daily case number increased today after a drop below the average in recent days, with most cases still being reported from the Central Division. Increasing numbers of daily cases are also being reported from the West.”

The fluctuation in numbers also stem in part from the ministry’s decision to restrict testing in the central division to people over the age of 50 and have chronic illnesses as well as pregnant women who are most vulnerable and provide them early care if they contract COVID-19.

“This is the reason we rely more on a 7 day average of cases to monitor the progress of the outbreak. With testing remaining high, test positivity remaining high, and increasing cases being reported in the West, we expect average daily case numbers to remain at a high level and possibly increase. The daily average of deaths is also being monitored and continues to increase.”

There have been 24,354 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021 and a total of 24,424 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020. The 7-day average of new cases per day is 875 cases per day or 989 cases per million population per day.

9 new COVID19 Deaths (23-26 July)

82-year-old woman, Tamavua
- Died at home on 23 July.
- Unvaccinated
57-year-old man, Nadawa
- Died at home on 24 July.
- Unvaccinated.
34-year-old man, Nadera.
- Presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
- Died on 26 July, two days after admission.
- Partly vaccinated having received his first dose in late June.
52-year-old man, Raiwasa.
- Presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
- His condition worsened at the hospital and he died on 25 July, 15 days after admission.
- Unvaccinated.
45-year-old woman, Samabula.
- Presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress.
- Her condition worsened at the hospital and she died on 23 July, 7 days after admission.
- Unvaccinated.
73-year-old woman, Naitasiri.
- Presented to a health facility in severe respiratory distress.
- Her condition worsened at the health facility and she died on the same day – 23 July.
- Her family reported that she had a cough, generalized weakness and shortness of breath for one week prior.
- Unvaccinated.
72-year-old man, Naitasiri
- Died at home on 25 July.
- Unvaccinated.
89-year-old woman, Narere.
- Presented to the CWM Hospital emergency department in severe respiratory distress.
- Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died on the same day – 26 July.
- Unvaccinated.
74 year old man from Tacirua
- Died at home on 25 July
- Unvaccinated.

There have now been 195 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 193 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 8.

New non-COVID19 Deaths (23-26 July)

Seven more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
- Deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths
- Total non-COVID19 deaths = 101

Screening Update

A total of 890 individuals were screened and 411 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 358,925 individuals screened and 66,439 swabbed to date. As of 24 July, mobile screening teams screened a total of 2,575 individuals and swabbed 302. This brings total to 741,611 individuals screened and 65,752 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update

A total of 253,945 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 296,806 tested since testing began in March 2020. 3095 tests have been reported for 24 July 24. The national 7-day daily test average is 3530 tests per day or 4.0 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 22.8 %.

Vaccination Update

As of 25 July, 441,171 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 97,268 have received their second doses. This means that 75.2% of the target population have received at least one dose and 16.6% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

Advice to the public

For people with COVID-19 symptoms in Suva-Nausori:

Community transmission within the Suva-Nausori containment zone is at a very high level. This means that anyone who develops symptoms of COVID-19 in Suva-Nausori should assume that they have COVID-19. Most people infected with COVID-19 will have mild symptoms like cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, loss of taste or smell, body ache, or headache, and will fully recover at home with no medical intervention necessary.

People who have any of these symptoms and are not within a group that is at higher risk for developing severe COVID-19 will no longer be tested for COVID-19 and should stay at home, strictly self-isolate for 14 days, and continue to monitor their symptoms for severe COVID-19. If you develop any signs of severe COVID-19, like difficulty breathing or chest pain, please go immediately to one of our dedicated health facilities: