Coronavirus infections continue to rise in Fiji, starting off a new week with more than 1,000 confirmed cases and pushing active case numbers past 12,000, with the number of people dying from the virus surpassing 80.
This is after Fiji’s Ministry of Health announced 1,180 new infections and five COVID19 deaths, as of 8 am yesterday, with the majority recorded in the Lami-Suva-Nausori zone.
The latest data marks the start of week 14 since the outbreak began in April, in which weekly numbers increased from 16 cases in week one to 5,770 in week 13, ending Friday 16 July. Unlike the previous 13 weeks, Fiji is hitting more than 1,000 cases on day one of week 14.
Health facilities including screening clinics continue to report the biggest numbers. Close to 60% of the new cases have been from these facilities including two recorded at the Levuka Hospital.
Four of the five new deaths announced last night also happened at some of these health facilities.
- The first COVID-19 death to report is a 47-year-old woman from Raiwaqa. She presented to a medical facility with severe COVID-19 symptoms including shortness of breath. Her condition worsened at the health facility and she died on the same day 14/7/2021. She was not vaccinated.
- The second COVID-19 death to report is a 61-year-old man from Caubati. He presented to a health facility in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened at the health facility and he died on the same day 15/7/2021. His family reported that he had been unwell with symptoms that included generalized body pains. He was not vaccinated.
- The third COVID-19 death to report is a 67-year-old woman from Naiyala Village. She presented to a health facility in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the health facility and she died on the same day (15/7/2021). Her family reported that she had been unwell with COVID-19 symptoms four days prior. She was not vaccinated.
- The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 61-year-old woman from Valelevu. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened in the health facility and she died on the same day 16/7/2021. She received her 1st dose of the vaccine in early-June. She did not receive her 2nd dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.
- The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 66-year-old woman from Lami who died at home (13/07/2021). Her family reported that she was feeling unwell with generalized muscular weakness and was noted to have a reduced appetite. She was not vaccinated.
There have now been 85 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 83 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. In addition, 34 COVID19 patients have also died, but whose deaths have been attributed to pre-existing medical conditions and as such not classified as COVID-19 deaths. Seven others are still being investigated to determine the cause of death.
Active cases to date stand at 12,975 after 159 people recovered overnight for a total of 3,377 recoveries since 2020. There have been 16,401 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021, and a total of 16,471 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020.
- Screening Update
- A total of 6,347 individuals were screened and 1,954 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 318,919 individuals screened and 54,340 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 4,430 individuals and swabbed 611 in the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 716,758 individuals screened and 61,466 swabbed by our mobile teams to date.
- Testing update
- A total of 220,959 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 263,820 tested since testing began in March 2020. 3409 tests have been reported for July 15th. Testing number data for one laboratory is still pending for July 15th. Based on available testing numbers, the national 7-day daily test average is 3876 tests per day or 4.4 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 21.7% and continues on an upward trend.
- Vaccination Update
- As of the 16 July, 391,363 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 77,610 have received their second doses. This means that 66.7% of the target population have received at least one dose and 13.2 % are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
- Epidemic Outlook
- The 7-day average of new cases per day is 921 cases per day or 1040 cases per million population per day. Average daily case numbers are increasing, together with cases of severe disease and deaths.
