Fiji has recorded three new border-quarantine COVID-19 cases, one of whom a non-Fijian citizen on a work permit, bringing the number of active incidents in the country to four, to-date.
All three arrived in the country on a flight from New Zealand on 19 November.
Two of the three cases are Fijian citizens who are both in their 40s and worked in a mining company in Mali. They started their journey home from Mali on the 16 November. They both displayed minor symptoms on arrival which has now resolved. The third case is a 51-year-old male non-Fiji citizen. His port of origin was Germany. He has a work permit in Fiji and was returning with family to complete his contract. He is asymptomatic now and isolated from his family.
Speaking to the media in Suva today, Health Permanent Secretary James Fong said the latest cases pose no threat to the community, but calls for continued caution.
“They are cases that do not pose a risk to the community, but they show that our border quarantine measures are working,” Fong said.
“As long as the pandemic is rife in the world, there is always the possibility of community transmissions. In readiness for that unexpected event, Fiji citizens need to comply with our COVID safety measures.”
All three did not show symptoms on arrival. They tested positive on day two of their quarantine. The three are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital isolation ward.
“Fiji now has 38 COVID-19 cases overall. The patients are in stable condition and have been transferred to the isolation ward at the Lautoka hospital as per standard protocol for confirmed cases. The frontline border and quarantine staff who were directly involved with these patients will all be monitored and tested as per COVID-19 protocols,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
