Fiji’s Permanent Secretary of Health Dr James Fong echoes the call for adherence to COVID19-safe protocols as the latest data indicate widespread community transmission in the Lami-Nausori zone and new cases recorded today numbering 266.
The 7-day average of new cases per day has increased to 220 cases per day or 301 cases per million population per day, and the 7-day daily test average positivity rate increased to 6.8% from 6.3% yesterday.
“All the evidence is that there is widespread community transmission in the Lami-Suva-Nausori containment zone. This means the outbreak is not confined to specific areas and everyone should take the necessary precautions and prevent themselves and their loved ones from getting infected.”
PS Health Dr James fong
Of the 266 cases today, 265 were reported from within the Lami-Nausori zone and one case from the Nawakalevu containment zone in Nadi. 102 cases are from existing areas of interest. The remaining cases are contacts of known cases, cases that were seen in screening clinics and were swabbed, and cases under investigation to determine possible sources of transmission.
There are clusters of active cases in Naitasiri and one cluster in Korovou. There continue to be cases reported in Nadi, but so far they are from within the containment zone in the Nawajikuma, Nawakalevu, and Tramline containment area. In Lautoka, there are three active cases currently, as announced previously. To date, this outbreak appears contained to Viti Levu, with the Northern and Eastern divisions yet to detect a case.
The Ministry of Health has also confirmed one of three deaths that were under investigations, linking the cause to COVID19. The case involved a 67-yer-old man from Suvavou in Lami who was admitted to the CWM Hospital for a pre-existing medical condition. During his admission, he tested positive and developed severe COVID-19. He was not vaccinated. He had died yesterday, but only confirmed a COVID19 death today.
Two other deaths, one of which was announced Thursday, are still being investigated to determine the cause of death.
The 67-year-old man’s death brings to 13 the number of people who have died due to COVID-19 in the current outbreak in Fiji. Overall, there have been 15 deaths in Fiji due to COVID19 since March 2020.
An additional eight COVID-19 positive patients died, in the current outbreak, from pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses that they were admitted to CWM Hospital for.
There have been 61 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 2568 active cases in isolation. There have been 3259 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 3329 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 736 recoveries.
As of 25 June, a total of 272,354 individuals have received their first dose equivalent to 46% of the target population. Of these, 38,031 have received both doses equating to 6.4% of the target population.
