Fiji has two new locally transmitted cases of COVID-19.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they are two children from Wainitarawau Settlement in Cunningham which is a containment area.
These two children are a 7-month-old son and the 14-year-old daughter of the 40-year-old woman from Cunningham who was earlier confirmed as a positive case of COVID-19.
Testing and contact tracing has continued through last night and into today.
He says they want everyone to know that they have not identified any new clusters of cases in the community.
Doctor Fong says both children initially tested negative for the virus, on Tuesday April 20th, the day they entered isolation.
He says that gives them a high degree of confidence that they are latent cases, which means they were entered into isolation before they became infectious.
Doctor Fong says while the 14-year-old girl did attend school on Monday April 19th, they believe there is little chance that she passed the virus to others.
However, out of an abundance of caution, they will be running a screening exercise based on the daughter’s movements.
He also reminds everyone that the ministry identified this family because they made the patriotic decision to come forward and because they were honest with them about where they had been.
Doctor Fong says they deserve our thanks and nothing less.
He stresses that the virus is the problem, not any one person, and we have to at all costs, protect the privacy of Fijians living with the virus.
Following the circulation of an internal school email that reveals the name of the 14-year-old girl, Doctor Fong says they are talking about children here, some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
He says children are anxious, they are scared, and the last thing they need is to have their privacy violated, and their information blasted out online.
Doctor Fong says the stigmatisation of Fijians living with COVID-19 has very real consequences, when bullies online take advantage of other people’s suffering
Meanwhile he says they have collected samples that will be tested for 200 people who attended the funeral at Tavakubu that was attended by the hotel staff case.
They have not confirmed any new positive cases at this time.
The window for transmission is still open, and contact tracing for the funeral continues, so that may change.
Nasomo in Tavua, has also been identified as a screening zone based on the movements of the case from Wainitarawau Cunningham after the funeral.
The same rules established for the Wainitarawau Settlement apply here: No one is allowed to leave. Those who reside in the community may return, but they must stay there for at least the next 14 days.
The Health Ministry is still looking for the mini bus driver who drove the hotel staff on the evening of the 17th of April from the Lautoka City Mini Bus Stand to Nadi at around 5pm, as well as the passengers of that mini bus.
After their investigation into the travel history of the mother in Wainitarawau Settlement, the ministry is also expanding their contact tracing to individuals who were at Saweni Beach from 10am to 3:30pm on Saturday 17th April 2021.
Doctor Fong says if you were at Saweni Beach during that period, please call 158 right now.
Stay home until the Ministry can check on you.
Fiji also has six new border quarantine cases.
One is a 38-year-old man who arrived from Malaysia on April 8th.
The other five are members of a family that arrived on 8th April from the Philippines, two other members of the same travelling family had tested positive during entry testing; this was announced on April 17th.
There are now 19 active cases of COVID-19 in Fiji.
This is the highest number of active cases that Fiji has ever registered.
14 of these cases are at the border, and five are locally-transmitted cases.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says he is really disappointed and wished people had more sense and be a little more caring after a confidential email showing the name of one of Fiji’s latest COVID-19 patients was being circulated.
He is calling on people to stop sharing that email if they receive it.
Doctor Fong says people need to be more sensitive and that email could have been easily written and sent without the 14-year-old girl’s name.
Doctor Fong says people should show love.
The Head of School who sent a confidential email stating the name of one of Fiji’s latest COVID-19 patients has been suspended from duties until further notice.
This has been confirmed by Education Minister Rosy Akbar who says she is disappointed towards the way the Head of School handled the COVID-19 reporting and communication protocol.
She says it is rather unfortunate that the details of the student had been released and is now circulating on social media.
Akbar is asking all school heads and teachers to exercise confidentiality when dealing with issues related to Child Safety and Protection.
A team from the Central Division Command Centre is currently contacting the teachers of the school that the 14-year-old student from Cunningham attends.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong confirms the team is also organizing a screening program for them.
He says the operational details involve going to individual homes.
Doctor Fong says he had already anticipated that they will get more cases from the funeral that was held in Tavakubu, Lautoka.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says they have collected samples that will be tested for 200 people who attended the funeral at Tavakubu.
Doctor Fong says they have not confirmed any new positive cases from the funeral at this time.
He says the window for transmission is still open, and contact tracing for the funeral continues, so that may change.
Nasomo in Tavua, has also been identified as a screening zone based on the movements of the case from Wainitarawau Cunningham after the funeral.
The same rules established for the Wainitarawau Settlement apply here: No one is allowed to leave. Those who reside in the community may return, but they must stay there for at least the next 14 days.
The Health Ministry is still looking for the mini bus driver who drove the hotel staff on the evening of the 17th of April from the Lautoka City Mini Bus Stand to Nadi at around 5pm, as well as the passengers of that mini bus.
After their investigation into the travel history of the mother in Wainitarawau Settlement, the ministry is also expanding their contact tracing to individuals who were at Saweni Beach from 10am to 3:30pm on Saturday 17th April 2021.
Doctor Fong says if you were at Saweni Beach during that period, please call the Health Ministry on 158. Stay home until the Ministry can check on you.
There are now 19 active cases of COVID-19 in Fiji.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this is the highest number of active cases that Fiji has ever registered.
14 of these cases are at the border, and five are locally-transmitted cases.
Fiji also has six new border quarantine cases.
One is a 38 year old man who arrived from Malaysia on April 8th.
The other five are members of a family that arrived on 8th April from the Philippines, two other members of the same travelling family had tested positive during entry testing; this was announced on April 17th.
The definition of high-risk businesses that have been closed throughout Viti Levu, including in the Nadi and Lautoka Containment Area have been widened.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the businesses include gyms, movie theatres, video gaming shops, cyber cafes, taverns, bars, billiard shops and amusement arcades, as well as hairdressers, barber shops, spas, beauty therapy, massage therapy venues, saunas and tattoo parlours.
He says the nature of these businesses means they cannot operate with proper COVID-safe protocols, including enforced physical distancing of two metres.
Doctor Fong says they should all close everywhere on Viti Levu for at least the next 14 days.
The suspension of international passenger travel is in effect, with the exception of Fijians travelling for medical purposes and other passengers as approved by the Permanent Secretary for Health.
Public health restrictions for Waicoka Village in Tailevu will only be eased once the result of the second COVID-19 test is negative for the three people from Moturiki who attended the funeral at Tavakubu in Lautoka on Saturday.
The Head of Health Protection at the Ministry of Health, Doctor Alisha Sahukhan says their first test came out negative but to be sure they will be testing them for the second time.
Dr Sahukhan says they have established that this group did spend some time in Waicoka Village and for that reason, they have added these public health measures in that village.
She adds that they also understand that the Moturiki group were not infectious when they spent time in the village.
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