791 new cases of COVID-19 and 3 COVID-19 deaths have been announced for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 61-year-old man from Qauia Village, Lami.
He was brought to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress.
He had been experiencing severe COVID-19 symptoms, including shortness of breath, for two weeks.
He died one day later.
He was not vaccinated.
The Permanent Secretary says the second COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old man from Raiwaqa.
He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the CWM Hospital Emergency Department.
This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital.
His family reported that he had been unwell, with symptoms including fever and generalized weakness, for at least 5 days at home.
He was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death is a 67-year-old man from Toorak.
A Ministry response team attended to him at home and transferred him to the CWM Hospital after he reported having symptoms of COVID-19 at home for approximately a week.
His condition worsened in hospital and he died 11 days after admission. He received his 1st dose of the vaccine in mid-June.
He had not received the second dose of the vaccine and was not fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says there have been three more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.
However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions.
There have now been 42 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 40 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji has also recorded 19 COVID-19 positive patients who died from serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19.
There have been 37 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 6,524 active cases.
Doctor Fong says there have been 7,870 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
We have recorded a total of 7,940 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 1,355 recoveries.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
You can check out the dashboard link on our website, fijivillage.
181,026 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 223,887 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 12.5 percent and continues on an upward trend.
329,837 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine while 56,974 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 56 percent of the target population has received at least one dose and 9.7 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Meanwhile the 7-day average of new cases per day has increased to 503 cases per day or 569 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says today was another daily record of new cases at 791.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says due to the increasing COVID-19 cases in the Suva-Nausori containment zone, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services advises that home-based screening and swabbing services in Suva-Nausori will no longer be provided until further notice, except in exceptional circumstances.
Doctor Fong says the exceptional circumstances include if an individual has a disability or is otherwise physically unable to leave their home and attend a clinic, and these people should call 158.
He says their response teams in Suva-Nausori will now be redirected to the identification and close monitoring of people with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19.
He also says daily case numbers are expected to continue to increase, along with an increase in people with COVID-19 requiring hospitalisation, and sadly, more deaths.
Doctor Fong says people in Suva-Nausori should visit their nearest screening clinic for testing if they have COVID-19 symptoms (cough, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, fatigue, headache, aches and pains, sore throat, fever, diarrhoea, red eyes, loss of taste or smell); or have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19.
He says any disruptions to screening clinic services, for instance for decontamination, will be communicated to the public.
Doctor Fong says a person in Suva-Nausori with symptoms, or who has been in close contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19, should immediately isolate from others, including other members of your household if possible.
He says where possible, visit the nearest screening clinic for a COVID-19 swab.
Please wear a mask that covers your mouth and nose and keep a safe physical distance of 2 metres from others.
Please avoid using public transport to travel to the screening clinic.
Doctor Fong says if you cannot avoid using public transport, please ensure to wear a mask that covers your mouth and nose at all times and maintain physical distance from others.
In other parts of Fiji, persons with COVID-19 symptoms, or who are contacts of cases, should call 158 to be advised by the respective medical teams in those areas.
He says the FEMAT Field Hospital has begun the transition into a COVID-19 dedicated hospital and they have set up an emergency number 165 for people with severe COVID-19 symptoms to contact if they cannot get to a hospital themselves.
Doctor Fong says sadly they continue to see people with severe COVID-19 dying at home or coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness and dying within a day or two.
He says severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment may result in a higher risk of death.
The severe symptoms of COVID-19 include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake; and pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
If you or a loved one have any of these symptoms please go immediately to your nearest medical facility or call 165 if unable to get to a medical facility.
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