Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms there are 4 COVID-19 deaths and 312 new cases in the 24 hour reporting period that ended at 8am yesterday, and with increasing cases, severe cases and deaths, he will make an announcement today to outline the next phase of the COVID-19 mitigation strategy.
The 7 day average of new cases per day has increased to 269 cases per day or 304 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says there has also been a notable increase in positive patients with severe disease, as well as an increase in deaths.
He says the steady increase in average daily case numbers in combination with other indicators suggest higher daily numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the coming weeks, particularly in the Central and Western divisions.
Doctor Fong says until more Fijians are protected through vaccination, there are important steps that must be taken to strengthen their capacity to identify and treat those most vulnerable to the severe disease and death due to COVID-19, including efforts to raise public awareness of COVID-like symptoms.
Looking at the unfortunate deaths - the first was a case that was previously announced as under investigation to determine if COVID-19 was the cause of death.
This is an 82-year-old woman from Qauia in Lami.
She had pre-existing medical conditions, was bedridden, and died at home.
Doctor Fong says according to protocol she was swabbed and tested positive for COVID-19.
She was declared dead by the attending medical officer and after investigation, it has been determined that the cause of death was COVID-19.
Other members of her household have also tested positive.
The 82-year-old woman was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the second death was a 68-year-old man from Toorak, who was admitted to CWM Hospital after presenting to the FEMAT Field Hospital on 24th June in severe respiratory distress and testing positive.
He died on Monday in the Intensive Care Unit.
His doctors have determined that his death was caused by COVID-19.
He was not vaccinated.
The Permanent Secretary says the third death was a 39-year-old woman from Knolly Street.
She tested positive and was admitted to CWM Hospital after having severe symptoms of COVID-19 at home, including shortness of breath.
She died on Monday in the Intensive Care Unit, and her doctors have determined that her death was caused by COVID-19.
She had received her first dose of the vaccine this month.
She was not fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fourth is a 70-year-old man from Veisari in Lami who presented in respiratory distress and died on Monday night at the Raiwaqa Health Centre.
According to protocol he was swabbed and tested positive.
His doctors have determined that his death was caused by COVID-19.
He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says a 54-year-old male who tested positive for COVID-19 at CWMH has also died.
He was admitted at the hospital for a severe pre-existing non-COVID-19 illness and it has been determined by his doctors that he died due to that illness and not due to COVID-19.
He was not vaccinated.
There have now been 21 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 19 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The Health Ministry has also recorded 9 COVID-19 positive patients that died from the pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses that they had been receiving treatment for at the CWM Hospital.
Looking at the new cases - 17 cases are from the Western Division.
4 are from the existing containment zones of Tramline and Qima Settlement in Nadi. 1 is a prison officer from Suva in the Tavua Prison Compound.
He was undergoing quarantine as part of the movement from the red zone to the green zone - similar to the prison officers reported positive in Rakiraki on Monday.
The 2nd case in Tavua lives at the PWD Quarters and his source of transmission is under investigation.
Doctor Fong says there are also 4 new cases from Lovu Lautoka with unknown sources of transmission. 7 contacts of these Lovu cases in Lautoka have also tested positive.
The remaining 295 cases are from the Lami-Nausori containment area.
There are 165 from existing areas of interest and 10 from new areas of interest: Cost U Less Supermarket, Golden Manufacturers and the Kidney Foundation of Fiji.
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.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the COVID-19 dashboard. You can check out the link on our website, fijivillage.
There have been 29 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 3,306 active cases in isolation.
Doctor Fong says there have been 4,074 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 4,144 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 808 recoveries.
According to the official COVID-19 dashboard, the active cases are in Toorak, Waimanu Road, CWM Hospital, the Kidney Foundation of Fiji, Ratu Sukuna Road, Cost U Less Supermarket, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Nasova Police Barracks, Muanikau, Laucala Bay, Flagstaff, Knolly Street, Berry Road, Raiwaqa, Wailea, Vatuwaqa, Samabula, Tamavua, Namadi, Nabua, Valelevu, Kinoya, Nadera, Nadawa, Laqere, Kalabu, Muanikoso, Tovata, Narere, Makoi, Nakasi, Davuilevu, Koronivia, Toga, Dilkusha, Sawani, Naqali, Naqeledamu, Lakena, Vuci Road, Naduru, Vunivaivai, Kuku/ Raralevu, Mokani, Kasavu, Logani, Tobuniqio Village, Verata, Korovou, Waikalou, Laselevu and Tubarua Village in Naitasiri, Wailoku, Reservoir Road, Walu Bay, Naval Base, Tamavua-I-Wai, Nadonumai, Delainavesi, Vugalei, Lami Village, Lami Police Station, Qauia, Naivikinikini Settlement, Wailekutu, Namuka-I-Lau and Veisari and Golden Manufacturers. Other quarantine facilities with active cases in Suva are the Grand Pacific Hotel, Holiday Inn, Southern Cross Hotel, James Cook Hotel, Peninsula, Tanoa Hotel and Town House Apartments.
In Nadi, there are cases in Nawaka, Savunawai, DoubleTree Quarantine Facility, Airport Apartments Quarantine Facilities, Mercure Hotel Quarantine Facility, Nasau Resort Villas Quarantine Facility, Tanoa Quarantine Facility, and the Hilton Resort Quarantine Facility.
In Lautoka, there are active cases in Natabua Quarantine Facility in Drasa Vitogo, Vitogo Parade and Lovu.
There is also a case at the Outrigger Quarantine Facility in Sigatoka.
There are also cases in the Fiji Sugar Corporation compound in Rakiraki.
A case has been confirmed in Tavua Prison Compound while the 2nd case in Tavua lives at the PWD Quarters.
154,009 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 196,870 tested since testing began in early 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 8.3 percent and continues on an upward trend.
Please note the symptoms of COVID-19 may start mild, with a runny nose, nasal congestion, cough, sore throat, fever, headache, body ache, or diarrhoea.
However, for some people, this could quickly worsen into severe COVID.
Doctor Fong says severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency and we should all know symptoms.
The symptoms 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 to your nearest health centre immediately.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 287, 148 people in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 45,139 have received their second doses.
This equates to 49 percent of the target population having had at least one dose and 7.69 percent being fully vaccinated nationwide.
Doctor Fong says a total of 8,194 first doses and 1,794 second doses of the vaccine were administered nationally in the last 24 hours.
The Health Ministry has also launched a vaccine dashboard that provides real-time data on first dose and second dose numbers at the national, divisional and sub-divisional levels.
The dashboard offers eight different map overlays that show the number of first and second doses given, as well as the percentage of the target population that have received each dose.
You can check out the vaccine dashboard link on our website, fijivillage.
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