Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed one new COVID-19 cases in the Northern Division, 314 new cases in total and eight COVID deaths.
Of the 314 new cases, 259 are from the Western Division, 54 cases are from the Central Division and 1 case from the Northern Division.
The case from the Northern Division is a person working at the Nabouwalu Wharf.
Doctor Fong says investigations into how this person got infected are still in the very early stages. However, it appears the exposure to the virus happened onboard a ship unloading cargo from Suva earlier this week.
He says this person tested positive during routine swabbing of wharf workers yesterday.
The positive person has been securely moved to the Malau isolation facility and the household members have been quarantined.
So far, the person’s household members have tested negative for the virus.
With the help of the careFiji app the Ministry’s COVID-19 response team in the Northern Division have identified other primary contacts, including workplace contacts, and they have been quarantined, with test results pending.
Doctor Fong says the team are continuing to trace other people that the person may have come into contact with during the infectious period.
The Ministry wishes to assure the people of the North that the health team is working very closely with other local agencies and communities to prevent any further spread of the virus.
The Permanent Secretary will be briefed by the Northern team on the progress of investigations and the response tomorrow, and decisions will be made about any further measures that may be required to quickly halt transmission.
There have been 987 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 23,598 active cases.
17,269 active cases are in the Central Division, 6328 active cases in the Western Division and 1 active case in the Northern Division.
There have been 39,770 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
We have recorded a total of 39,770 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 15,610 recoveries.
All new COVID deaths are reported from the Central Division.
The first death is a 64-year-old man from Suva. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died five days after admission on 13th August. He was not vaccinated.
The second death is an 85-year-old man from Naitasiri who died at home on 14th August. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old man from Naitasiri who died at home on 13th August. His family reported that he had a cough and fever for two weeks prior to his presentation. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man from Naitasiri. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Naqali Health Centre on 12th August. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth death is a 56-year-old man from Lami who died at home on 13th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in mid-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 77-year-old man from Nausori who died at home on the 11th August. His family reported that he had generalized body weakness and a cough for one week prior. He was not vaccinated.
The seventh death is a 66-year-old man from Caubati. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died eight days after admission on 14th August. He was not vaccinated.
The eighth death is a 40-year-old man from Nakasi. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died sixteen days after admission on 13th August. He received the first dose of the vaccine in early June. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine.
There have been 2 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 and not COVID-19.
With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 368 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 366 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 9.
We have also recorded 194 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says people in the North are reminded that although the COVID-19 case was identified at Nabouwalu Wharf, it is important the members of the public throughout Vanua Levu listen to advice and continue to practice COVID-19 safety measures.
The public is requested to practice COVID-19 safety measures of wearing a mask when leaving your home, wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use a hand sanitiser, practice safe physical distancing of 2 metres, ensure that the careFIJI app is downloaded on your phone and enabled and remember to get vaccinated.
There are currently 274 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital.
70 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 56 patients are admitted at the FEMAT Field Hospital, and 148 admitted at CWM Hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
66 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 8 are in critical condition.
305,870 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 348,731 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The 7-day daily test average is 1529 tests per day or 1.7 tests per 1,000 population.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 33.3%.
The 7-day average of new cases per day is 493 cases per day or 557 cases per million population per day.
Community transmission remains a concern in the Central and Western Divisions.
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