A 10-day old baby girl, an 8-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy who had pre-existing medical conditions and were unvaccinated are 12 of the new COVID-19 deaths reported by the Health Ministry.
96 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported by the Health Ministry so far during the third wave.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says of the new deaths reported – two deaths were from the Central Division, five from the Western Division, one from the Eastern Division and four from the Northern Division.
He says three of the individuals who died were below the age of 18-years-old and were not eligible for vaccination.
Doctor Fong adds two individuals had congenital medical comorbidities from birth which contributed to the severity of their sickness and demise.
He further says that out of the nine individuals who were in the target age group for vaccination, six people were fully vaccinated and three were unvaccinated.
Doctor Fong confirms the deaths of individuals below the age of 18 are now being reported after a thorough investigation done by the Ministry. He says the first COVID-19 death is an 8-year-old girl from the Northern Division.
She died at home on 12th January 2022.
Doctor Fong also confirms this girl had a significant congenital medical condition that likely contributed to her death.
She was not eligible for vaccination.
Doctor Fong adds the second COVID-19 death is a 13-year-old boy from the Northern Division.
This boy presented to Nabouwalu Hospital on 6th January 2022 and was admitted.
Doctor Fong says sadly this boy died on 15th January 2022, nine days after his admission.
He says the boy had a significant congenital medical condition and an assessment made by medical consultants confirmed that his pre-existing conditions contributed to his death.
This boy was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death is a 70-year-old man from the Northern Division who died at home on 14th January 2022.
He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fourth COVID-19 death is a 10-day old baby girl from the Northern Division.
He confirms the baby was born to a COVID-positive mother without any complications at birth.
Doctor Fong says the baby girl sadly passed away at home before she could be brought to the hospital.
He adds a post-mortem COVID test was noted to be positive.
She was not eligible for vaccination.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 98-year-old woman from the Western Division who died on arrival at Lautoka Hospital on 16th January 2022.
She was fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong adds the sixth COVID-19 death is an 81-year-old woman from the Western Division who died at home on 16th January 2022.
She was fully vaccinated.
The seventh COVID-19 death is a 74-year-old male from the Western Division, who died on arrival at Tavua Hospital on 18th January 2022.
He had pre-existing medical conditions and was not vaccinated.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old woman from the Western Division, who died at home on 20th January 2022.
She was fully vaccinated.
The ninth COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old woman from the Central Division, who died at home on 21st January 2022.
She had pre-existing medical conditions and was fully vaccinated.
The tenth COVID-19 death is a 46-year-old woman from the Western Division, who died at home.
She was not vaccinated.
The eleventh COVID-19 death is a 78-year-old man from the Eastern Division, who died at home on 21st January 2022.
He was fully vaccinated.
The twelfth COVID-19 death is a 79-year-old man from the Central Division, who died on arrival at CWM Hospital on 22nd January 2022. He was fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the deaths of the three children from COVID-19 announced today is a sad reminder of the legacy of COVID 19.
He stresses that as cases increase to very high numbers in the community, our most vulnerable are at increased risk of being infected and suffering from severe disease.
Doctor Fong says severe disease is rare in children but this risk increases should they have significant underlying health conditions.
He stresses that by vaccinating and maintaining our COVID safe measures, we protect the vulnerable among us.
Doctor Fong adds if community transmission is high enough, rare outcomes will become more frequent.
He stresses that looking after the vulnerable needs to be a community-wide effort.
Doctor Fong further says the public needs to be aware of the symptoms of severe COVID-19 disease and early presentation to a health facility when severe symptoms are present are critical protection measures that we should know and act upon.
The severe symptoms to look out for are: having trouble breathing (shortness of breath or difficulty breathing), ongoing chest pain, severe headache, confusion, inability to stay awake or wake up, pale, grey or blue-coloured skin, lips or fingernails, worsening weakness and coughing blood.
223 COVID-19 cases have been recorded by the Health Ministry since Monday.
This does not include the Rapid Antigen Tests done by people at home or those that self-isolate and take necessary action based entirely on their symptoms.
The Health Ministry says 13 new cases were recorded on Tuesday and 110 new cases in the last 24 hours ending at 8am yesterday.
Of the 223 cases recorded, 116 cases were recorded in the Central Division; 92 cases were recorded in the Western Division, 11 cases were recorded in the Northern Division and 4 cases were recorded in the Eastern Division.
There are 1,980 active cases.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 45.8%.
The high positivity rate is an indication of widespread community transmission.
Click here for full COVID-19 update
As of 24th January, 68,099 individuals have received booster doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine so far from the 142,240 persons considered eligible.
Permanent Secretary of Heath Doctor James Fong says this represents a 48% coverage rate for booster-eligible persons.
He says they are also expecting to receive more Pfizer vaccines soon which will be used for booster doses and as a vaccine for children.
Dr. Fong stresses the booster vaccine and vaccination for children are not considered mandatory, however, they are encouraging all eligible individuals to be vaccinated or get a booster dose and help navigate Fiji into a safer COVID zone that supports the socio-economic revival and safer reopening of schools.
He adds vaccination of children under 12 years remains part of ongoing discussions as sourcing them remains difficult.
92.6% of the adult target population is fully vaccinated while 98% have received at least one dose.
This means 605,842 adults have received at least one dose of a vaccine while 527,722 people have received both doses.
30,431 children between the ages of 15 to 17 are fully vaccinated and 37,319 children have received at least one dose.
10,657 children between the ages of 12 to 14 have also received both the doses of the COVID-19 vaccine while 21,640 children have received at least one dose.
Click here for full COVID-19 update
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