16 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country

There are now 16 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has confirmed that after testing another 32 samples, they received confirmation of another COVID-19 positive case that they had been anticipating: the 9-year-old granddaughter of the gentleman in Labasa who travelled from India.

He says this young girl lived in Soasoa settlement in Labasa.

Bainimarama adds she has been in isolation since the 4th of April.

The Prime Minister says while she wasn’t showing any symptoms, they knew she had a high risk of being infected given her close contact with her grandfather.

Bainimarama says they had her tested and she was confirmed positive late yesterday morning.

The Prime Minister says this diagnosis takes Fiji’s case total to 16.

He says but given the length of time this young girl spent in isolation, and the fact that she wasn’t showing symptoms, her risk of infecting others is extremely low.

Bainimarama says this is the sixth confirmed case stemming from the gentleman in Labasa and it once again goes to show how long and dangerous a chain of transmission can grow if our public health directives are blatantly ignored.