There are 18 new COVID-19 cases since the update last night.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says 10 cases are from 2 related families in Waila, 4 cases are from a household in Tacirua while 2 cases are from a household in Muanikoso.
Doctor Fong says they are early in the investigations into these new cases and currently no link has been established with other cases.
However he says these latest cases involve a number of people who visited well-known shops, grocery stores and other commercial facilities in the area, which will make contact tracing and data they can gain from the careFIJI app very important.
Please be sure to have the app installed and running on your phone, with Bluetooth turned on.
Doctor Fong says a number of recent cases acknowledged that they did not observe proper physical distancing as they moved about the community, and attended social events such as grog parties.
Another contact of the Samabula cluster is positive while an Extra Supermarket worker tested positive on their final swab in quarantine.
In addition to an expanded Muanikoso screening zone, the Health Ministry has established screening zones in parts of Samabula, Waila and Tacirua, where they are now conducting intensive screening and testing.
Doctor Fong says they repeat the advice to wear masks, wash hands frequently, observe physical distancing always, and avoid crowds.
And please do not attend social events, and do not invite people in from outside your household.
It is also very important to maintain discipline at work by staying within your bubbles if your workplace has them and by keeping your masks firmly in place.
Don’t let your guard down, set an example in your community, and encourage family, neighbors and people you meet to observe these common-sense practices. This is very serious.
He stresses they will now be making it mandatory to wear a mask or face covering if you live in a containment area and are outside your home.
The Health Ministry will conduct a massive vaccination drive beginning today throughout the Central Division for all persons 18 and older who have not yet received their first dose.
The Ministry says they have arranged for vaccination centres at well-known fixed locations and will also deploy mobile vaccination teams in some areas.
They add vaccination sites, times and any special information will be published every day on the Fijian Government Facebook page.
The Health Ministry says transmission is concentrated in the Central Division at this time, in the Suva-Nausori Containment Area, and that is where they are focusing their attention, personnel and resources.
One more person has recovered from COVID-19 while Fiji currently has 86 active cases, with 224 cases recorded in total since our first case in March 2020.
All active cases are stable.
Lautoka Hospital has completed 18 days of isolation so far.
The Health Ministry says it is undertaking the 4th round of testing for staff and patients.
They also plan to complete the 2nd dose of vaccination for all staff isolated in the hospital by next week.
The Health Ministry is urging people to ensure that they have their careFIJI app-enabled.
The Health Ministry says some of the recent cases have the app but their Bluetooth was not turned on.
Please ensure your Bluetooth is turned on as it will help the Ministry in contact tracing.
We also urge all businesses to ensure their security personnel or staff check that the careFIJI app is running, not just ask if people have the app.
Fijivillage has noticed that some staff are just asking customers if they have the app but do not bother to check if it is running.
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