58.3% of the target population in Fiji now fully vaccinated

There are 127 new cases of COVID-19 in Fiji while 3 new COVID-19 deaths have been reported for the period of 10th to 12th September 2021.

Two deaths were reported for the Central Division and one death was reported from the Western Division.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 60-year-old woman from Waya Island.

She presented to the Yalobi Nursing Station in severe respiratory distress.

Her family reported that she had a fever, sore throat and a cough one week prior to her presentation.

She was retrieved by a medical team and transferred to the Lautoka Hospital.

Sadly, she died 5 days after admission on Sunday.

She was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is an 81-year-old woman from Tailevu who died at home last Friday.

She was not vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is an 80-year-old man from Navua who died at home on Sunday.

He was not vaccinated.

There are 12,925 active cases of COVID-19.

1,503 active cases are in the Central Division, 11,117 active cases in the Western Division, 2 active cases in the Northern Division (Macuata) and 303 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).

There has been 1 more death of a COVID-19 positive patient.

However, this death has been classified as a non-COVID death by their doctors.

The doctors have determined that this death was caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.

There have now been 538 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 536 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services is sending a team of 20 healthcare and allied healthcare workers to Yanuca and Beqa Island this morning for 3 days.

A total of 37 positive cases have now been identified in Dakuni village on Beqa island, while 11 more cases have been diagnosed in Dakuibeqa village in the last 24 hours.

This brings the total number of cases on the island to 48.

Three positive cases have been transferred to CWM Hospital including a 70 year old patient with severe COVID-19 disease.

Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says the team is planned to conduct mass swabbing of the 10 villages, conduct assessments of individuals considered high risk and vulnerable and conduct awareness of COVID-19 in these communities.

He says they are truly thankful to the village elders and leaders who have helped in their quest to contain or mitigate the outbreak in the affected maritime islands.

Doctor Fong has repeated their call to the maritime islanders; please do not engage in unauthorized travel to and from Viti Levu.

He stresses that all their current protocols to regulate domestic movements have been working in removing the risk of viral leakage into your communities.

The Permanent Secretary says for those islands yet to be affected, they repeat the call to all village leaders and elders to support our current efforts to protect our maritime islands by immediately reporting any suspicious movements into your community and having in place quarantine/isolation measures to deal with all travellers into their respective community.

He is also appealing for community support for vaccination.

Kadavu recorded 8 new cases in the last 24 hours bringing the total number of cases on the island to 473.

Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says nine cases are admitted at Vunisea hospital; 4 are COVID positive and currently in stable condition and 5 are negative for COVID-19.

He says mobile outreach teams continue their visits to villages and settlements carrying out follow up of primary contacts, monitoring of positive patients and roll out of COVID-19 Vaccination.

Doctor Fong adds movement restrictions and targeted village lockdowns for Tawava village and the villages in Yawe tikina remain in force.