Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says for now, their investigations around new cases in Suva, Nausori, and Lami have indicated those containment areas should be maintained for at least another week.
He says through the ministries of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport and Economy, they are working with industry partners on COVID-safe risk assessments to explore how and when some industries may operate in carefully-managed ways within containment areas.
Doctor Fong stresses that the careFIJI contact tracing app will be paramount to these operations.
He says they will be announcing early next week how their containment protocols will cater for more COVID-safe essential business operations.
The Nadi and Lautoka containment areas also remain.
Fiji has three new cases of COVID-19 today.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says these new cases are all linked to case number 136, the man from Saru, Lautoka who presented with COVID-like symptoms to the Natabua Health Centre and tested positive on Friday.
He says one of the new cases is his wife, another is his daughter, and the third was a primary contact of his wife.
Doctor Fong says all three have been in isolation since yesterday.
He adds contact tracers are locating and quarantining their close contacts.
Doctor Fong says all other known primary contacts relating to the three have tested negative.
The Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong is stressing that people who ignored their restrictions and managed to move from containment areas on Viti Levu into non-containment areas should call 158 and self-isolate now.
He says they are locating these people, but not quickly enough.
Doctor Fong stresses that whoever they are, wherever they are, they must self-isolate, and they must do it now.
If you are one of these people, or you know one of these people, call 158.
Doctor Fong says they are not looking to dole out punishment and they are not going to move you back where you came from.
He says they are going to ask that you self-isolate at home for the next 14 days.
Permanent Secretary for Health Doctor James Fong says they are listening very closely to the story their screening and testing is telling them.
Doctor Fong says at the moment, no policy response is off the table –– including targeted lockdowns of certain areas and even a lockdown of the whole of Viti Levu.
He adds if this happens, it will be announced with a deliberate, well-informed, and detailed plan.
In just over two weeks, the Health Ministry has screened more than 317,000 Fijians through stationary and mobile screening operations.
Doctor Fong adds the speed and scale of their screening works well.
He adds they go door-to-door, checking for symptoms and confirming that people have not had close contact with COVID-positive patients.
The Raiwaqa Health Centre will be open to the public from today.
This was highlighted by the Health Ministry’s Chief Medical Advisor Doctor Jemesa Tudravu.
He says the centre will resume normal functions with a new set of health staff.
The Health Centre was temporarily closed after a 47-year-old nurse tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
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