The government is conducting it’s daily review on the control of the spread of COVID-19 before making the final decision on whether the Suva lockdown will be extended and whether school holidays will be further extended.
Health Minister, Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete says all lives matter and the government will ensure they protect all Fijians when they make the decision.
Doctor Waqainabete says everyone needs to work hand in hand and every individual has to play their part. He says not practising social distancing or violating the Public Health Act does not help anyone.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has already made it clear that the Suva lockdown which is scheduled to be lifted on Friday morning, can and will easily be extended if the government is not satisfied with the number of Fijians screened by the mobile health teams and fever clinics. Bainimarama says by tomorrow, they plan to screen over 150,000 people but to do so, people’s cooperation is key.
Bainimarama says in addition to the mobile screening teams, the fever clinics across the country have seen over 5,000 men, women and children come in to get a check-up.
The medical workers at the clinics will be able to tell you if you need further testing, whether that’s for COVID, or other viruses like the common cold, flu or dengue.
Bainimarama says globally, COVID-19 is one of the most devastating killers in generations, with deaths rising past 100,000.
He says to some people in Fiji, those tragedies may seem distant but they are not a world away.
Right here in the Pacific, COVID-19 has taken the lives of five people in Guam, nine in New Zealand, and 61 in Australia.
Bainimarama says if this virus spirals into an epidemic in Fiji, you or someone you love could all too easily be counted among the victims.
The Prime Minister says coronavirus comes with many unknowns but around the world, it is clear that physical distancing is the only strategy proven to beat COVID-19.
He says some countries thought they had the virus under control and went so far as to relax restrictions.
Sadly, they’ve seen case numbers flare back up.
Bainimarama says Fiji cannot risk those same mistakes.
He says Fiji acted early to squash the spread of the virus. Bainimarama says they shut our borders to high-risk countries, they closed nightclubs, gyms, swimming pools and banned contact sports.
He says the government has extended school holidays, a stay-at-home order is in place unless Fijians have life-sustaining reasons to travel and the nationwide curfew is in effect from 8pm to 5am.
He says day by day, these directives are helping win the war against this virus but any success in this campaign won’t mean a thing if the measures lift even one day too early.
Bainimarama says these rules certainly won’t count for anything if Fijians carelessly dismiss them.
He says these measures cannot relent and neither can our willingness to do the right thing.
He stresses to people not to go outside for no good reason, not to needlessly socialise, not to meet up for grog sessions and get a shock when you find yourself behind bars.
Bainimarama says use time at home with your families to think about what really matters –– care for our country and love for each other.
He says let us draw strength from that compassion; strength that can sustain us through the days, weeks and months it will take to overcome this challenge.
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