Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong urges the politicians who are saying that the Health Ministry has no plan for COVID-19 to walk back that rhetoric and consider the clear and firm plan that the Ministry is working to implement day and night.
Doctor Fong says they are saying the Ministry has no plan, undermining confidence in their mitigation measures.
He says no plan means no hope and that simply isn’t true.
The Permanent Secretary says mitigation is a plan.
He says it is well documented in the Public Health Publications and was part of the preparedness and response document that they developed in February 2020.
Doctor Fong says they follow the science by adjusting it to our context.
He is asking all politicians to use their platforms to help encourage Fijians to follow the clear rules we have in place.
Doctor Fong says if you have 100,000 followers, 1,000 followers, or ten followers: Use your platform.
He is calling on them to help the Ministry to tell people to wear masks, tell people to avoid gatherings and keep good physical distance from others, tell people to install careFIJI and use the new QR code system and tell people why they should make the choice to be vaccinated.
The Permanent Secretary says they can’t win this fight alone.
He says we need all of you with us; and all your family, friends and neighbours.
Doctor Fong says all positive patients are entered into home isolation, contacts of cases are entered into quarantine and must test negative over 14 days before being cleared, areas with high case numbers are being locked down in a targeted manner, groceries and household essentials are being provided to these families under lockdown orders, nursing homes and elderly care facilities have been closed to all visitors; and they are rolling out vaccines at an excellent pace.
He says a Telehealth program piloted in Lautoka to allow for healthcare consultations over the phone is progressing well based on feedback from the clinicians and customers.
They will be looking to expand this pilot project into existing protocols in CWM Hospital and health facilities within the Lami-Nausori containment zone.
He says this is all to say: They are not giving up.
Doctor Fong says a key pillar of their mitigation phase is protecting those most vulnerable; the elderly and those living with co-morbidities that make them more likely to become seriously ill or die from the virus.
He says for their sake, we all must stay the course.
The Permanent Secretary says they are also protecting the economically vulnerable by paving highly-controlled COVID-safe pathways for businesses to re-open.
He says a number of barbershops and hairdressers were given permission to reopen recently.
Doctor Fong says they are confident that as long as the barbers and patrons are wearing masks at all times, haircuts can be managed safely.
He says the risk of transmission, will never be zero but they can bring that risk as close to zero as possible if everyone follows the rules.
Doctor Fong also says groceries and other household essentials have been delivered to areas under lockdown, including in Nawaka, where they had some dangerously crowded protests over the weekend.
He says he was sorry to see that protest take place when groceries and household essentials were already on the way.
The Permanent Secretary says in fact, they had notified the community several days prior that those items were to be delivered that day, and they were delivered on schedule.
He says that same day of the protest, the third delivery of groceries and household items arrived to the community.
Doctor Fong says when he sees crowding like that in a lockdown area, he sees the risk of transmission.
He says we have already seen 119 cases in Nadi since the start of this outbreak, with another 28 confirmed in the last 24 hours, up till 6am this morning.
He is again asking for the patience of the public as they seek to contain the spread of this virus.
Doctor Fong says together with the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Communications, they are strengthening their database by allowing for the electronic registration of household information and their needs.
He also says extensive discussions are taking place to create a mechanism for the many Fijians stuck in Viti Levu to make the journey home.
Doctor Fong says in many instances children have not seen their parents, wives and husbands have been separated.
He says the Health Ministry with the Ministry of Commerce Trade Tourism and Transport, Ministry of Maritime and Rural Affairs and Ministry of iTaukei Affairs have put together a number of protocols to ensure that the protocols of safe travel, including a proper 14 days of quarantine, are fully adhered to.
The Permanent Secretary also thanks all of the businesses that have enlisted in the plan to make Fiji COVID-safe, the businesses that are adopting careFIJI QR codes and the businesses that are offering discounts to vaccinated Fijians.
He says we need more of that and they appreciate the leaders who are using their voices to support this plan and help it succeed.
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