Dr Fong concerned about ‘lockdown party’ in Lami and stresses the need not to have gatherings

Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong stresses that gatherings are not allowed for the simple reason that congregations of any size can become superspreader events.

He highlighted this after he saw some photos of a picnic happening in Lami on Wednesday, one of several high-risk areas in the country.

Doctor Fong says it was mostly young people who were having a bit of a “lockdown party”.

He says in one photo, he counted 19 people piled on top of one another, mostly young people.

Doctor Fong says if even one of them was carrying COVID-19, that could easily result in 18 more cases.

He says young people are generally thought to be at lower risk of severe COVID-19 but that does not matter.

The Permanent Secretary says they are not immune, as we have seen from other countries that once a large outbreak takes hold, everyone is affected.

Doctor Fong says young people can also end up being hospitalised and dying, and many of us also share homes with multiple generations.

He says we have children, parents, and grandparents all under one roof.

Doctor Fong says this is a fact: Something as simple as a picnic could get people killed.

He says that is why he is asking every mother and father in Fiji to please keep their children at home.

Meanwhile the Health Ministry has completed the first round of screening in Narere and Cunningham, and have screened over 95 percent of target population in Wainivula, Caubati, Tacirua and Makoi, with 144,747 people screened across Viti Levu and many more thousands to go.

Doctor James Fong says these screenings do work, especially at identifying high-risk contagious cases of COVID-19 but just because you have been screened does not mean you are clear to flaunt any of the restrictions.

Doctor Fong stresses that screening is different from testing, and it is far from as effective as a proper 14 days in quarantine.

He says that is why they will be screening high-risk areas multiple times, as someone screened once may well become a viral carrier days later.