Many students seen without masks and standing in crowds in Suva

The Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says they will be providing guidance to enforcers of COVID-safe protocols after many students were seen not practicing COVID-safe protocols at the Suva Bus Stand yesterday.

Fijivillage saw students from different schools standing close to each other and were not wearing masks.

They were also seen standing in crowds and there was no physical distancing while they were sitting in buses.

This is concerning as while these students may be vaccinated, they can still contract COVID-19 with the Ministry of Health already stating that based on what they are seeing overseas, we should expect a large number of cases and infections could also occur in vaccinated persons and those who have previously been infected with the Delta variant.

The Ministry of Health is urging people to always carry a well-fitted mask when they leave home, avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, maintain at least 2 metres of physical distancing from others when outside their homes and wash their hands frequently with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser.

We have also sent questions to the Ministry of Education and the Fiji Police Force on what they will be doing to ensure students adhere to COVID-safe protocols.

They are yet to respond.