STATEMENT BY THE PERMANENT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES DR. JAMES FONG - 13.08.21

13/08/2021


Transmission Update
We have 644 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 87 cases are from the Western Division and 557 cases are from the Central Division. A full breakdown of areas of interest will be published online tonight on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard and on the Fijian Government Facebook page. You will also be able to view the approximate locations of new cases, active cases, and recovered cases on the dashboard at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb. 

There have been 322 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 24,281 active cases. 18,210 active cases are in the Central Division and 6071 active cases in the Western Division. All cases that were recorded in the Northern and Eastern Divisions (cases that were imported from Viti Levu) have recovered and there are no active cases currently in those divisions. 

There have been 39,386 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 39,456 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 14,623 recoveries.

Deaths
We have 15 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of August 9th-12th.  One death was reported from the Central Division and fourteen deaths were reported from the Western Division.  

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 67 year old man from Tailevu. He presented to the CWMH hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died one day after admission (11/08/2021). He received the first dose of the vaccine in late-July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 49 year old woman from Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died five days after admission (11/08/2021). She received the first dose of the vaccine in early-April. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is a 60 year old man from Lautoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital on 09/08/2021. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He received his first dose of the vaccine in early July. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is an 81 year old woman from Lautoka. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital on 10/08/2021. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She received the first dose of the vaccine in late July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 69 year old man from Lautoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital on 10/08/2021. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He was not vaccinated. 

The sixth COVID-19 death to report 65 year old woman from Ba. She presented to the Ba Mission Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day (09/08/2021). She was not vaccinated. 

The seventh COVID-19 death to report is an 85 year old woman from Nadi. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Nadi Hospital on the 11/08/2021. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She was not vaccinated.

The eighth COVID-19 death to report 60 year old man from Tavua. He presented to the Tavua Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day (12/08/2021). He was not vaccinated.

The ninth COVID-19 death to report is an 80 year old man from Rakiraki. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Rakiraki Hospital on 10/08/2021. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He was not vaccinated.

The tenth COVID-19 death to report is a 56 year old woman from Sigatoka. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Hospital on 09/08/2021. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She was not vaccinated. 

The eleventh COVID-19 death to report is a 58 year old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Hospital on 10/08/2021. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He was not vaccinated.

The twelve COVID-19 death to report is a 69 year old woman from Nadi. She presented to the Nadi Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day (12/08/2021). She received the first dose of the vaccine in early June. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated. 

The thirteenth COVID-19 death to report 61 year old woman from Nadi. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died one day after admission on the (12/08/2021). She received one dose of the vaccine in late July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated.

The fourteenth COVID-19 death to report 56 year old woman from Rakiraki. She presented to the Rakiraki Hospital in severe respiratory distress. She was transferred by a medical team from the Rakiraki hospital to the Lautoka Hospital. She died on the same day (12/08/2021). She received the first dose in late July. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated. 

The fifteen COVID-19 death to report is a 51 year old woman from Ba. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Ba Mission Hospital on the 10/08/2021. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She received the first dose of the vaccine in early June. She did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that she was not fully vaccinated. 

There have been 7 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors. Doctors have determined that their deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.

With today’s newly reported deaths, there have now been 360 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 358 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. The national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.  The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 4 deaths and the Western Division is 3 deaths. We also have recorded 192 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths. 

To date no one in Fiji has died due to COVID-19 after they have been fully-vaccinated. A fully vaccinated person has had 2 doses of the vaccine and at least two weeks (14 days) have passed after the second dose. If a person becomes infected with the virus within those 2 weeks after the final dose, they will likely not have the full protective effect of the vaccine. 

Hospitalisations
There are currently 291 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital. 72 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 62 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 157 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 58 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 9 are in critical condition. 

Screening Update
A total of 4,766 individuals were screened and 594 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 448,970 individuals screened and 78,503 swabbed to date. As of the 12th August our mobile screening teams screened a total of 1,527 individuals and swabbed 157. This brings our cumulative total to 788,562 individuals screened and 69,603 swabbed by our mobile teams. 

Testing update
A total of 303,951 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 346,812 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1618 tests have been reported for August 11th and 1322 tests have been reported for August 12th. Testing data for some labs for both dates are still being received and so the testing number is expected to increase once updated. The 7-day daily test average is 1562 tests per day or 1.8 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 36.4%.  

Vaccination Update
As of the 12th August 531,546 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 206,670 have received their second doses. This means that 90.6% of the target population have received at least one dose and 35.2% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.

 Fijians can check the Ministry’s vaccine dashboard to find real-time data on first-dose and second-dose numbers at the national, divisional and sub-divisional levels. You can access the live dashboard at http://bit.ly/3h2JfCZ

Epidemic Outlook
The 7-day average of new cases per day is 545 cases per day or 616 cases per million population per day. We have noted a drop in cases reported per day recently. However, our daily testing numbers have also been dropping around the same time, due to the change in testing policy in Suva-Nausori. As announced on July 21st by the Permanent Secretary, only persons that have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 are being targeted for testing in Suva-Nausori. This was done so that resources could be targeted to early detection, monitoring and care of persons with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of severe disease, to prevent more people succumbing to severe disease and death. 

We are likely seeing the effect of this testing policy change now in Suva-Nausori with the drop in daily reported cases. This does not mean that the outbreak is on a downward trend in the Suva-Nausori community. As previously announced by the Permanent Secretary, daily case numbers in Suva-Nausori are currently not being used as an indicator to monitor progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori. The Ministry is closely monitoring other indicators such as test positivity, hospitalisations and deaths to track the progress of the outbreak in Suva-Nausori. Test positivity in Suva-Nausori was between 40-50% before the change in testing policy and has remained at this high level, which is above the national average. This is one indicator of the continuing high level of community transmission in this area. 

Testing levels in the Western Division remain consistently high with 3.8-4 tests per 1000 population per day at a 7 day average. We are seeing increasing cases reported in the Western Division with evidence of widespread community transmission in that division.  We are also noting an increasing trend of deaths in the Western Division. 

The Northern and Eastern Divisions currently have no active cases. 

Advice to the public
People with severe COVID-19 are still dying at home, or they are coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness. We are now seeing this happening in the Western Division as deaths are increasing in that division. 

Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease. You are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 if you are over the age of 50 or have a non-communicable disease or chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease, or if you are obese or pregnant. If you are at high risk of severe disease and have any symptoms of COVID-19 such as a cough, runny nose, fever, sore throat, body ache, headache, loss of taste/smell - please come to your nearest screening clinic to be checked and tested by our medical teams. 

We need also need all Fijians to know the severe symptoms of COVID-19, which include the following: 

• Difficulty breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• Severe headache for a few days
• New confusion, inability to wake or stay awake
• Pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds

In Suva-Nausori we have identified health facilities specifically designated to receive people with symptoms of severe COVID-19. If you or a loved one live in Suva-Nausori and have any of these severe symptoms please go immediately to the designated health facilities listed below. 

- Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH)
- FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena

Individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to:
- Nausori Health Centre
-Wainibokasi Hospital

In the Western Division, please go to your nearest healthcare facility if you have any symptoms of COVID-19. 

Call 165 if you are unable to travel to  a medical facility.