STATEMENT BY THE PERMANENT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES DR. JAMES FONG - 22.07.21

22/07/2021


Transmission Update 
We have 918 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 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 the new cases on the dashboard tomorrow at the following link: http://bit.ly/3vE2ZBb.
 
We also have 15 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 19th July to 21st July - these include deaths that were previously listed as under investigation. 

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 75 year old woman from Suva who died at home on 21/07/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 49 year old man for Nadera who died at home on 20/07/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is a 83 year old man from Tovata who died at home on 20/07/2021.He was not vaccinated. 

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 44 year old man from Cunningham. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day in hospital (22/07/2021). He was not vaccinated.  

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 60 year old man from Narere who died at home on  21/07/2021.He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early-July. He did not receive the 2nd dose of the vaccine. This means he was not fully vaccinated.  

The sixth COVID-19 death to report is a 63 year old man from Nabua who died at home on 20/07/2021.He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in mid-June. He did not receive the 2nd dose of the vaccine. This means he was not fully vaccinated.

The seventh COVID-19 death to report is a 68 year old man from Nadera who died at home on 19/07/2021.He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in late June. He did not receive the 2nd dose of the vaccine. This means he was not fully vaccinated.

The eighth COVID-19 death to report is a 63 year old man from Waimanu Road who died at home on 20/07/2021.He was not vaccinated. 

The ninth COVID-19 death to report is a 84 year old man from Kalekana who died at home on 20/07/2021.He was not vaccinated. 

The tenth COVID-19 death to report is a 53 year old man from Toorak who died at home on the 20/07/2021.He was not vaccinated.

The eleventh COVID-19 death to report is a 63 year old woman from Vatuwaqa who died at home on the 20/07/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The twelfth COVID-19 death to report is a 56 year old man from Makoi who died at home on the 20/07/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The thirteenth COVID-19 death to report is a 72 year old woman from Narere. She presented to the FEMAT field hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day at the hospital (21/07/2021). She was not vaccinated. 

The fourteenth COVID-19 death to report is a 102 year old woman from Cunningham who died at home on the 20/07/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The fifteenth COVID-19 death to report is a 80 year old man from Cautata Village who died at home on the 21/07/2021. He was not vaccinated.

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

There have now been 161 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 159 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. We also have recorded 68 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.  

There have been 179 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 16,403 active cases. There have been 21,291 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 21, 361 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 4,729 recoveries.
 
There is 1 more death currently under investigation. This will be discussed once investigations (including test results) and classifications are complete. 
 
Screening Update
A total of 6,281 individuals were screened and 1,962 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 342,970 individuals screened and 61,971 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 4,220 individuals and swabbed 866 in the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 730,701 individuals screened and 63,937 swabbed by our mobile teams to date.

Testing update
A total of 239,996 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 282,857 tested since testing began in March 2020. 3412 tests have been reported for July 20th. The national 7-day daily test average is 3772 tests per day or 4.3 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 29.7 %.  
 
Vaccination Update
As of the 21st July 419,673 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 86,505 have received their second doses. This means that 71.5% of the target population have received at least one dose and 14.7% 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 1068 cases per day or 1207 cases per million population per day.  With the high numbers of new daily cases we are also seeing increasing cases of severe disease and deaths. 

Advice to the public
For  people with COVID-19 symptoms in Suva-Nausori:  
People who are symptomatic will no longer be tested for COVID-19, and should stay at home and strictly self isolate for 14 days. Most people infected with COVID-19 will have only mild symptoms like cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, loss of taste or smell, body ache, headache, and can fully recover at home. For lower-risk individuals with COVID symptoms, we ask you to please stay at home for 14 days, isolate yourself from other family members, and continue to monitor your symptoms for severe COVID-19. If you develop any signs of severe COVID-19, like difficulty breathing or chest pain, please go immediately to one of our dedicated health facilities: 

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

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

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

If you or someone you are caring for is at high risk of severe COVID – in particular individuals over 50 years, have a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, asthma, are obese, or are pregnant – we need you to get in touch right away and visit one of our screening clinics. If you test positive, then we will ensure you are provided immediate care by our health teams. 

1.) For symptomatic workers who need official leave from work, they are recommended to attend the nearest screening clinic to be checked and to obtain a medical certificate for the 14 days home isolation.

2.) Symptomatic workers can also obtain a medical certificate for the 14 days self isolation at home from participating General Practitioners (GPs).