STATEMENT BY THE PERMANENT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES DR. JAMES FONG - 24.07.21

24/07/2021


Transmission Update
 

We have 684 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 5 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 19th July to 23rd July. 
 
The first COVID-19 death to report is a 73 year old woman from Namoli Village, Lautoka. She presented to the Lautoka Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the hospital and she died on the same day 19/07/2021. She was not vaccinated.
 
The second COVID-19 death to report is a 96 year old woman from Nadera who died at home on 22/07/2021. She was not vaccinated.
 
The third COVID-19 death to report is a 67 year old woman from Suva who died at home on 22/07/2021. She was not vaccinated.
 
The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 57 year old woman from Nasinu. She presented to a health facility in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the health facility and she died on the same day 23/07/2021. She was not vaccinated.
 
The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 57 year old man from Nasinu who died at home on 23/07/2021. He was not vaccinated.
 
There have been 12 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 177 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 175 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. We also have recorded 87 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 165 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 16,563 active cases. There have been 22,443 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 22,513 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 5,686 recoveries.
 
Screening Update

A total of 5,726 individuals were screened and 1,656 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 354,948 individuals screened and 65,606 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 4,320 individuals and swabbed 638 in the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 739,036 individuals screened and 65,450 swabbed by our mobile teams to date.
 
Testing update
A total of 247,846 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 290,707 tested since testing began in March 2020. 3694  tests have been reported for July 22nd July. Updated testing number data for one lab has been received for July 21st and total number for that day has been updated. The national 7-day daily test average is 3841 tests per day or 4.3 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 24.4 %.  
 
Vaccination Update
As of the 23nd July 438,535 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 95,173 have received their second doses. This means that 74.8% of the target population have received at least one dose and 16.2% 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 863 cases per day or 975 cases per million population per day.  The recent drop in new cases yesterday and today should be viewed with caution - daily case numbers have increased and decreased in the past and will continue to  vary. This is influenced by a number of factors including where samples that were tested on a particular day came from - for example the Western Division samples are currently being prioritised as they are still in the containment phase, and quick turn around of results will help with identifying cases and contacts early and contain transmission. It is more helpful to monitor our 7 day average of cases over a period of time to assess our trend of cases.
 
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).