STATEMENT BY THE PERMANENT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES DR JAMES FONG - 04.08.21

04/08/2021


Transmission Update
We have 1187 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 387 cases are from the Western Division and 800 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 1204 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 22,658 active cases. 18,318 active cases are in the Central Division and 4,340 in the West. 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 33,850 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 33,920 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 10,848 recoveries.

Deaths
We have 11 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of 31st July- 04th August. 9 of the deaths were in the Central Division, and 2 deaths were from the Western Division.

The first COVID-19 death to report is a 65 year old man from Nasinu who died at home on the 03/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The second COVID-19 death to report is a 75 year old man from Suva who died at home on the 02/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The third COVID-19 death to report is a 68 year old woman from Kinoya who died at home on the 31/07/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 78 year old woman from Tailevu. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the medical facility and she died on the same day (03/08/2021). She was not vaccinated.

The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 71 year old man from Tailevu who died at home on the 31/07/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The sixth COVID-19 death to report is a 50 year old woman from Lautoka. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She was not vaccinated.
 
The seventh COVID-19 death to report is a 21 year old man from Malake Island. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Rakiraki Sub-Divisional Hospital. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. His family reported that he had shortness of breath one day prior to presentation. He received his first dose of the vaccine in early May. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
 
The eighth COVID-19 death to report is a 53 year old woman from Nasinu. She presented to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the hospital and she died one day after admission (03/08/2021). She was not vaccinated.

 The ninth COVID-19 death to report is a 44 year old man from Suva who died at home on the 04/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.

The tenth COVID-19 death to report is a 60 year woman from Caubati who died at home on the 04/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

The eleventh COVID-19 death to report is a 61 year woman from Makoi who died at home on the 04/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.

There have been 3 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their 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 272 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 270 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 7.  We also have recorded 142 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.

Hospitalisations
In the Central Division: There are currently 254 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital. 79 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 175 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 46 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 10 are in critical condition. Hospital admission data for the Western Division is awaiting update.

Screening Update
A total of 5,586 individuals were screened and 766 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 405,538 individuals screened and 72,528 swabbed to date. As of the 03rd August our mobile screening teams screened a total of 1,803 individuals and swabbed 201. This brings our cumulative total to 774, 106 individuals screened and 68,371 swabbed by our mobile teams.

Testing update
A total of 283,885 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 326,746 tested since testing began in March 2020. 3504 tests have been reported for August 02nd. Based on available data the national 7-day daily test average is 3388 tests per day or 3.8 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 32.0 %. 
 
Vaccination Update
As of the 03rd August 494, 855 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 158,271 have received their second doses. This means that 84.4% of the target population have received at least one dose and 27% 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 1103 cases per day or 1247 cases per million population per day. Daily cases numbers remain high, and daily test positivity remains high, indicating ongoing widespread community transmission in the Suva-Nausori containment zone. Cases are also increasing in the West with evidence of community transmission in that division.  We are also recording increasing numbers of people with severe disease, and deaths in the West. The Northern and Eastern Divisions currently have no active cases.

Advice to the public
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services, with assistance from the World Health Organisation, has reviewed the current advice that recommends a waiting period of 90 days before a person previously infected with COVID-19 should receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Based on updated evidence, and advice from WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), and established practice in other countries, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services now advises that all those who have recovered recently from COVID-19 or presumed COVID-19 are eligible for vaccination once they have completed 14 days of isolation and recovered from acute illness.

The evidence is that the vaccine is safe for people with prior COVID-19 infection, including within 90 days of recent recovery. Furthermore, while there is evidence that previous infection confers immunity for at least 6 months; immunity from previous infection will have limited protection from other variants of concern. This is why people who have been previously infected with COVID-19 need to be vaccinated. We are also aware that the previous advice was partly promoted when vaccine supply was limited to ensure priority is given to those without any immunity. Given the high level of vaccine supply, the safety data, the need for broader protection, and the highly transmissible nature of the Delta variant, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services advice is that all those who have recovered recently from COVID-19 or presumed COVID-19 are eligible for vaccination once they have completed 14 days of isolation and recovered from acute illness.