Transmission Update
We have 398 new cases of COVID-19 to report for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. 254 cases are from the Western Division and 144 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 703 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 23,981 active cases. 17,999 active cases are in the Central Division and 5,982 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 38,742 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 38,812 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 14,301 recoveries.
Deaths
We have 5 new COVID-19 deaths to report for the period of August 10th-12th. Three deaths were reported from the Central Division and two deaths were reported from the Western Division.
The first COVID-19 death to report is a 91 year old woman from Navua who died at home on the 10/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death to report is an 86 year old woman from Rakiraki. She was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Rakiraki Hospital on 10/08/2021. This means that she died at home or on her way to the hospital. She was not vaccinated.
The third COVID-19 death to report is a 30 year old man from Ba. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Ba Mission Hospital on 10/08/2021. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death to report is a 71 year old man from Naitasiri who died at home on the 11/08/2021. His family reported that he had a cough and fever two days prior. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death to report is a 76 year old man from Naitaisiri who died at home on the 12/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.
There have been 8 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 345 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 343 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 9. The 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central Division is 6 deaths and the Western Division is 3 deaths. We also have recorded 185 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.
Hospitalisations
There are currently 291 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital. 72 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 60 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 159 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 67 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 14 are in critical condition.
Screening Update
A total of 5,916 individuals were screened and 671 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 444,204 individuals screened and 77,909 swabbed to date. As of the 11th August our mobile screening teams screened a total of 1,514 individuals and swabbed 124. This brings our cumulative total to 787,035 individuals screened and 69,446 swabbed by our mobile teams.
Testing update
A total of 301,011 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 343,872 tested since testing began in March 2020. 1622 tests have been reported for August 10th. The 7-day daily test average is 1968 tests per day or 2.2 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 34.5%.
Vaccination Update
As of the 11th August 528,706 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 202,334 have received their second doses. This means that 90.1% of the target population have received at least one dose and 34.5% 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 561 cases per day or 634 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 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
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. 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.