STATEMENT BY THE PERMANENT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES DR. JAMES FONG - 09.07.21

We have 860 new cases of COVID-19 and 3 COVID-19 deaths 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.
 
The first COVID-19 death is a 56 year old man from Davuilevu. He was admitted to the CWM Hospital with COVID-19 symptoms (cough, fever and generalized body pains) that he had for two weeks. His condition worsened in hospital and he died 3 days after admission. He was not vaccinated.
 
The second COVID-19 death is a 68 year old man from Suva. He was referred to the CWM Hospital from the Samabula screening clinic. He was noted to be in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died one day after admission. He was not vaccinated.
 
The third COVID-19 death is a 69 year old woman from Nabua. She was referred to the CWM Hospital from the Samabula Health Center. She presented in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened in hospital and she died on the same day. She was not vaccinated. 
 
One more death, a 15 year old,  is currently being investigated by the clinical team to determine the cause of death.
 
There have now been 51 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 49 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. As of the 9th July the 7-day average daily deaths in Fiji is 3 deaths per day. Out of the 49 COVID-19 deaths in this outbreak 41(84%) individuals were unvaccinated and 8 (16%) individuals received only one dose of the vaccine. None of the individuals that have died from COVID-19 in Fiji have been fully vaccinated. We also have recorded 19 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19. None of these individuals, who died from non-COVID related medical conditions, were fully vaccinated.
 
There have been 62 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 7,932 active cases. There have been 9,451 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 9,521 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 1,518 recoveries.
 
Screening Update
A total of 7, 103 individuals were screened and 1,990 swabbed at our stationary screening clinics in the last 24 hours, bringing our cumulative total to 271,150 individuals screened and 40,717 swabbed to date. Our mobile screening teams screened a total of 3,292 individuals and swabbed 417 in the last 24 hours. This brings our cumulative total to 687,265 individuals screened and 57,305 swabbed by our mobile teams to date.
 
Testing update
188,148 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 231,009 tested since testing began in early 2020. 3373 tests have been reported for July 7th. Testing number data for all labs for July 7th are still being received and so the testing number is expected to increase once updated. The national 7-day daily test average is 3512 tests per day or 4 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 15.5% and continues on an upward trend.
 
Vaccination Update
As of July 8th, 340,334 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 62,445 have received their second doses. This means that 58% of the target population have received at least one dose and 10.6% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
 
The two drive-through vaccination centers within the Suva- Nausori Corridor (Albert Park and the Fiji National University- Nasinu Campus at Valelevu) will be open tomorrow (Saturday 10th July 2021 from 9am- 2pm for vaccination).  
 
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 has increased to 610 cases per day or 689 cases per million population per day. Today was another daily record of cases, and with daily increases in cases we are also seeing increasing cases of severe COVID-19 and increasing deaths.   
  
Advice to the public
With increasing daily cases, hospitalisations, and deaths, we are asking all Fijians to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Getting fully vaccinated, with 2 doses of the vaccine, will decrease your risk of getting infected with the virus. But most importantly, getting fully vaccinated will significantly reduce your risk of getting severe COVID-19, even if you do get infected. None of the people who have died from COVID-19 in Fiji have been fully vaccinated. And we know from data from the United Kingdom that the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine reduces the risk of hospitalization from the Delta variant by 92%. Vaccination locations are published daily on the Ministry’s website, social media, and in the daily newspapers.