Fiji recorded 262 new cases of COVID-19 Sunday with 43 cases from six new areas of interest.
Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services, Dr James Fong said five cases are known contacts of cases from the Nawakalevu containment zone that have been undergoing 14-day quarantine in quarantine facilities in Nadi.
He said three are contacts from within the existing Korovou cluster, while the remaining 254 cases are from the Lami-Suva-Nausori containment zone.
Dr Fong said 113 cases are from existing areas of interest in this zone, and 43 are from new areas of interest includes Jittu Estate, MV Liohona Shipping, Milverton Rd, Natogadravu, Waikete Village, Nauluvatu Village.
He said the remaining cases are contacts of known cases, cases that were seen in screening clinics and were swabbed, and cases under investigation to determine possible sources of transmission.
The national seven-day average daily test positivity now stands at 7.4 percent and continues on an upward trend.
This is way above the World Health Organisation’s five percent threshold, which means the outbreak is now out of control.
“The seven-day average of new cases per day has increased to 234 cases or 264 cases per million population per day,” Dr Fong said.
“Our daily testing numbers have remained at a high level, and yet our test positivity continues to increase.
“All the evidence is that there is widespread community transmission in the Lami-Suva-Nausori containment zone.
“This means the outbreak is not confined to specific areas and everyone should take the necessary precautions and prevent themselves and their loved ones from getting infected,” he said.
Dr Fong said there have been 17 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 2,813 active cases in isolation.
He said there have been 3,521 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 3,591 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 753 recoveries.
Dr Fong said there have been 15 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 13 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
SOURCE: FIJI TIMES/FBC NEWS/PACNEWS
