Fiji has recorded 968 new cases of COVID-19 and 11 new deaths Thursday increasing the total number of cases in the island nation to 34,818 since the outbreak that started in April this year.
Fiji’s permanent secretary for Health, Dr James Fong said 292 cases are from the Western division and 676 cases are from the Central division in Vitilevu, Fiji’s main island.
He said there have been 385 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 23,226 active cases.
“18,589 active cases are in the Central Division and 4,637 in the West.
“There have been 34,818 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 34,888 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 11,233 recoveries.” he said.
Dr Fong said the 11 new COVID-19 deaths reported for the period of 02 – 5 August. Eight of the deaths were in the Central Division, and 3 deaths were from the Western Division.
“The first COVID-19 death to report is a 15-year-old from Tavua. She was presented to a medical facility in respiratory distress and she was transferred to Lautoka hospital. Her family reported that she had a fever, cough and shortness of breath two days prior to presentation. Clinical investigations revealed that she was positive for both leptospirosis and COVID-19.
Sadly, her condition worsened at the hospital and she died one day after admission (03/08/2021). Her doctors have determined that she died from severe COVID-19 with leptospirosis. Both diseases contributed to her death. She was not vaccinated against COVID-19; she was not in the target population of people 18 years and over that are eligible to receive the vaccine,” he said.
“The second COVID-19 death to report is a 60-year-old man from Lami who died at home on the 04/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.
“The COVID-19 death to report is a 51-year-old woman from Raiwaqa who died at home on the 04/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.
“The fourth COVID-19 death to report is an 85-year-old man from Lautoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Lautoka Hospital Emergency Department. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He was not vaccinated.
“The fifth COVID-19 death to report is an 88-year-old man from Sigatoka. He was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Sigatoka Sub Divisional Hospital. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. He was not vaccinated.
“The sixth COVID-19 death to report is an 86-year-old man from Toorak who presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died on the same day (04/08/2021). He received the first dose of the vaccine in early June. He did not receive the second dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
“The seventh COVID-19 death to report is an 85-year-old woman from Tailevu who died at home on the 02/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.
“The eighth COVID-19 death to report is a 55-year-old man from Tailevu who died at home on the 02/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.
“The ninth COVID-19 death to report is a 70-year-old woman from Tailevu who died at home on the 02/08/2021. She was not vaccinated.
“The tenth COVID-19 death to report is a 90-year-old man from Raiwai who died at home on the 05/08/2021. He was not vaccinated.
“The eleventh COVID-19 death to report is an 85-year-old man from Naitasiri who died at home on the 04/08/2021. He was not vaccinated,” said Dr Fong.
He said there have been 4 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.
“There have now been 283 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 281 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. The 7-day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 6.
“We also have recorded 146 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,” said Dr Fong.
He said there are currently 311 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals in Fiji.
“63 patients are admitted at the Lautoka hospital. In Suva, 78 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 170 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 48 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 6 are in critical condition.
“A total of 287,237 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 330,098 tested since testing began in March 2020. 3352 tests have been reported for 03 August. The national 7-day daily test average is 3401 tests per day or 3.8 tests per 1,000 population. The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 32.4 percent” said Dr Fong.
He also said the Western division health teams will no longer carry out contact tracing.
“Due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the Western division, it is necessary to adjust the current health services strategy for the division in mitigation phase.
“Health response teams in the Western division will now be redirected to the identification and close monitoring of people with COVID-19 symptoms who are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19.
“Members of the public who return positive COVID-19 test results will be provided advice and resources to aid their self-isolation at home.” said Dr Fong.
As of 04 August 498,680 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 164,974 have received their second doses. This means that 85% of the target population have received at least one dose and 28.1% are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
SOURCE: PACNEWS
