Four COVID-19 patients in Fiji who are considered to be in severe condition are on ventilators and 74 patients are on oxygen support in the hospital.
This, according to Health Ministry chief medical adviser Dr Jemesa Tudravu.
He said over 40 percent of COVID-19 patients were on oxygen support.
Dr Tudravu said 386 individuals were admitted at the COVID-19 isolation facilities in the hospitals.
He said 19,905 individuals in the Central Division were under home isolation and 30,883 in the Western Division.
Dr Tudravu said the focus was to raise awareness on COVID-19 and the need to address immediate community needs such as water, sanitation, and food.
“The data that they are getting from the assessment is assisting the ministry in directing responses to areas of need.
“This is in terms of setting up additional screening facilities, intermediate care facilities, the additional isolation beds and wards in their respective facilities.
“The home isolation teams that follow-up patients, virtually, or through the use of phone-based care, putting strict risk stratification and putting people on care pathways.”
Dr Tudravu said the ministry had also set up mobile teams that visited vulnerable populations.
“And they have set up call centres in the division to receive and process calls that come through the 165 and establish patient care, patient retrieval programmes for patients are additional commands centres working on improving and strengthening these main response activity areas.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services is investigating a positive COVID-19 case from Vanualevu who is a person working at the Nabouwalu wharf.
“Investigations into how this person got infected are still in the very early stages,” said the ministry in a statement.
“However, it appears the exposure to the virus happened onboard a ship unloading cargo from Suva earlier this week. This person tested positive during routine swabbing of wharf workers Friday,13 August.”
The positive person has been securely moved to the Malau isolation facility and household members have been quarantined. So far, the person’s household members have tested negative for the virus.
With the help of the careFIJI app the Ministry’s COVID-19 response team in the Northern Division have identified other primary contacts, including workplace contacts, and they have been quarantined, with test results pending.
The team is continuing to trace other people that the person may have come into contact with during the infectious period.
The Ministry has assured the people of the Northern division that its health team is working very closely with other local agencies and communities to prevent any further spread of the virus.
The Permanent Secretary will be briefed by the Northern team on the progress of investigations and the response and decisions will be made about any further measures that may be required to quickly halt transmission.
On Friday Fiji recorded 644 new cases of COVID-19 and 15 new deaths, while on Saturday the island nation recorded 314 new cases of COVID-19 and eight new deaths.
SOURCE: FIJI TIMES/PACNEWS
