Fiji has recorded 653 new cases of COVID-19 and eight new deaths Wednesday, increasing the total number of cases to 41,760 and 411 deaths since the outbreak in April.
Permanent secretary for Health, Dr James Fong said 462 cases are from the Western division and 191 cases are from the Central division in Vitilevu, Fiji’s main island.
“There have been 1,088 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 21,304 active cases. 13,652 active cases are in the Central division, 7,651 active cases in the Western division and one active case in the Northern division
“There have been 41,760 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 41,830 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 19,883 recoveries,” he said.
Dr Fong said the eight new COVID-19 deaths reported for the period of 14 -18 August. Five deaths were reported from the Central division and three deaths were reported from the Western division.
He said there have been seven 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.
“There have now been 413 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 411 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. As of 17th August the national seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 10. The seven-day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central division is 4 and in the Western division is six.
We also have recorded 230 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 327 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital in Fiji.
“124 patients are admitted to the Lautoka Hospital, 44 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 159 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi. 54 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 15 are in critical condition.
The national seven-day average daily test positivity is 33.3 percent,” Dr Fong said.
As of 17 August 537,704 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 220,034 have received their second doses.
“This means that 91.7 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 37.5 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide. We are currently doing a mop up exercise of our first dose campaign, which will allow us to specifically target specific communities with low coverage, and subsequently also correct and update the total eligible population for our current vaccination programme,” said Dr Fong.
SOURCE: PACNEWS
