Fiji has recorded 255 new cases of COVID-19 and six deaths reported Wednesday, increasing the total number of cases to 44,675 and 457 deaths since the outbreak in April.
Permanent secretary for Health, Dr James Fong said 138 cases are from the Western division and 117 cases are from the Central division in Vitilevu, Fiji’s main Island.
He said 15 more individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 in Vunabaka, Malolo Island.
“Early investigations have determined that more than 20 people had recently engaged in unauthorised travel from Viti Levu to Malolo Island.
“There are now 17 active cases on Malolo Island, including the two announced Tuesday, with more expected.
“A medical team from Lautoka have travelled to Malolo Island to assist the onsite medical team with the necessary response, including isolation of cases, contact tracing, and quarantine of contacts,” said Dr Fong.
He said there have been 53 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 19,107 active cases.
“9,717 active cases are in the Central division, 9,254 active cases in the Western division, one active case in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu) and 135 active cases in the Eastern division (all in Kadavu).
There have been 44,675 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 44,745 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 24,908 recoveries,” Dr Fong said.
He explained the six new COVID-19 deaths reported for the period of 22 – 24 August. Three deaths were reported from the Central division and three deaths were reported from the Western division.
“There have now been 459 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 457 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. As of 20th August, the national seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is eight. The seven-day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central division is three and in the Western division is five.
“We also have recorded 271 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 242 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals in Fiji.
“103 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 28 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 111 admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.
“44 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and eight are in critical condition,” Dr Fong said.
He said as of 24 August mobile screening teams screened a total of 2336 individuals and swabbed 98.
“This brings our cumulative total to 804,198 individuals screened and 71,039 swabbed by our mobile teams.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 24.6 percent,” Dr Fong said.
As of the 24 August, 547,252 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 245,749 have received their second doses.
“This means that 93.3 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 41.9 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide,” said Dr Fong.
SOURCE: PACNEWS
