Two people have tested positive to Covid on remote Malolo Island as infections and deaths soar, health authorities said.
Malolo Island is the largest of the Mamanuca Group off Fiji's west coast. Photo: Supplied
The government also confirmed 302 cases yesterday. Nine patients have died, taking the death toll to 453.
That compared with 591 cases and six deaths reported on Monday.
Health Secretary Dr James Fong said of the latest cases, 148 were from the Western Division and 154 cases from the Central Division.
Dr Fong said early investigations had revealed that the two individuals who tested positive on Malolo had travelled to the island from Viti Levu without proper authorisation.
"They are currently isolated, further details will be provided once investigations are complete." he said.
"The Ministry of Health is again urging all Fijians not to engage in unauthorised travel to and from Viti Levu. All our current protocols to regulate domestic movements must be followed to prevent spread of the virus beyond Viti Levu.
"The remoteness of the maritime islands, and their limited resources, mean that any outbreak with severe cases will be very challenging to manage.
"We need the people in our maritime islands fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to help protect them from severe disease and death before any movement occurs beyond the current controlled repatriation."
Dr Fong said community leaders and elders to support the ministry's efforts in protecting the maritime islands.
He urged them to report any suspicious movement into their communities.
,, Photo: Red Cross
Dr Fong said the nine new deaths were reported between 18 and 23 August - four in the Central Division and five deaths in the West.
They were all aged between 29 and 84, three died at home while the rest passed away in hospital.
"There have been nine more deaths of positive patients. However, these deaths have been classified as non-Covid related. Doctors have determined the deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions.
"There have been 453 deaths due to Covid-19 in Fiji, with 451 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
Due to the time required by clinical teams to investigate, classify and report deaths, a 4-day interval is required to calculate the 7-day rolling average of deaths.
This is based on date of death in order to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported," Dr Fong said.
As of 19 August, the 7-day rolling average of Covid deaths per day is 10. The 7-day rolling average per day in the Central Division is 4 and in the West 6.
Dr Fong said 266 positive patients had also died from serious medical conditions they had before they contracted Covid-19, these are not classified as Covid deaths.
More than 400 people have recovered and there are now 18,916 active cases in isolation.
Dr James Fong. Photo: Facebook/Fiji govt
Response plan for Kadavu
Meanwhile, the situation on Kadavu remains a major concern, Dr Fong said.
According to the ministry, clinical scoping teams had put together a clinical response plan to help escalate the government's response to the expected wave of severe disease and deaths in Kadavu.
"However we do anticipate this to be a challenging exercise," Dr Fong said. "The team is expected to depart for Kadavu over the next two days.
"The response to Kadavu will involve both public health and clinical teams, which will include doctors and nurses from the clinical specialized fields of medicine.
"The clinical team will boost up the public health response on case identification through rapid diagnostic tests, risk assessment and stratification, Covid awareness, vaccination coverage and clinical case management based on the clinical care flow pathway."
Dr Fong said the aim is to identify the extent of transmission, instituting containment strategies, early detection and retrieval of sick cases and minimizing deaths.
He said the teams would also work closely with officials from other ministries on Kadavu on community engagement.
He said they will also help minimize severe and critical cases given the expected challenges in medical evacuation.
"While they commit towards community response and engagement the logistic teams will be setting up the Covid wards and the intermediate care facilities in readiness for patients with severe Covid."
.. Photo: Supplied/Save the Children
Dr Fong said there are 264 Covid patients admitted to hospital - 111 at the Lautoka Hospital, 38 at the FEMAT field hospital, and 115 are admitted at the Colonial War Memorial, St Giles and Makoi hospitals.
He said 24 patients are in severe condition, while 10 are critical.
As of 23 August, 545,459 people in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 241,027 have got both jabs.
"This means that 93 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 41.1 percent are now fully vaccinated."
Covid update
- 430 new recoveries
- 18,916 active cases
- 9653 active cases are in the Central Division - 9127 in the West, one in the North (Nabouwalu) and 135 active cases in the Eastern Division (all on Kadavu).
- 44,420 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021
- 44,490 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 24,855 recoveries.
