Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has confirmed there are 13 new COVID-19 deaths for the period of 14th July to 17th July while 1,043 new COVID cases have been confirmed for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Doctor Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 77-year-old woman from Toorak. She presented to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened in the hospital and she died on the same day on 17th July. She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 49-year-old man from Vatuwaqa. He presented to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the hospital and he died on the same day on 15th July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine on 14th June. He had not received the 2nd dose of the vaccine. This means that he was not fully vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the third COVID-19 death is an 88-year-old woman from Nasinu who died at home on 14th July. She was not vaccinated.
The fourth COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old man from Cunningham. He was brought to the FEMAT field hospital on 16th July and declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer. This means that he died at home or on his way to the hospital. His family reported that he had been unwell, with symptoms including fever, cough and shortness of breath for at least 7 days at home. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man from Laucala Beach. He was brought to the FEMAT field hospital and noted to be in severe respiratory distress. His condition worsened in the FEMAT field hospital and he died on the same day on 16th July. His family reported that he had been feeling unwell with a cough at home. He received his 1st dose of the vaccine on 29th June. He had not received the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says the sixth COVID-19 death is a 65-year-old woman from Kinoya.
She presented to the FEMAT field hospital in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened in the FEMAT field hospital and she died on the same day on 17th July. She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early-June. She had not received the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
The seventh COVID-19 death is a 69-year-old woman from Samabula. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. She was retrieved by a medical team to the FEMAT field hospital. Her condition worsened in the FEMAT field hospital and she died on the same day on 17th July. She received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early July. She had not received the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 86 year old man from Valelevu who died at home on 17th July. He was not vaccinated.
The ninth COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old woman from Raiwaqa who died at home on 17th July. She was not vaccinated.
The tenth COVID-19 death is a 60-year-old woman from Nausori. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the medical facility and she died on the same day on 17th July. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the eleventh COVID-19 death is a 77-year-old woman from Narere. She presented to a medical facility in severe respiratory distress. Her condition worsened at the medical facility and she died on the same day on 14th July. Her family reported that she was unwell with COVID-19 symptoms two days before. She was not vaccinated.
The twelfth COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old man from Valelevu who died at home on 15th July. His family reported that he had been unwell with COVID-19 symptoms (cough and shortness of breath). He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early June. He had not received the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
The thirteenth COVID-19 death is a 70-year-old woman from Toorak who died at home on 15th July. She was not vaccinated.
There have been 7 more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients. However, their deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.
Doctors have determined that these deaths were caused by serious pre-existing medical conditions and not COVID-19.
There have now been 98 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 96 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
We also have recorded 41 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.
There have been 388 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 13,610 active cases.
There have been 17,444 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 17,514 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 3,765 recoveries.
There are 9 more deaths currently under investigation. These will be discussed once investigations (including test results) and classifications are complete.
A full breakdown of areas of interest has been published online on the Ministry’s COVID-19 dashboard.
393,095 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 78,624 have received their second doses.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says this means that 67 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 13.4 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide.
Meanwhile the 7-day average of new cases per day is a worrying 1000 cases per day or 1130 cases per million population per day.
Doctor Fong says the average daily case numbers are increasing, together with cases of severe disease and deaths.
A total of 225,366 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 268,227 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 24 percent and continues on an upward trend.
Doctor Fong says in the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone, people with severe COVID-19 are still dying at home, or they are coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness.
He says severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduces your chance of recovering from the disease.
Severe symptoms of COVID-19 include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, severe headache for a few days, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, pale, gray, or blue-coloured skin, lips or nail beds.
Doctor Fong says in the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone, they have identified health facilities specifically designated to receive people with symptoms of severe COVID-19.
If you or a loved one live in the Suva-Nausori Containment Zone and have any of these severe symptoms please go immediately to CWM Hospital, FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena, individuals in Nausori with severe symptoms should go to Nausori Health Centre or Wainibokasi Hospital.
Call 165 if you are unable to travel to a medical facility.
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