Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong has announced 15 new COVID-19 deaths for the period of 19th to 21st July and 918 new cases of COVID for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Doctor Fong says the first COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old woman from Suva who died at home on 21st July. She was not vaccinated.
The second COVID-19 death is a 49-year-old man of Nadera who died at home on 20th July. He was not vaccinated.
He says the third COVID-19 death is an 83-year-old man from Tovata who died at home on 20th July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fourth COVID-19 death is a 44-year-old man from Cunningham. He presented to the CWM Hospital in severe respiratory distress. He died on the same day in hospital on 22nd July. He was not vaccinated.
The fifth COVID-19 death is a 60-year-old man from Narere who died at home on 21st July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in early July. He did not receive the 2nd dose of the vaccine. This means he was not fully vaccinated.
The sixth COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old man from Nabua who died at home on 20th July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in mid-June. He did not receive the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
Doctor Fong says the seventh COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old man from Nadera who died at home on 19th July. He received the 1st dose of the vaccine in late June. He did not receive the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
The eighth COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old man from Waimanu Road who died at home on 20th July. He was not vaccinated.
The ninth COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old man from Kalekana who died at home on 20th July. He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the tenth COVID-19 death is a 53-year-old man from Toorak who died at home on 20th July. He was not vaccinated.
The eleventh COVID-19 death is a 63-year-old woman from Vatuwaqa who died at home on 20th July. She was not vaccinated.
The twelfth COVID-19 death is a 56-year-old man from Makoi who died at home on 20th July. He was not vaccinated.
The thirteenth COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old woman from Narere. She presented to the FEMAT field hospital in severe respiratory distress. She died on the same day at the hospital on 21st July. She was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong says the fourteenth COVID-19 death is a 102-year-old woman from Cunningham who died at home on the 20th of July. She was not vaccinated.
The fifteenth COVID-19 death is an 80-year-old man from Cautata Village who died at home on 21st July. He 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 161 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 159 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
They have also recorded 68 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 179 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 16,403 active cases.
There have been 21,291 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has now recorded a total of 21, 361 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 4,729 recoveries.
There is 1 more death currently under investigation. This 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.
The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day is a worrying 1068 cases per day or 1207 cases per million population per day.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says with the high number of new daily cases we are also seeing increasing cases of severe disease and deaths.
A total of 239,996 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 282,857 tested since testing began in March 2020.
The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 29.7%.
Doctor Fong also says people in the Suva-Nausori area who are symptomatic will no longer be tested for COVID-19, and should stay at home and strictly self-isolate for 14 days.
He says most people infected with COVID-19 will have only mild symptoms like cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, loss of taste or smell, body ache, headache, and can fully recover at home.
For lower-risk individuals with COVID symptoms, the Ministry of Health asks you to please stay at home for 14 days, isolate yourself from other family members, and continue to monitor your symptoms for severe COVID-19.
If you develop any signs of severe COVID-19, like difficulty breathing or chest pain, please go immediately to one of the dedicated health facilities at CWM Hospital, FEMAT Hospital, Vodafone Arena and 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.
If you or someone you are caring for is at high risk of severe COVID – in particular individuals over 50 years, have a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, asthma, are obese, or are pregnant – they need you to get in touch right away and visit one of the screening clinics.
If you test positive, then they will ensure you are provided immediate care by the health teams.
Doctor Fong says for symptomatic workers who need official leave from work, they are recommended to attend the nearest screening clinic to be checked and to obtain a medical certificate for the 14 days home isolation.
Symptomatic workers can also obtain a medical certificate for the 14 days self-isolation at home from participating General Practitioners.
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