Fiji has recorded 312 new COVID-19 cases and four deaths in the 24-hour reporting period that ended at 8am yesterday.
Ministry of Health’s Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong said the first death is a case that was previously announced as under investigation to determine if COVID-19 was the cause.
The deceased is an 82-year-old woman from Qauia in Lami and was not vaccinated.
She had pre-existing medical conditions, was bedridden, and died at home.
According to protocol she was swabbed and tested positive for COVID-19.
The elderly woman was declared dead by the attending medical officer and after investigation, it has been determined that the cause of death was COVID-19.
Other members of her household have also tested positive.
Doctor Fong added the second death is a 68-year-old man from Toorak, who was admitted at the CWM Hospital in Suva after presenting to the FEMAT field hospital last Thursday in severe respiratory distress and testing positive.
He died yesterday in the Intensive Care Unit.
His doctors have determined that his death was caused by COVID-19.
The man was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong added that the third death is a 39-year-old woman from Knolly Street in Suva who tested positive and was admitted at CWM Hospital after having severe symptoms of COVID-19 at home, including shortness of breath.
She died yesterday in the ICU, and her doctors have determined that her death was caused by COVID-19.
She had received her first dose of the vaccine this month. She was not fully vaccinated.
The fourth is a 70-year-old man from Veisari, Lami who presented in respiratory distress and died on Tuesday night at the Raiwaqa Health Centre.
According to protocol he was swabbed and tested positive.
His doctors have determined that his death was caused by COVID-19.
He was not vaccinated.
A 54-year-old male who tested positive for COVID-19 at CWMH has also died.
He was admitted to the hospital for a severe pre-existing non-COVID-19 illness and it has been determined by his doctors that he died due to that illness and not due to COVID-19.
He was not vaccinated.
Doctor Fong said 17 from the 312 cases reported are from the Western Division.
Four cases are from the existing containment zones of Tramline and Qima Settlement in Nadi.
One is a prison officer from Suva in the Tavua prison compound.
Doctor Fong said the officer was undergoing quarantine as part of a movement from the red zone to the green zone – similar to the prison officers reported positive in Rakiraki on Monday.
The second case in Tavua lives at the PWD Quarters and his source of transmission is under investigation.
There are also four new cases from Lovu, Lautoka with unknown sources of transmission.
Seven contacts of these Lovu cases in Lautoka have also tested positive.
The remaining 295 cases are from the Lami-Nausori containment area.
There are 165 from existing areas of interest and 10 from new areas of interest.
These include Cost U Less supermarket, Golden Manufacturers complex, and the Kidney Foundation of Fiji.
There have now been 21 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 19 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.
The Ministry of Health has also recorded nine COVID-19 positive patients that died from the pre-existing non-COVID-19 related illnesses that they had been receiving treatment for at the CWM Hospital.
There have been 29 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 3306 active cases in isolation.
There have been 4, 074 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.
Fiji has recorded a total of 4, 144 cases since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 808 recoveries.