Fiji

The Ministry of Health organised the vaccination drive for students between the ages of 15 to 17.

The roll out for students began on Monday.

Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong said they are overwhelmed with the turnout as they continue to track vaccine coverage rate.

The second jab will be administered at an interval of 28 days.

The Ministry of Health’s Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong said there were 32 new recoveries which means that there are now 12,982 active cases.

There were 50,200 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021, with 36,290 recoveries.

Doctor Fong said three people died from COVID-19 on the 15th and 16th of July.

All three were from the Central Division and were unvaccinated.

Three more positive patients died from serious pre-existing medical conditions.

This is compared to 50,128 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021.

The Ministry of Health has recorded 118 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24-hour period that ended at 8 am yesterday.

Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong said there have been 113 new recoveries.

He said one new COVID-19 death has been recorded.

The deceased is a 59-year-old man from Nadi.

There have been four more deaths of COVID-19 positive patients.

However, these deaths have been classified as non-COVID deaths by their doctors.

The country recorded 49,889 cases as of last Sunday.

The minister told Parliament that the next task is to identify people who remain unvaccinated.

“This process has commenced in the greater Suva, Nausori, Sigatoka, Nadi corridor and they have already picked up segments of the population with some in the vulnerable categories who missed out during the initial trial”.

Dr Waqainabete added they want to ensure every Fijian is safe.

The Ministry had earlier said they will not make it mandatory for children to be vaccinated.

Two districts in the Yasawas, west of the country, have sought help for households in isolation that have no access to basic food supply.

Tourist hotspots Naviti and Nacula are both experiencing an increase in Covid-19 cases, are seeking assistance for households in isolation that have no access to basic food supply.

The Government confirmed a total of 121 new cases and nine deaths in the last 24 hours.

This takes the total of cases to 12,948, with the death toll at 575.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services said children in this age bracket were being vaccinated first as these children were mostly in secondary school and some of them are nearing the end of their secondary education.

The ministry's advisory said that children will need to receive two doses of the Moderna vaccine which is administered at a dose interval of 28 days.

Parents and guardians will be asked to sign a consent form for children receiving this vaccine.

The Moderna vaccine will be used in the rollout that begins on Monday.

Health Secretary James Fong said the Moderna vaccine would be rolled out by school clusters across the country.

Dr Fong said unlike the workforce, vaccination for children would only be conducted with the consent of parents or guardians.

Parents and guardians will need to sign a consent form for their children to receive the vaccine, he said.

He said parents could register their child online through the Vaccine Registry Portal which is available from this weekend.

The Ministry of Health’s Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong said 69 cases are from the Western Division, 68 cases from the Central and nine cases from the Eastern Division.

There was one lone COVID-19 death reported.

A 93-year-old unvaccinated man from Suva died at home.

Dr Fong said there have been eight more deaths of positive patients classified as non-COVID deaths.

There have been 217 new recoveries since the last update and there are currently 12,870 active cases in the country.

Fiji Airports reported the Antonov-124 aircraft stopped over for refueling at Nadi while flying from Hawaii to Australia.

The Antonov-124 is a large, strategic airlift, four-engined aircraft that was designed in the 1980s in the Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union (USSR).

There are currently 26 civilian models in operation.

Westpac announced last year it was selling its majority shareholdings in Westpac Fiji and Westpac Bank PNG Ltd for up to $AU420 million dollars.

Its preferred buyer was Kina Securities but the PNG Consumer and Competition Commission, the ICCC, has denied authorisation for the sale to Kina Securities.

Westpac has today announced that it will continue to operate the Pacific businesses while it reviews the impact of the decision on Kina Securities.