Fiji

Ministry of Health’s Permanent Secretary, Dr James Fong said out of the new cases, 46 are from existing containment zones or quarantine facilities in Nadi.

The remaining 233 cases are from the Lami-Nausori Containment Zone which includes Suva.

Of this total, 196 cases are from existing areas of concern.

Dr Fong added that this means they are either from known clusters or they have a potential link to an existing case.

All 279 of these new patients are currently in isolation at home or in a facility.

This was recorded in the 24-hour period ending 8am today.

Of the 180 cases, 168 are from the Lami – Nausori containment area, 11 cases are from the Western Division and one case in Korovou, Tailevu.

The country recorded 126 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday with one death.

The Ministry of Health says the 42-year old man died at the CWM Hospital in Suva.

He was admitted to the hospital with leptospirosis and also tested positive for COVID-19 during his admission.

The team will work with their Fijian counterparts from the Ministry of Health & Medical Services to bolster Fiji’s fight against COVID-19.

Australia and New Zealand deployed the highly trained joint multi-disciplinary team following a request from the Fijian Government.

The team’s priority over the next 28 days will be creating additional spaces to offer care to non-COVID patients and to strengthen infection control protocols.

The team are fully vaccinated and, following quarantine, will deploy to Suva to support the Fiji Ministry of Health.

Another 126 new cases of the virus were reported in the Pacific nation on Monday.

The New Zealand government is now allocating up to $10 million towards Fiji's Covid-19 response.

In addition, a team of Australian and New Zealand medical specialists have arrived in the Pacific nation to help.

Red Cross Covid-19 coordinator Lauren Bird, who is based in Suva, said many people felt back in April there was light at the end of the tunnel.

But she said this recent outbreak had reset the clock.

This is after the country recorded 166 new positive cases and a death yesterday.

Ministry of Health and Medical Services permanent secretary James Fong admitted that community transmission was now 'broad.'

The latest death is a 77 year-old man detected by a CWM screening team at his home where he had been bed ridden for several months.

Despite that he had pre-existing medical conditions, doctors assessing clinical data have attributed the cause of death to Covid-19.

He represents the 7th to die from the virus, the fifth in this outbreak alone.

One hundred and seventeen cases are from known clusters.

Two cases presented to the Fiji Emergency Medical Assistance Team (FEMAT) field hospital at the Vodafone Arena are under investigation and four cases are under investigation from Totogo police.

Dr Fong said the Colonial War Memorial Hospital cluster has 32 new cases.

"A new cluster has been identified at the Nasese Medical Centre with one new case reported today (Saturday), adding to the six cases already in this cluster.

According to a report from the New Zealand Herald, the All Blacks will be without their most experienced midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown after he underwent minor elbow surgery on Friday.

The Herald reports the 26-year-old’s elbow has been locking up in recent weeks, with scans revealing bone fragment concerns that required minor keyhole surgery.

The successful surgery is expected to leave Lienert-Brown sidelined for New Zealand’s July 3 test against Tonga at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland and the July 10 test against Fiji at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.

The total number since the second outbreak started in April is now at 1373.

Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong said a new cluster has been identified within the Rewa Emergency Operations Centre, possibly linked to the Vunimono cluster in Nausori.

There are two new cases for this cluster.

A new cluster is also at the Town House Hotel in Suva where Colonial War Memorial (CWM) Hospital and the ministry COVID-19 Incident Management Team (IMT) staff are being accommodated.

The Health Ministry said six other patients had died from existing chronic conditions they had while being admitted at the country's main hospital in Suva.

This has raised some concern among Fijians who are calling for an explanation over what constitutes a COVID-19 death.

Health Secretary James Fong said the four patients had since died with illnesses directly related to their COVID-positive status.

Six patients died at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital since an outbreak at the facility was announced on June 1.

The Ministry of Health confirmed that 98 of the cases are linked to the existing clusters.

21 cases are from the CWM Hospital cluster in Suva, 16 from Nawajikuma, Nawaka, Nadi, six from Tramline, Nawaka, Nadi, one from Kinoya, two from Navosai, 11 from Waila, 11 from Navy, eight from the ministry’s COVID-19 Incident Management Tean, 15 from Muanikoso, Nasinu  and seven from the Nasinu Police Barracks.

Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr James Fong, says cases from some areas are under investigation to determine whether they have links to other cases.