Indian Variant

The Permanent Secretary for Health James Fong said Fijians have become too "complacent and wishful thinking" in their response to the second wave of the virus.

He said positive samples sent to a Melbourne laboratory had confirmed that the Indian variant of the virus is circulating in Fiji.

The Indian variant was first detected in India last October and has since spread to more than 40 other countries.

The B.1.617 variant is the fourth variant to be designated as being of global concern and requiring heightened tracking and analysis. The others are those first detected in Britain, South Africa and Brazil.

"We are classifying this as a variant of concern at a global level," Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on Covid-19, told a briefing. "There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility."