Daughter of hotel worker tests positive for COVID-19

• Daughter of hotel worker tests positive for COVID-19
• Tavakubu funeral a potential super spreader event
• Health ministry searching for driver of grey taxi and driver of public mini bus 

A new COVID-19 case has been confirmed as contact tracing continues for the potential super spreader event which is a funeral at Peceliema Church in Tavakubu Lautoka on Friday 16th April and Saturday 17th April.

In a press conference, Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong confirms the second positive community case is the daughter of the 53-year-old hotel worker.

Doctor Fong says the soldier who tested positive over the weekend remains in border quarantine facility and he never entered public spaces.

He says their contact tracing has been limited to his 69 primary contacts within the facility as well as their 267 secondary contacts. These contacts are all in quarantine.

The 53-year-old maid is the only positive case from the 69 primary contacts.

Doctor Fong also says the woman, her daughter with the rest of her family have been in quarantine since Sunday morning.

He says due to her extensive exposure with the public, this hotel staff and now her daughter, have been the central focus of their contact tracing.

Doctor Fong says together these two patients represent the highest risk cases Fiji has ever contended with.

At about 9pm Friday, 16th April the mother and 11 other family members travelled from Nadi to the funeral in Tavakubu using a hired mini bus. The mini bus is identified and the driver is in quarantine.

Doctor Fong says outside this family, there were no other passengers.

He says the mother and eight of her family members returned to Nadi later at 12.30am Saturday. They went again in a hired mini bus. It drove from Tavakubu to Nadi. There were no other outside passengers.

On Saturday, the woman and 7 other family members travelled to Tavakubu at 9am by hired mini bus without any other passengers. They are also trying to contact the driver of the mini bus.

After the funeral on Saturday, the hotel worker and another family member travelled in a grey taxi from Tavakubu to the Lautoka Mini Bus Stand, then took a public mini bus from Lautoka to Nadi at around 5pm. The Health Ministry has not found the taxi or the mini bus.

Doctor Fong says they need to find the driver of the grey taxi and the driver and passengers of the mini bus.

The other family members who had travelled with the hotel worker to Lautoka all returned to Nadi by other means.

All these family members based in the west have been entered into quarantine and have tested negative for the virus.

As the Health Ministry presses ahead with contact tracing, they are urging anyone with details about the grey taxi and the mini bus to come forward with information.

If you travelled by mini bus between Lautoka Mini Bus Stand to Nadi after 5pm Saturday 17th April, please call 158.

If you are the driver of a grey taxi or have information about the driver, please call 158.

Now that the ministry knows that both the mother and the daughter are COVID positive, the risk that there was transmission of the virus to the mother’s fellow passengers from the Tavakubu funeral to Nadi on Saturday is high.

The funeral is now treated as a potential super spreader event.

Throughout this period the woman and her daughter also travelled with three family members who were visiting from Naicabecabe Village in Moturiki. These three also stayed with the mother and daughter at their home in Nadi.

The three individuals have been identified, they have been swabbed and are in home quarantine in Naicabecabe.

The entire village of Naicabecabe is now a containment area.

Dr Fong says they know that there were more than 500 people present in the funeral in Tavakubu. The mother was there for a few hours which was more than enough time to transmit the virus to others.

The Health Ministry has directed all those present at the funeral to stay at home for the next two weeks while they await screening by the ministry.

If you attended the funeral at Peceliema Church in Tavakubu on Friday 16th April or Saturday 17th April, please call 158.