Fiji now has 42 active COVID-19 cases after confirmation that the Health Ministry has detected 6 more cases in the country.
Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says all 6 cases were detected among Fijians who are currently in quarantine.
Doctor Fong says 4 of the 6 new cases come from soldiers who recently returned from overseas duties, some, who he says have been fraternising amongst each other during their 14-day quarantine in the border quarantine facility.
The Permanent Secretary says this is against the rules they have set in place.
Doctor Fong says the quarantine period of the soldiers had already been extended due to suspected breaches, and unfortunately, these bad apples mean that they have to reset the clock again for all soldiers within that unit, heroes who have already been separated from their families for far too long.
He says each of these new patients tested negative, multiple times, before this latest diagnosis.
Doctor Fong says that gives the Health Ministry a great level of confidence that they contracted the virus while in quarantine, very recently, from one of their colleagues.
He says this is unacceptable. Doctor Fong says no unnecessary, frivolous contact is worth an extra two weeks in quarantine, but that’s precisely what all of those in the Tanoa Hotel in Nadi will now need to endure, under much stricter watch, as they reset the clock. He stresses that Tanoa Hotel is not the problem as it is the virus that is the problem.
Doctor Fong also says thank God the ministry did so after learning that an earlier case had mingled among his companions otherwise, they would have had more cases, and more clusters, as COVID-positive soldiers returned to their families. He also says out of an abundance of caution, they will also be recalling all individuals discharged from the Tanoa Hotel from 12th of April 2021 to be screened, swabbed and tested. Doctor Fong says in addition to this cluster of soldiers, 2 cases were confirmed among family members of the woman from Wainitarawau in Cunningham.
He says these family members have been admitted in the Navua isolation unit since Wednesday April 21st and tested negative on their first 2 tests in quarantine.
Doctor Fong says as they have now tested positive after 5 days in quarantine, they are not considered a transmission risk to the public. The 6 new COVID-19 patients, all of whom are safely confined within quarantine or isolation units, brings Fiji’s total to 109 confirmed cases since our first case was detected on March 19th 2020.
He says he is saying “confirmed” because, as he has stressed before, the number of actual, undetected cases is likely higher – and that’s precisely why, for your health and the health of your loved ones, you should be wearing a mask at all times.
You must download careFIJI and keep it switched on whenever you are out of your home. Doctor Fong says if you are one of the more than 600,000 Fijians with a smartphone, there is no excuse not to have it downloaded.
He also revealed that the family from Makoi did not have the app installed or running, and that has made contact tracing far more complex than it ought to be.
The Permanent Secretary says lives are now at risk as a result.
