Coronavirus

Samples sequenced by the Ministry of Healtth and the Doherty Institute in Melbourne, were determined to be Omicron , the latest COVID-19 variant in circulation around the world.

The Ministry of Health’s Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong said Fiji has community transmission of both Omicron and Delta variants throughout the country.

He added that it explains the high number of cases recorded recently given the high transmissibility of the variant.

Health experts are warning it will become the dominant variant.

Xi'an is at the epicentre of China's current Covid outbreak, and authorities have enacted drastic measures.

All 13 million residents are confined to their homes and cannot leave to buy food or supplies.

Authorities are hoping to eliminate the outbreak before Lunar New Year and the Winter Olympics in Beijing next month.

The situation in Xi'an has led to heightened tensions, with many taking to social media in recent days to complain.

Hospitalisations have risen to 1066, up from 901 in the previous reporting period, with 83 patients in intensive care.

There are five times as many people being treated for Covid-19 in the state's hospitals as there were in mid-December, although the number of people in intensive care has increased at a slower rate.

Premier Dominic Perrottet last week said the health system "remains strong" and the state was in a "very strong position" despite the fast-growing case numbers and increase in hospitalisations because of the Omicron variant outbreak.

The Ministry of Health has reported two deaths taking the death toll to 700 since the pandemic began in March 2020.

Both cases had pre-existing medical conditions according to Health Permanent Secretary, Dr James Fong.

He said while both these deaths occurred in individuals who have been immunised with 2 doses of the vaccine, they both had significant underlying medical conditions and were over the age of 50.

He adds it is known that these factors place a person at higher risk of severe disease, even if fully vaccinated.

Since 14 December, at least 16 of the 25 workers at the Princess Elisabeth Polar Station have caught the virus.

Officials say cases remain mild so far.

"The situation isn't dramatic," Joseph Cheek, a project manager for the International Polar Foundation, told the BBC.

"While it has been an inconvenience to have to quarantine certain members of the staff who caught the virus, it hasn't significantly affected our work at the station overall," Cheek said.

This brings the total number of active cases to 780 as health authorities tackle a third wave of the coronavirus outbreak across the country.

The Government also confirmed that out of the latest cases, 115 were recorded on 28 December.

A 62-year-old Covid patient had died at home on Christmas Day. He was fully vaccinated and had suffered severe respiratory distress.

The death toll is now at 698, with 696 of them from the latest outbreak that began in April this year.

 From 1 January 2022, travellers to Fiji must now produce a negative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test taken no more than two calendar days before the scheduled day of departure, the government said on Wednesday.

Prior to this, travellers had to return a negative PCR test 72 hours before leaving for Fiji.

The Health Ministry made changes to its travel protocols overnight as senior officials prepared for a possible third wave of the coronavirus outbreak.

The mistake, which took place over the Christmas period, was due to a "data processing error".

The Australian state of New South Wales is seeing rising infection numbers following the arrival of the hyper-infectious Omicron Covid variant.

Officials say an increase in swabbing tests has caused massive backlogs.

Some of those affected have expressed concern that they may have unknowingly infected their loved ones over Christmas.

But France, with its 179,807 cases on Tuesday, was not alone in breaking records, as Italy, Greece, Portugal and England all reported record highs too.

The figures could be due in part to reporting delays over Christmas.

Countries had been reporting rises running up the festive period, driven by the more contagious Omicron variant.

Two weeks ago, Fiji was reporting less than 10 cases of the Covid-19.

This week, the Health Ministry has confirmed 208 new cases of Covid-19 in the community with 20 reported on Christmas Day, 109 on Boxing Day and 79 on Monday.

On 24 December, the ministry reported 109 new cases; 40 of them were recorded on 23 December and 69 cases on Christmas Eve.

Fiji reopened its borders to international travellers on 1 December and thousands of tourists have arrived from its partner countries such as New Zealand, Australia and the United States.