Fiji

6-month-old infant is Fiji’s latest victim to die of Covid-19

The baby was admitted at the CWM Hospital in Suva and her medical records reflected that she had a congenital medical condition that contributed to the severity of her illness and death on Monday.

All eight deceased were from the Central Division.

809 people have died due to COVID-19 in Fiji so far.

The Ministry of Health also recorded 95 new cases of which 83 are from n Tuesday and 12 new cases in the last 24 hours ending at 8 am yesterday.

Fijians urged to get vaccinated to reduce Covid-19 transmission

The Ministry of Health’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. James Fong is urging all Fijians who are eligible to get vaccinated or take their booster shots.

Dr. Fong highlighted that the analysis of the first 95 deaths in the vaccine eligible population during this third wave has revealed that fully vaccinated adults have 16.2 times lower rate of death from Covid-19 than unvaccinated adults.

Three more children among 12 Covid deaths in Fiji

This takes the death toll since the pandemic hit the country in 2020 to 791.

Fiji's Government also confirmed on Wednesday the 10 day-old infant, 8 year-old girl and 13 year-old boy are among 12 Covid-19 patients who died.

There are 223 new cases in the community, with a total of 1,980 patients in isolation.

Health Secretary Dr James Fong said all three children were from the Northern Division.

He said the baby had passed away at home before she could be taken to the hospital.

Nauru recruits medical and health professionals to address shortage

Nauru Media News – NTV reports many applications have been received however, the ministry is looking to Fiji since its border is open while others in the region are closed due to the pandemic.

The numbers required have been interviewed and selected and are expected to arrive soon.

They will assume active duties after completing quarantine and other measures.

Director for Medical Services, Dr. Lincoln Menda said RON Hospital will be pleased if all the applicants they have selected make it on the flight to Nauru.

Fiji will not lift Covid-19 restrictions - MOH

This comes amid 16 deaths and close to 350 new cases reported in the community last weekend.

Fiji's Health Secretary Dr James Fong says the spike in cases was experienced after a few health measures were relaxed in November last year.

"Our biggest worry remains compliance to the informal setting, especially among the informal dwellings where we may have some problem with providing oversight over the Covid-safe measures.

"They remain the most significant areas of risk and the most significant areas of transmission that can happen," Dr Fong said

Fiji schools re-open

Children aged 5 to 12 have been at home since April last year while Year 12 and 13 students returned to classes in November.

Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete said the coronavirus is now endemic to Fiji and community transmission will lead to the same in schools.

Kiribati goes into first lockdown after Covid flight cases

Under the new measures, people have been told to stay at home and social gatherings are banned.

Some 36 people on the flight from Fiji have tested positive. Four people have caught the virus from community transmission.

Until last week, Kiribati had recorded just two Covid cases.

Kiribati is one of the most isolated islands in the world. It is some 4,800km (2,980 miles) from its nearest continent, Australia.

Fiji records over 300 new Covid-19 cases

The Ministry of Health confirmed that there are 659 new cases of which 312 new cases were recorded on Tuesday and 347 new cases yesterday.

Meanwhile, there have been six deaths recorded as well from the virus.

MOH’s Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong said due to the protection afforded by the vaccination programme, the reported deaths have been much less compared to the previous wave.

Fiji court finds man guilty of murdering 5 people

Mohammed Raheesh Isoof was convicted this afternoon after Justice Thushara Rajasinghe ruled that the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Isoof had killed the family of five in August 2019.

Isoof was charged with five counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

The bodies of a 63-year-old carpenter, Nirmal Kumar, his 54-year-old wife, Usha Devi, their 34-year-old daughter, Nileshni Kajal and Kajal's two daughters aged 11 and 8 years were discovered in the Nausori Highlands about 28km out of Nadi.

Fiji’s Save the Children ready to respond to Pacific nations affected by tsunami

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano, about 65 kilometres north of Tonga’s capital of Nuku’alofa, caused a 1.2 metre tsunami at 5.30 pm local time Saturday 15 January.

A tidal wave was recorded in Fiji and tsunami warnings were issued for Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, New Zealand and Australia.

In a statement released today, Save the Children Fiji CEO Shairana Ali said the organisation was closely monitoring the situation and was prepared to respond where needed.