Fiji

It comes amid concerns raised by the Health Ministry and the public at the rate of children dying from the virus in Fiji.

So far about 10 young people have succumbed to the Delta variant, with the latest victims a six-month-old boy and an 11-year-old girl among the dead reported last weekend.

Fiji's chief medical advisor Dr Jemesa Tudravu said vaccinating children would also be a crucial factor in deciding when schools reopen

Schools have been closed since April this year.

That's the message from Fiji's National Sports Commission as Covid-19 cases continue to surge in the country.

All sporting events were suspended in May because of the pandemic, and anyone who wishes to be part of sporting activities in the future must be fully vaccinated.

Chairman, Peter Mazey, said sporting bodies found breaching the return-to-play protocols will not be funded.

"If you're not double vaccinated, you won't be able to play sport, and that will include spectators attending events in stadiums and national and indoor arenas," said Peter Mazey.

Fiji has reported 591 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hours to 8am on Monday.

The Government also confirmed six deaths, taking the toll to 444 - 442 of them from this latest outbreak that began in April.

That compares with 303 cases and five deaths in the previous 24-hour period.

Of the latest cases, 498 were recorded in the Western Division, 89 in the Central Division and four cases on remote Kadavu in the east.

Fiji now has 19,062 active cases in isolation.

Health Secretary Dr James Fong said the four new cases on Kadavu were from Namalata Village.

In its latest update, the government said the country has a seven-day rolling average of 10 COVID deaths per day, with six in the west and four in the central division.

Health Secretary Doctor James Fong said the country is averaging 1462 new cases and 10 deaths per day over the last week.

The death toll is at 433, with 431 of them from this latest outbreak that began in April this year.

He said 230 positive patients, who died from serious medical conditions they had before contracting COVID-19, were not classified as dying from the virus.

The 63 year-old woman from Rakiraki Village in Yale, Kadavu, was declared dead on arrival at the Vunisea Hospital on Tuesday.

If her death is found to have been caused by COVID, this will be the Eastern Division's first case of the virus.

The woman's death comes amid 781 new cases of the Delta variant reported in the 24 hours to 8am yesterday.

The government also confirmed eight more deaths, taking the toll to 421.

That compares with 653 cases and eight deaths in the previous 24-hour period.

There are over 23,000 active cases in isolation with three quarters of them at home.

The death toll is now at 368 - 366 of them from the latest outbreak that began in April.

Chief medical adviser Dr Jemesa Tudravu said 386 individuals were admitted at the COVID-19 isolation wards at the hospitals.

He said over 40 percent of these patients were on oxygen support.

Dr Tudravu said 19,905 COVID-positive people were under home isolation in the central division since April.

The government said many people dying of COVID-19 had not given healthcare workers a chance to treat them.

Fiji's Health Ministry reported 398 new cases of COVID-19 and five deaths for the 24 hours to 8am yesterday.

That compared with 568 cases and 13 deaths in the previous 24-hour period.

Health Secretary Doctor James Fong said there were enough ventilators in health facilities across the country to accommodate the COVID-19 patients.

Although the Fiji National Blood Service has a regular pool of blood donors which kept blood supply sufficient, the current challenges of the country's COVID outbreak is keeping donors away, which is a huge problem for the country's three largest hospitals.

The Fiji Red Cross Society's Neomai Kafoa, who is the focal point for its COVID-19 work, said the situation was so serious that they had 85 volunteers on the phones urging friends and family to donate blood.

The latest figures from the start of August show huge increases when compared with the same period in July.

By the end of July, Fiji's Ministry of Health and Medical Services had recorded 25,363 new infections and 218 deaths for the month.

According to government figures, the country started July with 3503 infections but by the month's end, 21,707 people were living with the Delta strain of the coronavirus.

The government also confirmed six more deaths including an 18-year-old woman.

That compares with 752 cases and seven deaths in the previous 24-hour period.

Health Secretary Doctor James Fong said of the latest cases, 193 are from the Western Division and 489 cases from the Central Division.

Dr Fong said the latest victims died on 5 and 6 August, with three deaths in the Central Division and three in the Western Division.

He said all but two of the patients were not vaccinated.