Coronavirus

Due to the increasing widespread transmission of COVID-19 disease across Viti Levu, pregnant women are at a higher risk of contracting the virus which may cause severe illness, the ministry said.

“As a result, these women are prioritised for receiving the Moderna vaccines that provide earlier protection against the disease due to its shorter interval period of 28 days between the first and the second dose.”

There have been five new COVID-19 deaths for the period of 13th July to 16th July.

There have now been 85 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 83 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year.

We also have recorded 34 COVID-19 positive patients who died from the serious medical conditions that they had before they contracted COVID-19; these are not classified as COVID-19 deaths.

There have been 159 new recoveries reported since the last update, which means that there are now 12,975 active cases.

It's the second highest number of daily new infections since the outbreak began on June 16, prompting Premier Gladys Berejiklian to announce sweeping changes to the stay-at-home orders affecting Greater Sydney and its surrounds.

From 11.59pm today, people who live in the local government areas (LGA) of Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool will not be allowed to leave those areas for work.

There are several other major changes being made to the lockdowns affecting Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour.

That compares to 1220 cases and 10 deaths in the previous 24-hour period.

The government also confirmed six more deaths last night, taking the death toll to 80 - 78 of these from the latest outbreak that began in April.

Health Secretary Dr James Fong said all six patients were unvaccinated.

"A 58-year old man from Tacirua presented to a medical facility on Wednesday with severe Covid symptoms including shortness of breath. His condition worsened at the health centre and he died on the same day.

The World Health Organization’s Division of Pacific Technical Support based in Suva, Fiji, and the WHO Country Liaison Office in Tonga are working to meet these varied needs alongside partners like the government of the United Kingdom (UK).

It is the largest number of cases in a single day since the latest outbreak began in April.

There were another five deaths which health authorities say have occurred over the past four days.

This follows Thursday's announcement of 10 additional deaths over the past week.

The death toll in Fiji has now reached 74.

The most recent deaths included four people in their sixties and a 78 year old - none of whom were vaccinated.

There are now 11,033 active cases with Fiji having recording nearly 14 thousand cases in the recent outbreak.

Authorities are still discussing how many days it will last. It is not yet known if the lockdown will also apply to regional Victoria.

It will be the fifth lockdown since the pandemic began and the third this year.

Mask rules were already tightened overnight to respond to the outbreak, which is now linked to 16 cases.

Two of those were confirmed this morning, adding to the 10 included in yesterday's numbers.

The new cases are understood to have acquired the virus at an AFL game at the MCG on Saturday which was also attended by a COVID-positive case.

The island, with a population of about 1500, has now vaccinated almost 100 percent of its target group.

Stuff reports a national celebration was held on Tuesday to mark the vaccination milestone.

With Pfizer vaccines supplied by New Zealand, Niue began its vaccination programme on June 1 and vaccinated 97 per cent of the eligible population on the first round.

The second round went smoothly and achieved the same results, with vaccinations completed on July 9.

Niue's government is looking to vaccinate those aged 12-15, once it gets the go-ahead from MedSafe.

According to the Ministry of Health’s Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong, most of the deaths are elderly people.

Six of them are women and four men.

The oldest is a 92-year-old man who was not vaccinated and the youngest is a 42-year-old woman who was not fully vaccinated.

From the current list of deaths, eight are not vaccinated while two have received their first doses of the vaccine.

In the midst of these deaths, Fiji has recorded 634 new cases for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am yesterday.

That compares to 873 cases and three deaths in the previous 24-hour update.

The Health Ministry also announced last night a 58-year-old man from Delaivalelevu had died at home.

The man's family reported that he had been feeling unwell for one week.

Health Secretary James Fong said the man had received his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in mid-June but was yet to get the second jab when he died.

Fiji now has 9725 active cases in isolation and 59 deaths reported, with 57 of them from this latest outbreak that began in April.