Fiji has recorded 505 new cases of COVID-19 and seven new deaths Tuesday, increasing the total number of cases in the Pacific nation to 46,646 and 494 deaths since the outbreak in April.

Permanent secretary for Health, Dr James Fong said 343 cases are from the Western division, 105 cases are from the Central division in Vitilevu, Fiji’s main island and 57 cases are from the Eastern division on the island of Kadavu.

“There are 57 new COVID-19 positive cases in Kadavu. This means there are now 232 active cases of COVID-19 in Kadavu. All these individuals have been isolated.

“There have been 810 new recoveries to report since the last update, which means that there are now 19,151 active cases. 8,352 active cases are in the Central division, 10,562 active cases in the Western division, five active cases in the Northern division (Nabouwalu and Macuata), and 232 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).

“There have been 46,646 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021. We have recorded a total of 46,716 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 26,761 recoveries,” said Dr Fong.

He said the seven new COVID-19 deaths reported for the period from 27 – 30th August 2021. All deaths were reported from the Western division.

“There has been one death of a COVID-19 positive patient. However, this death has been classified as a non-COVID death by their doctors. The doctors have determined that the death was caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition and not COVID-19.

“There have now been 496 deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji, with 494 of these deaths during the outbreak that started in April this year. As of 26 August, the national 7 day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths per day is 6. The 7-day rolling average for COVID-19 deaths per day in the Central division is two and in the Western division is four.

“We also have recorded 308 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,” said Dr Fong.

He said there are currently 239 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals in Fiji.

“113 patients are admitted at the Lautoka Hospital, 19 patients are admitted at the FEMAT field hospital, and 107 are admitted at CWM hospital, St Giles, and Makoi.

“24 patients are considered to be in severe condition, and 15 are in critical condition,” said Dr Fong.

A total of 331,951 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, with 374,812 tested since testing began in March 2020.

“1375 tests have been reported for August 30th. The 7-day daily test average is 1389 tests per day or 1.6 tests per 1,000 population. Weekly testing is at 12.9 tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of 4 per 1000 population per week.

“The national 7-day average daily test positivity is 23.5%, which is on a downward trend but still indicating a high level of community transmission,” said Dr Fong.

As of 30 August, 559,650 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 271,329 have received their second doses.

“This means that 95.6 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 46.7 percent are now fully vaccinated nationwide,” Dr Fong said.

SOURCE: PACNEWS