COVID-19

Fiji’s Parliament has passed the Public Health Amendment Bill 2021 which paves the way for police officers to impose “on-the-spot” payment of fines for people not wearing masks and businesses not adhering to COVID safe measures

It will now bring in fines for offences which may include the failure to wear an appropriate face covering or present the careFIJI mobile application on entering business premises, or the failure to comply with mandatory curfews, physical distancing requirements and capacity restrictions for gatherings, events, public service vehicles and businesses.

Health Promotion Officer, Casimir Liwuslili said they are still in the process of registering names of the vaccine recipients.

“Once the list has been finalized, it will be sent to the Department of Public Health in Port Vila to order more batches of vaccines.”

Liwuslili is appealing to the public to stop spreading misinformation on COVID-19 Vaccines, especially in rural communities.

There are several new clusters confirmed with cases emerging in Naitasiri 35km outside  of Suva and from various localities outside of the Suva Nausori containment zones.

Two cases are from Matainasau Village in Naitasiri, one of whom was recently discharged from the Colonial War Memorial Hospital and one case had moved to Tavua Village by the time the results were known.

There is one each case from Laselevu, Savusavu settlement and Vuisiga Village in Vunidawa, Naitasiri.

The assurance comes amid an escalating number of cases on the main island, Viti Levu, with clusters in both hospitals and the Navy.

Health secretary James Fong said the frontline public health response teams were conducting surveillance and containment efforts in the communities.

The ministry screened and tested its frontline personnel for their safety and the public's safety because "they come into contact with persons who have been exposed to the virus", Fong said.

As a result the ministry has stood-down all personnel operating from the third floor of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services Headquarters in Suva.

Among the staff who are now working from home are Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr James Fong, Head of Health Protection, Dr Aalisha Sahukhan, and Chief Medical Advisor, Dr Jemesa Tudravu.

They have been identified as secondary contacts of the three cases.

The ministry said the primary contacts have been identified and safely quarantined.

As a consequence, many families saw a decline in their incomes necessitating recourse to a range of coping strategies. The reports of the World Bank’s High Frequency Phone Monitoring Surveys of Households conducted in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands during the year throws further light on this.

With less to spend, consumer demand weakened. More and more people turned to, for example, growing food for their own consumption, sewing/mending their own clothes and forgoing personal activities such as going to the hairdresser, eating out, etc.

For most millennials it's off-limits right now, a reality many argue is holding them back - and risking their future.

Four months into Australia's vaccine programme, most people aged under 40 still aren't eligible to get the jab. The country has been running a rollout in stages based on age and vulnerability.

The process has also been held up by supply issues, delivery failures and concerns over the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The Permanent Secretary for Health James Fong said Fijians have become too "complacent and wishful thinking" in their response to the second wave of the virus.

He said positive samples sent to a Melbourne laboratory had confirmed that the Indian variant of the virus is circulating in Fiji.

The Indian variant was first detected in India last October and has since spread to more than 40 other countries.

After the discovery of the new cases, parts of the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva and the Nadi Hospital are now on lockdown.

Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong, said five cases are from the Navosai Narere cluster outside Suva , one from Waila in Nausori, one from Nawaka in Nadi and two are from the CWM hospital.

A total of nine local cases were recorded on Monday, which included six flagged by the government at its daily Covid-19 press conference yesterday.

The state recorded 42,699 test results and 20,484 vaccinations at state-run centres.

There are now 329 exposure sites, with the South Melbourne ALDI, the Woolworths at Heidelberg and a number of sites in Brimbank Shopping Centre added last night as Tier 1 sites.

Federal Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck said he was comfortable with the pace of the vaccine roll out in aged care.