Fiji

Fiji announces new Covid-19 fines and penalties

This has been confirmed by the MInister of Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport Faiyaz Koya.

From today, failure to wear a mask or face-covering in the required setting will result in the spot fine of $250, businesses failing to maintain records or have QR codes available for a scan can be fined up to a thousand dollars.

Koya said the business and the official responsible will also get charged.

Failure to take temperature checks will incur a $250 fine for individuals and a $1, 000 fine will be imposed on business.

Local rivers burst as TD03F intensifies in Fiji

This has resulted to a lot of areas being flooded such as the entrance to nearby villages namely Lavusa, Vunayasi and Dratabu.

Parts of Nadi Town and the back road remain flooded.

Police officers have also been spotted in numbers to be patrolling the affected areas.

Meanwhile, Tropical Depression 03F can intensify into a category one Tropical Cyclone today as it continues to move south-southwest at about 20km/hr.

     

Fiji records one death to Tropical Depression 03F

The incident happened at around 11am, today.

There are three evacuation centers – one in the North and two in the Western Division.

Currently 200 people are taking shelter at these centers and the NDMO expects this number to increase as more rain is in the forecast.

Fifteen roads are currently closed due to flooding, while 18 are restricted.

Tropical Depression 03F is expected to develop into a Cyclone in the next six to 12 hours.

     

Fiji: Schools close, evacuation centres open as tropical cyclone warning issued

The Tropical Disturbance TD03F will attain a category 1 cyclone status by midday today (local time) and will affect Fiji later today.

Bad weather associated with the weather system has already caused major flooding in parts of Fiji.

NDMO Director, Vasiti Soko said with the heavy rain warning and severe flood alert in place for most parts of Fiji, members of the public need to heed the advisories issued by authorities seriously to ensure their safety during such times.

She said flooding is one of the main areas of concerns.

Fijians to expect Category 1 Tropical Cyclone tomorrow

Fiji Meteorological Services Acting Director, Terry Atalifo confirmed that the Tropical Disturbance has intensified further into a Tropical Depression.

He further said at midday today, TD03F was located about 515 kilometres west of Nadi.

TD03F is moving very slowly and is expected to move east-southeast at about 10 kilometres per hour.

Low pressure system located between Vanuatu, Fiji - Met Service

A series of alerts and warnings linked to active low-pressure systems are expected to affect both countries in the next few days.

The Met Service is urging residents to prepare for possible flash flooding, lightning strikes, landslides, and reduced visibility on roads and at sea.

In a statement released yesterday, it said a strong wind warning is in place for Fiji's Lau Group and a heavy rain alert is in force for Vanua Levu, Taveuni Lomaiviti and nearby smaller islands.

Fiji records 596 new Covid-19 cases

Ministry of Health’s Permanent Secretary, James Fong said 254 cases were recorded in the Central Division, 103 cases were in the Western Division, six cases were reported in the Northern Division, and nine cases are in the Eastern Division.

224 new cases were recorded on Tuesday and 372 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours ending at 8 am yesterday.

The first Covid-19 death to report is of a 75-year-old man from Suva who died at his home last Friday.

Fiji confirms community transmission of Omicron variant

Samples sequenced by the Ministry of Healtth and the Doherty Institute in Melbourne, were determined to be Omicron , the latest COVID-19 variant in circulation around the world.

The Ministry of Health’s Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong said Fiji has community transmission of both Omicron and Delta variants throughout the country.

He added that it explains the high number of cases recorded recently given the high transmissibility of the variant.

Health experts are warning it will become the dominant variant.

Surge in Covid-19 cases in Fiji

The Ministry of Health has reported two deaths taking the death toll to 700 since the pandemic began in March 2020.

Both cases had pre-existing medical conditions according to Health Permanent Secretary, Dr James Fong.

He said while both these deaths occurred in individuals who have been immunised with 2 doses of the vaccine, they both had significant underlying medical conditions and were over the age of 50.

He adds it is known that these factors place a person at higher risk of severe disease, even if fully vaccinated.

Covid-19 Fiji: 1 death, 309 new cases amid third wave

This brings the total number of active cases to 780 as health authorities tackle a third wave of the coronavirus outbreak across the country.

The Government also confirmed that out of the latest cases, 115 were recorded on 28 December.

A 62-year-old Covid patient had died at home on Christmas Day. He was fully vaccinated and had suffered severe respiratory distress.

The death toll is now at 698, with 696 of them from the latest outbreak that began in April this year.