Lice Movono, RNZ Pacific correspondent in Suva
Despite the alarming spread of a second wave of Covid-19 in Fiji, medical authorities say not imposing a full lockdown is in line with international practice and takes into account humanitarian considerations.
Photo: 123rf.com
A team from Australia and New Zealand are now in the country to guide Fiji s Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MOH).
Health secretary James Fong announced new mitigation measures on Wednesday night which centre around increasing vaccination and treating severe cases of the virus, which is increasing.
Despite numerous calls for it, the Fijian government is not confident a lockdown will work in the country.
Health secretary James Fong announced new mitigation measures on Wednesday night which centre around increasing vaccination and treating severe cases of the virus, which is increasing. Despite numerous calls for it, the Fijian government is not confident a lock down will work in the country. At some point as the cases escalate, our focus will be on severe disease. That s what we call the mitigation phase. Around the world, it is accepted that you may be able to achieve mitigation phases, especially when you have a vaccine around the corner, Fong said. If I was confident that I will lock down and the numbers will stay down, then it would have been an easy ask. I have said before, I am not particularly confident that a lock down will keep our numbers down.
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Photo: Fiji govt
Health authorities reported another 262 cases of the virus last night, taking the total number of covid-positive people in isolation to over 2,800.
Fiji s positivity rate continues to climb further up from 5 percent, which according to the World Health Organisation s criteria means the epidemic is not under control.
Despite this, the government continues to resist calls to opt for a full lockdown.
Instead it is prioritising efforts to vaccinate Fijians, with close to 300-thousand people, or around a third of the population, having received at least one dose of Astrazeneca.
Another 70,000 doses of the Astrazeneca vaccine sent by Australia arrived in Fiji at the weekend.
This brings the total number of Australian vaccine doses flown into Fiji over the past eight weeks to 320,000 and forms part of Australia’s commitment to provide one million vaccines to Fiji..