Movement on the rest of the main island Viti Levu, with a population of 600,000 people, has been restricted for another week as a curfew (11pm-4am) has been in place since April 26. This includes containment areas of Lautoka, Nadi and Ra, which saw the first Covid-19 cases of community transmission since March, 2020. Last night, Fiji’s Health Ministry announced two more cases of Covid-19 and three recoveries. This is after the screening of 25,064 Fijians and 1026 tests were conducted on Friday, the ministry said.
Fiji Government/Facebook
The Covid-19 containment areas in Fiji Fiji’s Health Secretary Dr James Fong told a media conference the latest patients, aged five and 15, are the children of the woman from Cunningham who had contracted the virus last week.
Fong said the man had contact with a soldier - the husband of the woman in Makoi - on the day of his discharge from the managed isolation quarantine facility. He said the fourth case is a 68-year-old man in Rakiraki, while the fifth case is a border quarantine patient. Fiji now has 116 Covid-19 cases, with 49 active and 28 locally-transmitted patients.
Fiji Government/Facebook New Zealand commits more resources Aotearoa is to donate 500,000 jabs of Covid-19 vaccines to Fiji, enough to immunise 250,000 people. The AstraZeneca shots will come from New Zealand s domestic supply and be shipped to Fiji at the earliest opportunity according to government ministers from the two countries.
Lice Movono, RNZ Pacific correspondent in Suva
Fiji s government has taken the most drastic measures since Covid-19 hit the country in March last year.
Most of the country is on lockdown from 8pm tonight to 4am on Monday local time.
This comes amid a new Covid-19 case confirmed by the Health Ministry, taking the total number of active cases to 50, with 29 transmitted locally.
Points in and out of Suva are blocked by police
Photo: Fiji police
The authorities have escalated the measures with no businesses allowed to operate for a 56-hour period.
Containment measures have also been stepped around the capital Suva in a rush to trace the Indian variant of Covid-19.