It is good to note that from today, Fiji’s borders will be closed to all foreign nationals who have been present in mainland China, South Korea, Italy, Iran or Spain within 14 days of their intended travel to Fiji.
The news comes in the wake of the revelation by the World Health Organization in its situation report yesterday morning that four new countries/territories/areas (African Region – 2, European Region – 1 and Region of the Americas – 1) had reported cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
This follows on from the nine new countries the previous day.
The rate of infection continues to grow around the world, placing pressure on health systems.
The WHO says the total number of cases and deaths outside China has overtaken the total number of cases in China.
From yesterday, it said, the total cases from China would no longer be featured separately.
The WHO COVID-19 Incident Management Team is also working closely with partners across all levels to provide support to countries, strengthen technical and operational networking and collaboration, and support operational coordination of the global response.
In Fiji, processes in place include all international air passengers having to go through checks with handheld temperature scanners prior to entering the country, and their travel history and health status screened by border agents.
Preparations are underway to introduce thermal scanners at our international airports.
Cruise ships are not permitted to berth anywhere in Fiji, and government ministers, permanent secretaries, civil servants and statutory body staff members are not permitted to travel overseas barring exceptionally critical circumstances.
International events have been banned and overseas guests are not permitted to participate in local events.
Fijians have also been advised to refrain from any non-essential overseas travel.
All the measures now in place are important to ensure there is a level of safety for us all.
There will, however, continue to be questions asked though of how much is enough? Are we doing enough for every Fijian?
Are we comfortable that as many Fijians as possible are aware of coronavirus, the symptoms, and what to do to fight it?
Have we embraced villagers, and islanders?
Do they understand social distancing for instance?
How about the spread of the virus?
There can be no doubts about the critical element of awareness at every level of society.
There are many important lessons to learn on the global front, from countries that are fighting this virus.
The people will continue to look to the powers that be to make important decisions, to keep us all safe.
These certainly are trying times for us all.
We need a united front to fight the dreaded and deadly coronavirus.
