Fiji has reported 987 new cases of COVID-19 over three days; and 11 deaths that include a baby and a teenager.
Ministry of Health and Medical Services permanent secretary Dr James Fong said 656 new cases were recorded on January 22, 81 new cases were recorded on January 23, and 250 recorded in the last 24 hours ending at 8am January 24.
He said of the 987 cases recorded, 859 cases were in the Central Division, 62 cases in the Western Division, and 18 cases in the Northern Division.
“Overall, there have been 61,898 cases recorded, with 68 per cent of the cases from the Central Division, 28 per cent of the cases from the Western Division, 1 per cent of the cases from the Eastern Division, and 3 per cent from the Northern Division,” Dr Fong said in his virus update tonight.
Of the COVID-19 deaths reported from January 13-23, the PS said five deaths were reported from the Central Division, three from the Western Division, two from the Eastern, and one from the Northern Division.
He said two of the deceased persons were below the age of 18 years old who both had pre-existing conditions from birth that contributed to the severity of their sickness and deaths.
“The remaining individuals were at a higher risk of severe disease due to their ages or underlying medical conditions,” Dr Fong said.
He said five of the people who died were not vaccinated, one had only received his first dose, and three were fully vaccinated, and two were not eligible for vaccination:
- a four-month-old infant from the Western Division who was brought to a remote nursing station on January 13 in a severely weakened state. He was medically assessed and stabilised by the attending medical staff and a COVID test was done, which was noted to be positive. He passed away before he could be transferred to Lautoka Hospital, despite the resuscitation efforts of the attending medical staff. Records show that the infant had been born with medical complications and was lost to follow-up; and
- a 15-year old male from the Central Division who was admitted to the CWM Hospital on January 17. He had a significant pre-existing medical condition that contributed to the worsening of his COVID-19 complications. He died on January 19 and was not vaccinated.
He said the deaths of the two minors with underlying health conditions were sad reminders that as cases increased to very high numbers in the community, “our most vulnerable are at higher risk of being infected and suffering from severe disease”.
“We know that severe disease is rare in children, but this risk increases should they have significant underlying health conditions.”
