It is encouraging to note that the Fiji Centre for Disease Control has been fully decontaminated and will resume processing COVID-19 tests.
In his statement last night, the permanent secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr James Fong said all remaining staff have continued to test negative for COVID-19.
None of the laboratory staff, he said, have tested positive to date, which further indicates the virus was brought in from the community.
After being given the choice to either enter a quarantine facility or continue work at the CDC, he said, the vast majority of staff have chosen to remain in the CDC and continue running tests.
They will continue to be tested regularly during their sequestration period, he said, so that any positive case can be identified and isolated early.
Last night, he also confirmed two new cases of COVID-19.
Both cases, he said, were tied to existing clusters.
The first was a close contact from the most recent Makoi cluster. The second was a close contact from the cluster in Nadali, Nausori.
In saying that, residents of Suva and Nausori went into lockdown from Friday night.
This lockdown continues until Wednesday morning.
The Ministry’s contact tracing teams, Dr Fong said last night, are using the lockdown period as a window of opportunity to trace and test primary and secondary contacts of existing cases within Suva and Nausori.
Our challenge as a nation is to adhere to physical distancing rules. That means staying home. So let’s do the right thing. Let’s remain in our bubbles.
Let’s protect our bubbles and let’s ensure the nation is able to recover from this latest outbreak.
It isn’t easy doing what our medical experts are doing right now. It saps the energy. It can be very frustrating, and can drain emotions. But someone has to do this.
That’s why we all must be part of the solution. Our challenge is come out of our comfort zones.
It may not be easy for some of us, but it’s something that must be done. That challenge rests on our shoulders.
We can either do the right thing or we can shirk our responsibilities and see our country slip into an abyss.
So let’s do this together Fiji. Let’s stand up to be counted.
