The announcement yesterday of our first confirmed death from COVID-19 will no doubt create anxiety among some members of the public. As the Minister for Health, Ifereimi Waqainabete, said yesterday, there were nine cases of COVID-19 among a number of Fijians repatriated from India on July 1.
All these cases were “border quarantine cases”.
He reassured there was zero interaction with the public, and each has been held securely in military-monitored isolation since their diagnosis. Since July 20, he said, there had been no new cases of the virus.
However, he said, unfortunately, a number of the returning Fijians were elderly and had serious underlying medical conditions, which both greatly increased “the risk of mortality”.
“Our first border quarantine case of COVID-19 was a 66-year-old gentleman who was returning to Fiji after receiving surgical treatment in India for a longstanding cardiac condition. Sadly, despite the best efforts of our healthcare professionals, this gentleman passed away yesterday (Thursday) in the isolation ward at Lautoka Hospital due to complications from COVID-19,” he said.
It is important to note that the man contracted the virus while in India, he said.
“In many other countries, news of the first death due to the virus has signalled an intensifying of the outbreak. This is not the case for Fiji. Again, the virus is not present in Fijian communities, nor is there any risk of infection among the Fijian public,” he said.
Given the scale of attention focused on the pandemic worldwide, we can expect some anxiety over this news.
Dr Waqainabete is adamant though that our processes have effectively contained the cases to our quarantine facilities.
There is optimism and a sense of confidence in our systems.
“Because we know how deadly this disease can be, we were also well prepared for the risk of a fatality, and we’ve handled this situation in line with our infection prevention control protocols to ensure no risk to the public,” he said.
“I know I speak for all of the ministry — particularly for this gentleman’s attending physicians — when I say how deeply affected we all are by this loss.”
Our challenge though is quite simple. We must adhere strictly to social distancing rules.
Keep washing your hands often with soap and water or use a hand sanitiser. Cough or sneeze into your elbow, or use tissues, but dispose them immediately, safely.
Stop hand shakes, and no hugging please. Do not touch your face if you are out in public.
We realise this is against the norm. We are friendly people and we value this greatly. But we are living in unprecedented times.
We must embrace the new norm. We again acknowledge the efforts behind the scenes of our health experts, and all those in our quarantine facilities.
Let’s stay on course Fiji.
