Bula
The permanent secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr James Fong announced 41 COVID-19 cases in Fiji tonight.
Again, like the announcement of 46 new cases on Friday night, this number is quite high. Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama also made some major announcement around midnight on Saturday, announcing changes at some of our borders.
Here are some stories that made the headlines in The Fiji Times’ edition for Monday, May 31.
PAGE 1
The big one on the front page is about
Borders opened
Government made a hard decision to lift certain containment areas on Saturday night. In his national address, the Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said Fiji had to open its borders to recommence economic activity.
REFLECTIONS
But before we continue, let’s take a pause here and reflect on some important points raised by Dr Fong and the PM.
When Dr Fong said “nowhere is safe until everywhere is safe”, we hope every Fijian sat up and took note of this.
The announcement by the PM, around midnight on Saturday, targeting a return to economic activity, would have also been met with mixed emotions.
Understandably, any bid to re-engage, and drive our economy would be welcomed.
Far too many people are without jobs.
Thousands have either lost their jobs or are working on reduced hours. Many have had massive pay cuts. It’s not the ideal situation for anyone.
So in a sense, an injection that assists in driving our economy would be welcomed. However, given the number of cases we now have, and the seemingly endless rise in figures, sceptics would insist there has to be some degree of caution moving forward. The Prime Minister insists, given the fact that the rise in infection rate is primarily centered in the Suva-Lami-Nausori corridor, there has to be specific responses that are targeted.
He made major announcements as per border conditions, easing restrictions that opened up containment areas. As traffic movement started early today towards the Capital City, it was clear people were keen to get back some semblance of order in their lives.
In the face of that though, Dr Fong announced 23 cases today, on top of the 18 recorded for Saturday.
That brought the total to 41 cases of COVID-19. Now the important thing to consider here is the fact that these cases were connected to known clusters.
That should inch out some positive vibes. However, in saying that, we also must wonder how many more cases are out there given these new confirmations.
What this means is that we are bound by COVID-19 safety measures.
We cannot underestimate the impact of the virus out there in the community.
With restrictions easing a wee bit, we must find it within ourselves to adhere strictly to physical distancing rules. This isn’t the time to discard safety rules.
This isn’t the time to be living dangerously.
There will be many people who cannot make sense of the direction we are taking now in the face of the seemingly overwhelming rise in cases.
However, Dr Fong made a point that sort of touched on having a balance somewhere in the equation, pitting the virus and our economic survival.
In the face of that, our challenge is to stay on course. Stick to your little safe bubbles. Keep your loved ones safe, and keep out anyone who isn’t part of your bubble. If you must move out in public, wear a mask.
Do not touch your face unless you have washed your hands with soap and water or used a hand sanitiser.
The fact that some of the clusters emanated from large gatherings does raise concern.
There will no doubt be questions asked and action taken.
But it is clear that we should stay away from large gatherings.
It was good to see Dr Fong back in the frontline answering questions from the media. It was encouraging, and would have reassured many Fijians who may have been asking questions about many issues over the past few days.
Dr Fong also spoke about moving safely.
Moving forward, that will be something we should embrace! Otherwise, please stay home!
PAGE 2
Relief as borders reopened
The recent announcement of the opening of COVID-19 containment borders has brought smiles and relief to the business community in Nadi and Lautoka. Nadi Chamber of Commerce president Dr Ram Raju said this would allow businesses to return to normal hours of operations from today. “We are expected to see a hive of business activities after close to five weeks of lockdown, ” Dr Raju said.
Huge relief for vendors
Daily business earnings for about 500 vendors at the Lautoka market nosedived when COVID-19 restrictions were enforced a few weeks ago. Lautoka Market Vendors Association president Filomena O’Neill said the opening of containment borders was a huge relief to many vendors who relied on this business for their daily living.
PAGE 3
Contradictory statement
National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad said the Government’s decision to relax border controls contradicts what the health ministry permanent secretary Dr James Fong is saying. “Has the Government not heard Dr Fong say “when people move, the virus moves?” he said.
Confirmation on variant
The Health Ministry is yet to confirm whether the active COVID-19 cases are still the same India B1617 variant. Permanent secretary Dr James Fong made the comment last night as Fiji records another 41 positive cases of COVID. He also highlighted that grog drinking was becoming a significant factor in the spread of the coronavirus.
Displaced Fijians
There are hundreds of displaced Fijians who haven’t seen their families after a month of lockdown, says Ministry of Commerce, Trade, Tourism, and Transport permanent secretary, Shaheen Ali.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
#Check out the letters to the editor on Pages 8 and 9.
PEOPLE
In this popular section, read about: DESPITE a decline in business by 50 per cent caused by COVID-19, Naqara market vendor Kesaia Raibe continues to plow on. The Votua, Ba, woman relocated to the Garden Island of Fiji more than 20 years ago after falling for a Taveuni man.
POINT OF ORIGIN
This is also a popular section which comes out every Monday. You can read about: ALTHOUGH the island of Kanacea was initially given away to Tongan Prince Ma’afu at the time of tribal war by a late Tui Cakau Tuikilakila, her people have continued to treasure the relationship with neighbouring islands such as Vanuabalavau in Lau.
SPORTS
The big one on the back page is about: FIJIAN flyers Suliasi Vunivalu and Filipo Daugunu scored a try each as they helped the Reds beat the Chiefs 40-34 in Townsville on Saturday night.
There’s more to read inside, but you’ll have to get a copy to know what we are talking about!
e-EDITION
I have been getting calls from people who miss the newsprint version. In this period, you could try reading the newspaper on the e-Edition platform. It’s easy to hook up via mPaisa! You can contact us for details on https://www.fijitimes.com/subscribe/ or you can call Setaita on 7754078, or on 3304111 during office hours, to assist you.
You could also just follow a few steps and read The Fiji Times a few minutes later, live and direct! Here are the simple steps to follow:
1: Log onto www.fijitimes.com 2: Select the SUBSCRIBE tab. 3: Register. 4: Select mPaisa payment option!
Try it! It’s a different experience!
