HOTEL NOT A QUARANTINE FACILITY: WAQAINABETE

Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete has clarified that the Melanesian Hotel in Nadi is not a quarantine facility.

However, the hotel has been used by the Immigration Department to keep visitors from around the world who have yet to gain clearance to enter Fiji. His comments come after Opposition Leader Sitiveni Rabuka has yet again politicised Government efforts following the outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019 – nCoV) in Wuhan city, China.

Currently, there are no confirmed cases of 2019 – nCoV in Fiji.

“The Melanesian Hotel is where the Immigration Department keeps people from around the world, who they have not yet agreed to enter into Fiji,” Dr Waqainabete said.

“In this case, the six from the Fujian province in China that were brought back from Samoa because they were denied entry in Samoa and as usual the Immigration Department have kept them in the facility.” Dr Waqainabete confirmed that none of the six were sick. The Department have used the facility many times before. “We, being precautionary are using that opportunity to check them on a regular basis in case they might have something we will be concerned about.”

Dr Waqainabete said this was the duty of care by Government.

“Say for example if there is a group of people coming in and Immigration stops them from entering the country, we also have a team who go and look at the health state of these people.”

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services continues to work closely with relevant stakeholders including the World Health Organization and partners to enhance its public health systems to rapidly detect, test and respond if a case is identified in Fiji. Dr Waqainabete said they’ve identified facilities in the West that they can use temporarily at the Nadi Hospital to deal with the Coronavirus.

The Ministry is working with international border control stakeholders to include an added health screening measure where all incoming passengers will soon be required to complete supplementary arrivals card — an Arrival Health Declaration Form — to help ensure all travelers are checked for their potential exposure to the virus.

Yesterday the Health Ministry held a refresher training for health workers on infection prevention and control measures.