GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
Lockdown for Suva ends today
17th case of COVID-19 CONFIRMED
Nabua lockdown extended
School now starts June 16
Quarantine period for those who travelled abroad upped
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama announced the lifting of the Suva lockdown from this morning as he highlighted Fiji’s 17th COVID-19 confirmed case.
In his national address yesterday, he said Fiji was now in a state of natural disaster brought about by the global pandemic.
While the Suva lockdown has been lifted, the nationwide curfew which starts at 8pm and ends at 5am, remains, as does all other directives given to control the spread of COVID-19.
The Nabua lockdown, which centres around the residence of Patients 6 and 7 has been extended for another 14 days.
There are 28 households in the
Nabua red zone.
In addition, the Soaosoa lockdown in Labasa has been extended for another 14 days and the Vunicagi Settlement along the Nabouwalu-Labasa highway is placed under a 28-day lockdown. Mr Bainimarama confirmed school will now start on June 16.
Fiji’s latest victim, a 21-year-old man, is from the Vunicagi Settlement and was the travelling companion of Patient 9. He had accompanied Patient 9 to the Jammat in India.
“Since his return to Fiji, this young man has not shown a single symptom of the virus. You will recall our original case definition for virus testing required that patients display symptoms,” Mr Bainimarama said.
“Upon returning to the country from overseas, this young man was in self-quarantine for two full weeks, up until April 5.
“Free of any symptoms throughout the virus’s known two-week incubation period, by all appearances, he was in the clear.”
The man was tested again and this time confirmed positive despite being asymptomatic.
He was immediately entered into isolation upon testing positive and his close contacts have been entered into separate isolation facilities.
This outcome has also led Government to increase the self-isolation and quarantine period for people who had travelled abroad recently. The new quarantine time, which is 28 days, has been increased from it’s original 14 days.
“The period of quarantine is now 28 days. If you’ve already been released from quarantine after returning from overseas, prepare for a visit from health officials,” Mr Bainimarama said.
With Vunicagi Settlement lying along a short stretch of a vital highway, Government has allowed vehicles to pass through Police monitoring.
Mr Bainimarama also announced that the ban on inter-island travel was still in place
He was quick to point out that the curfew and restrictions on social gatherings was still in place and violators of the restrictions would feel the hard hand of the law. “Every would-be law-breaker can bet that they will be arrested and they will be charged if they flout any of these measures,” he said. “The coronavirus is the most complex and devastating global crisis of our lifetimes. We should all respect how vital our health protection measures are to the wellbeing of every Fijian.
“We need every Fijian behind them. Because as we’ve seen from the beginning, we are stronger together. And only together can the war against this virus be won.”