Facts and figures
THE revelation that two more people have died due to COVID-19, taking to nine the total number of Fijians whose lives have been claimed by the virus, should be a concern.
The announcement was on the Ministry of Health’s Facebook page in a post yesterday afternoon.
Fiji, according to the ministry, recorded 180 new cases in the 24 hour period ending 8am yesterday.
It stated there were 1631 active cases in isolation, and to date, there have been 2200 cases during the outbreak that started in April.
It confirmed that we have recorded a total of 2270 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March, 2020.
To date, there have been 618 recoveries and nine deaths due to COVID-19 in Fiji.
In the face of that announcement, we have a report about the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention placing Fiji on level 3 of its COVID-19 alert, denoting high number of cases in the country.
All US citizens have been advised to be fully vaccinated before traveling to Fiji. Unvaccinated travellers, the CDC stated, should avoid nonessential travel to Fiji.
Because of the current situation in Fiji, it stated, all travelers may be at risk of getting and spreading COVID-19 variants.
Then if that wasn’t warning enough for us, we learn that if the Delta COVID-19 strain currently infecting Fiji keeps mutating, a new vaccine may be needed to address the strain.
This is according to epidemiologist and pediatrician Professor Fiona Russel. During a virtual discussion titled ‘Explain the Science’, Prof Russel said the mutation of the COVID strain could possibly happen.
Prof Russel said going forward, they were studying the vaccine developments on the COVID variants around the world.
The good news is that, as Prof Russel said: “What we know now for the vaccine now in Fiji is that it is effective against the Delta variant, UK variant and highly effective against the Wuhan strain is well.”
These developments are important to know.
They place our situation on a very plane.
Our challenge is getting people to respond appropriately. That, on face value, appears to be failing in many quarters. There are still many Fijians who are simply not adhering to expert health advice.
They are still going about as if there was no virus. They are either ignorant, or pretend they are immune to the virus, and place their loved ones at great risk.
The recent brawl at Raiwaqa revealed the glaring fact that the mask up campaign is not working in some places.
There is still irresponsible behaviour evident. There appears to be a ‘no care’ attitude which is actually quite frustrating, and dangerous.
We must tell people about the numbers. They must know how bad it is. We must announce the deaths from the virus. Hopefully this will knock some sense into the minds of irresponsible Fijians. We must bend the curve and get our numbers down as quickly as possible.
Facts and figures, and the timely delivery of critical information are important in the war against the virus.
In the face of that, we look to the powers that be for a clear direction, and for some tough decisions that are important and critical for our nation. So if you have no reason to travel, please stay home! Keep your bubble safe. Help us fight this invisible enemy!