Beating the virus

THE Fiji Council of Churches says Government needs a "whole of society" approach to successfully combat COVID-19 while sustaining the economy.

During a Zoom meeting with Health Ministry heads, council president and head of the Catholic Church Archbishop Peter Loy Chong said the State should bring in economists to chart a clear path of economic recovery while combating the virus.

He also called on Government to remove confusion and vaccination hesitancy by delivering regular updates with a clearly defined strategy.

THE Health Ministry has called on the Fiji Council of Churches to provide tools and resources for correcting biblical and theological interpretations of vaccinations, stress, positive spousal relationships, parent and children relationships, dealing with financial stresses, positive youth programs and programs for children.

According to the head of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Peter Loy Chong, the request was made during a Zoom meeting last Friday.

Also included in the meeting were Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete, Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr James Fong and chief medical adviser Dr Jemesa Tudravu.

The archbishop said the ministry was also concerned with fake news and misinformation on COVID-19 vaccination.

Dr Tudravu told the archbishop that two things were needed to effectively combat the virus – people needed to get vaccinated and they needed to strictly follow COVID-19 regulations.

He also said vanua customs were areas where people were disobeying COVID-19 protocols.

The Health Ministry also expressed fears it would find it difficult to respond effectively if the current COVID-19 infection trend continued and Dr Tudravu pointed out some health workers were getting infected while carrying out their duties and some public health facilities were unable to carry out their services.