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STATEMENT FROM THE ACTING PERMANENT SECRETARY
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
MINISTR OF HEALTH & MEDICAL SER ICES
PRESS RELEASE SPEECHES Statement By The Prime Minister Hon. Voreqe Bainimarama On New COVID-19 Cases In Fiji
April 4, 2020 Riaz Hassan Comments Off
Last Updated on 7 months b
STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER HON. VOREQE BAINIMARAMA ON NEW COVID-19 CASES IN FIJI
04/04/2020 Bula Vinaka.
Last eek, e issued a nation ide directive to all people in Fiji to sta at home unless our life or livelihood depends directl on going outside. Again, m most important message to all Fijians this afternoon again is this: Sta at home, save lives.
Tiko i vale me da bula kece kina.
Ghare raho, jaan bachao.
So, ith ver fe e ceptions, I e pect that ever one atching this Saturda afternoon is doing so from home and doing their part to keep them and those the love from harm.
On Thursda , I told ou e had a strong suspicion of ho the si th and seventh cases of COVID-19 in Fiji contracted the virus. The father of the gentleman case number seven sta ed ith the couple for several da s after returning from India on the 22nd of March.
It turns out as e suspected the father-in-la has indeed tested positive for the virus. He likel became infected at a large religious gathering he attended hile overseas in India. Upon returning to Fiji, he spent ve da s in the Nabua Settlement, and he then made his a b boat to Vanua Levu. He then travelled to his home in Soasoa. He is currentl in stable condition in our isolation ard at Labasa Hospital.
This patient did not declare an s mptoms hen returning from travel, and did not follo the directive of entering into government-mandated home quarantine a compulsor requirement for all those returning to the countr from abroad that came into effect on the 19th of March. Three da s after the directive came into effect, this individual proceeded to ignore it b hopping from Nadi to Suva to Labasa in the span of a eek, potentiall spreading COVID-19 via land, air, and sea over just a fe da s. So once again, quite sadl , e have seen the spread of COVID-19 in Fiji due to a disregard for the rules e ve put in place to keep people safe.
Our contact tracing teams are in the process of identif ing all other individuals ho came into contact ith this gentleman including a fe in Suva ho he spoke ith at car garages, and fello passengers on the ferr from Nabou alu Jett to Vanua Levu on the 27th of March.
Follo ing his arrival in Soasoa, this gentleman, his daughter-in-la , and his grandson ere all taken into isolation and tested. We tested all three and t o of them, including the father tested positive. We are currentl doing a second-round test on the daughter-in-la and grandson to con rm their results. In the meantime, all three famil members remain in isolation at Labasa Hospital here the are in stable condition.
After identif ing the couple ho tested positive for the virus in the Nabua Settlement, e had also entered their 11- ear-old daughter into isolation before she had developed s mptoms. Yesterda , she came do n ith a fever. She as tested and con rmed as positive for the virus this morning.
In the Lautoka con ned area, the 39- ear-old sister of case number ve the oman from our rst patient s Zumba class developed s mptoms after she as alread placed in quarantine ithin Natabua School. She alerted the Ministr of Health and as tested. She as con rmed as positive for the virus this morning, and she has since been isolated at Lautoka Hospital here she remains in stable condition.
We also have a ne case in Nadi hich is unrelated to an of our other patients. This has man similarities to our rst case in Nadera, Suva, the gentleman ho immediatel entered self-quarantine upon arriving back from abroad a responsible move that has, so far, resulted in no additional cases. This ne case in Nadi is a 20- ear-old oman ho also entered self-quarantine immediatel after returning to Fiji from Auckland, Ne Zealand.
We re all grateful this oung oman displa ed the same diligence and compassion as that oung man from Nadera as she placed herself into quarantine, and sta ed there. She as brought food that as dropped off at her door, and she refrained from coming into contact ith others. Her good habits have spared Nadi from a total lockdo n.
All Fijians living ith COVID-19 are in stable condition.
That means in total, e ve con rmed ve ne cases of the coronavirus overnight. This is our single largest jump in cases in a da . Week over eek, our ne case numbers have doubled.
As e ve seen around the orld, the virus doesn t graduall add a fe ne cases da b da . It ma start that a , but then, the spike in case numbers can hit hard and fast. Unmanaged, the virus can spread at an e ponential rate, case numbers double and double and double, claiming lives along the a . If ou see the graphs of ho the virus e ploded in China, Ital and the United States, it looks like a spaceship taking ight. Globall , there are over one million cases and over 50,000 deaths. In the USA, it as just reported that doctors are no ranking patients due to lack of resources. Basicall , the are having to choose ho to treat: ho gets a life-saving ventilator and ho doesn t. On the other hand, if ou see a graph of case numbers in South Korea here people acted quickl , adhered to strong government directives, and practiced good ph sical distancing the curve looks ver different. It attens, dramaticall , and the outbreak sho s positive signs of relenting.
Those same tactics can ork in Fiji, but onl if people do the right thing and follo government directives. Our rst patient in Suva for e ample did hat the rules demanded and dramaticall limited his e posure to others. So far, it appears he did not pass the virus to an one. He sho ed responsibilit . He stood in solidarit ith this nation. And he on Fiji a small victor in the ar against this virus.
His e ample makes clear: The virus does not travel unless people travel. We have to stop people from touching, hugging, or doing an thing that puts them in close contact ith each other. That is h e locked do n Lautoka. That is h e locked do n Suva. That is h social gatherings are banned. That is h the nightclubs, g ms and s imming pools are closed. That is h the nation ide curfe came into effect. That is h passenger travel b air and sea has ceased.
That is also h e are going to lock do n a 240-square-metre portion of Soasoa area on Vanua Levu here the contact tracing for the rst case in the North is under a . The surrounding homes, and neighbours he came into contact ith, ill be under this contained area. If it s determined that the spread has risked going be ond these boundaries, e ill e pand them accordingl . But rules onl ork hen the are obe ed. No one is immune to COVID-19. An one can be infected. An one can be a carrier. If an one disregards the rules and acts as if someho the are be ond this reach of this virus, the ll cost us Fijian lives. Last night, the Police arrested another 123 individuals for violating curfe up from 60 the da before. The hours of the curfe are 8pm to 5am, ever night. Do hatever ou need to do to remember that fact. If ou need to go to ork, ou can travel. If ou have a medical emergenc , ou can travel. Other ise, don t be the ne t person ho doesn t have a damn good reason to be outside hen questioned b our police of cers. We also had t o rugb pla ers returning from overseas ho broke compulsor quarantine after coming back to Fiji. Like ever other person disembarking from international ights, the ere required to self-quarantine for 14 da s. But the violated the directives, and put their loved ones and all of Fiji at risk.
One of them as coming in from Singapore and had a high-risk of e posure to the virus hile overseas. After reports he as breaking quarantine, he as actuall brought into the hospital in Sigatoka and then he bolted and disappeared, forcing our police of cers to track him do n. Unluck for him, he couldn t step his a past our Fiji Police Force. He s been arrested, and he is no securel in isolation at Nadi Hospital. Last night, in violation of curfe and our rules against inter-island passenger travel, e received another report of a mother ho took her famil on a breglass boat and shipped herself to Waka a Island. The police are investigating this alleged breach as ell.
This level of la lessness is irresponsible, un-Fijian and just plain stupid. We are at ar ith the most devastating global pandemic in 100 ears and an disobedience in our ranks ill cost us lives. We don t care ho ou are, rules are rules. Break them, and ou ill be found and punished. It doesn t matter ho famous ou are, it doesn t matter ho rich ou are, it doesn t even matter ho religious ou feel ou are, no one has the magic cure to coronavirus, and no one is immune to our la s.
As al a s, these fe bad e amples hang a dark shado over much of the good ork being done all throughout the countr . A fe irresponsible actors shouldn t take a a from the man more ho are follo ing the rules, or the long hours being put in b our frontline orkers ho are combatting COVID-19. In Lautoka, for e ample, thanks to the ongoing efforts b our medical teams on the ground, over 30,000 Fijians have been screened for fevers through temperature checks and in-person outreach. I thank the people of the Lautoka con ned area for stepping up. In m e es, ever Fijian ho gets themselves screened on the streets or tested at a fever clinic is a true patriot.
And I especiall thank our nurses and doctors ho are out there treating and testing ever ne patient, sacri cing time ith their o n families to ensure that those ho are blessed ith good health are able to spend more time ith their o n. As I said on a video posted to m Facebook page esterda , these healthcare heroes are embod ing vei lomani love and care for their communit and all Fijians o e them a debt of gratitude. From the bottom of m heart, I thank ou for our service and sacri ce.
So from our healthcare orkers to our re ghters, from our disciplined forces to our containment and tracing team, our nation is coming together to battle coronavirus. But, come ne t eek, if e don t see our fever testing numbers go dramaticall up, and e don t see the numbers of our curfe and quarantine violations go dramaticall do n, e ill initiate a nation ide 24- hour curfe . So if ou re feeling u-like s mptoms visit a fever clinic or call 158. If ou re not going to ork, bu ing food, getting mone or accessing an essential service, sta at home. Other ise, e ill bring in the militar and police to lock do n all of Fiji it s that simple.
But even if e do that. Even if e thro ever dollar e have into this effort. Even if e direct ever police of cer in the countr to force our people to sta in their homes, the government cannot in this ar alone. We need ou ever person atching or listening, and ever person in our lives to take responsibilit for our nation ide response.
Children don t leave the house. The elderl don t leave the house. Ever time an one sees a sink, ash our hands ith soap and ater for 20 seconds. And keep a safe distance bet een ourself and all other people. If ou need to go some here, do not bring our famil ith ou, go alone. And herever ou go and hatever ou do, keep a safe distance of t o metres from all others. Remember: We must all stand together in solidarit to defeat this virus just not too close.
I m joined toda b our Chief Medical Advisor, Dr. Jemesa Tudravu, our Minister for Health, Commissioner of Police, and Attorne -General and Minister for Econom , ho ill be going into detail about some of these cases, the steps Fijians need to take contain the spread COVID-19, ho those affected b our economic slo do n can claim their FNPF relief and ho some ne businesses ill be permitted to operate in a safe and h gienic manner.
I ll rst hand things over to Dr. Tudravu.
Vinaka vakalevu, thank ou, and God bless Fiji.
Riaz Hassan
http://www.health.gov.fj
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