COVID-19 cases in Fiji continue to increase with six new cases confirmed yesterday, 27 April, bringing the total to 42 active cases, according to health officials.

Four of the six are soldiers returning from overseas and having contact among themselves, while the other two are family members of a woman in a Suva case.

Fiji's Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr James Fong confirmed the recent cases of COVID-19 are of the B1617 variant that was first detected in India. He has warned Fijians to stay at home because “any person-to-person contact outside your home could get you infected.”

“This newly-confirmed COVID variant is one of several dangerous new variants that have taken root in places like Brazil, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and in India – which is suffering a painful fourth wave the likes of which the world has never seen.”

“We cannot let that nightmare happen in Fiji. We still have time to stop it from happening. But a single misstep could bring about the same ‘COVID tsunami’ that our friends in India, Brazil, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States are enduring.”

Dr Fong said that the active cases are classed as “confirmed” but the number of actual, undetected cases is likely higher.

While Fiji has a contact tracing app called careFIJI, the confirmed COVID-19 cases did not use the app.

Dr Fong said the effectiveness of Fiji's contact tracing depends upon what they are told by positive cases and the public.

“We continue to trace, isolate, and test those who have been in contact with our current patients – a push that depends heavily on self-identification.”

To stop the virus from spreading, a two week restriction has been in place since Monday, 26 April, to stop people moving in and out of Suva, Lami and Nausori areas, as well as Nadi and Lautoka. Essential services remain open however, all non-essential businesses are closed for the duration.

Fiji has increased daily testing in response to the recent local cases. A total of 48,677 COVID-19 laboratory tests have been conducted, with a daily average of 777 tests per day over the last 7 days.

Locally transmitted COVID-19 cases

Twenty-four of the 42 active cases are classed as locally transmitted. They are linked to a chain of transmission extending initially from a soldier working in border quarantine who was announced on April 18 to have contracted the virus from another border quarantine case who had travelled to Fiji from India.

Thirteen of the 42 cases are recent border quarantine cases, and five are older border quarantine cases announced before April 18.

The six new COVID cases confirmed yesterday include four soldiers completing 14 days quarantine in a government supervised border quarantine facility after recently returning from overseas duties. The four soldiers are suspected to have breached quarantine rules and Dr Fong said their quarantine period had already been extended. He said each of the new cases tested negative to COVID multiple times before they tested positive days later.

The other two cases have been in isolation since 21 April due to their connection to a recently confirmed case. They had tested negative to COVID-19 twice while in quarantine, and then tested positive after five days in quarantine. Dr Fong said they are not a transmission risk to the public.

Fiji has had 109 cases in total, with 42 active cases, 65 recoveries and two deaths since its first case was reported on March 19 last year.