There are two cases of COVID-19 yesterday, as the Fiji Centre for Disease Control has resumed testing.

The first case is a close contact from the most recent Makoi cluster, while another is a close contact from the cluster in Nadali, Nausori.

Health Ministry, Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong, says the Makoi case has been in an isolation facility since May 10th and the Nadali case has been entered into isolation and contact tracing for both individuals is underway.

He says the CDC has been fully decontaminated and will resume processing COVID-19 tests from last night.

“All remaining staff have continued to test negative for COVID-19. None of the laboratory staff have tested positive to date, which further indicates that the virus was brought in from the community.”

Doctor Fong says after being given the choice to either enter a quarantine facility or continue work at the CDC, the vast majority of staff have chosen to remain in the CDC and continue running tests.

“They will continue to be tested regularly during their sequestration period so that any positive case can be identified and isolated early.”

Doctor Fong says the lockdown for Suva and Nausori continues he says, travel for medical emergencies is permitted and only essential service providers with explicit authorisation from the government may operate.

The Ministry’s contact tracing teams are using the lockdown period as a window of opportunity to trace and test primary and secondary contacts of existing cases within Suva and Nausori.

He reiterates that the nature and the number of the cases that we confirm through the lockdown period will inform their next steps.

The ministry says in the event of any major developments, Doctor Fong will hold a media conference, otherwise it will issue updates through the Fijian Government Facebook page.