Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama

The latest case is the nine-year-old granddaughter of the man in Labasa who travelled from India.

The girl lives in Soasoa settlement in Labasa and has been in isolation since the 4th of April.

While she wasn’t showing any symptoms of COVID-19, the health officials knew she had a high risk of being infected given her close contact with her grandfather.

She was tested and confirmed positive later this morning.

This is the sixth confirmed case stemming from the 54-year-old man from Labasa.

There are now 16 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Fiji.

Despite #CycloneHarold, Fiji’s coronavirus containment measures –– which depend heavily on testing, tracing, and isolating new cases –– continue in full-swing.

Today, we received confirmation of our latest case of #COVID19.

My full statement:https://t.co/qeUCpr7RWD

— Frank Bainimarama (@FijiPM) April 10, 2020

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says given the length of time this young girl spent in isolation, and the fact that she wasn’t showing symptoms, her risk of infecting others is extremely low.

Bainimarama reiterated his message to the Fijians.

“It once again goes to show how long and dangerous a chain of transmission can grow if our public health directives are blatantly ignored. So as Fijians gather with your own families this holiday weekend, I want each of you to take a moment to appreciate how much it means to have them in your life –– and how much we sometimes take that for granted. Pledge to protect them by changing your own behaviour in the days, weeks, and months ahead.”

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