[Source: Fiji Police]

There were 46 new infections yesterday  of COVID-19, making it Fiji’s biggest single day total.

The virus continues to spiral out of control in central Viti Levu.

Forty three of the cases are linked to the current clusters, while three are not linked at the moment.

This is the biggest daily total to date health officials are warning that there is expected to be further increase in numbers in the clusters and there are 195 active cases, which are all in the Suva-Nausori corridor.

The cases sees 28 from Nadali, Nausori, while there are three from Navosai, which is linked to a Narere funeral cluster.

There are two more from the Muanikoso, Nasinu cluster.

There are nine more infections from the Navy cluster of which eight were in Kinoya and one in Nadonumai, Lami.

Health Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong, says there are two cases in in the Intensive Care Unit at the CWM Hospital in Suva.

He says their investigations indicate that in some instances, funeral gatherings of 100 were split up into five so-called bubbles of 20 persons.

“Many of you will understand that this does not make sense. We need good sense in the common sense space. We need to stop twisting and turning our COVID safe directives to suit our purposes. We need to treasure the memory of those we have lost and when more normal times return we can plan memorial events in which our loved ones are commemorated in a suitable way.”

[Source: Fiji Police]

“There has been a very significant increase in daily cases reported from the Suva-Nausori area. It is important to note that the majority of these cases have been found as a result of our extensive contact tracing effort and are linked to known clusters. This increase was not unexpected, but it should serve to show how easily this virus is transmitted and why restrictions are in place. We expect the number of cases to rise because we are testing aggressively in areas where we know the virus is spreading. We have a number of prominent locations under investigation including Government buildings and Kadavu House.”

Doctor Fong says the virus is spreading within containment zones, so they will be exercising extra vigilance to ensure that there is no spread outside those containment zones.

“We will strengthen enforcement of COVID safe restrictions such as restrictions on movement and gatherings, mask-wearing, physical distancing and the other measures designed to prevent people from coming into contact with the virus.”

[Source: Fiji Police]

Health officials are worried about activities surrounding funerals that appear to be the most troublesome spreader events, and this is an alarming situation.

Doctor Fong says everyone should recall that this latest outbreak gained momentum when one person who contracted the virus in the border quarantine area attended a funeral, yet funeral gatherings continue to be sources of spread.

“The death of a loved one is a difficult time for everyone, but people must adjust to the current situation and avoid funeral gatherings. The deceased must be buried, and we must pay our respects and accompany them during their last hours on earth, but we must temporarily find new ways to do this. Families are urged to limit graveside services to 10 persons and to limit gatherings before or after the burial to 10 persons or less.”