Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary, Dr James Fong

The Ministry of Health is conducting contact tracing for the 47-year-old nurse who tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday.

The nurse is among the four new COVID-19 cases announced yesterday, of which three are local transmissions while one is a border quarantine case.

Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary, Dr James Fong says the woman’s 51-year-old husband has also tested positive for COVID-19.

Dr Fong says a contact tracing investigation has been launched and all relevant personnel and patients are being quarantined.

“Her household contacts have also been swabbed. We only identified these two cases, and we do not yet have a clear link of transmission for either case.”

The third local case is a 25-year-old nurse working at the Lautoka Hospital.

Dr Fong says the nurse was sequestered within the hospital on Wednesday night along with the rest of the hospital’s personnel and patients.

“Since her positive test results she has since been entered into isolation. Investigations are ongoing into how she might have caught the virus.”

The Permanent Secretary also clarified their testing has ruled out a breach of the Lautoka Hospital isolation ward as all staff have returned negative COVID-19 test results.

“This is a reassuring affirmation of the operational protocols for our COVID isolation ward –– which must be maintained as the most secure facilities in the country. But that’s where the good news ends, because this indicates that the community is the most likely source of the Lautoka Hospital outbreak.”

Dr Fong adds it is important for Fijians to play their part in the war against COVID-19.

The Ministry of Health is urging Fijians showing any COVID like symptoms to not be complacent and visit the nearest fever clinic.