[File Photo]

The Health Ministry has warned it will close towns and cities across Fiji if people do not adhere to COVID safe measures.

Permanent Secretary, Dr James Fong says medical teams know what they are doing and will disseminate all relevant information in a timely manner for the sake of all Fijians.

“If we see massive crowds of mask-less people milling around, then we will shut-down entire towns and cities. We’ve done it before, we will not hesitate to do it again.”

Dr Fong adds there is no need to panic because the Ministry is on top of containment measures.

“We should all know by now that panic is a pointless exercise. When we detect a case, the ministry will act decisively to handle it. We transparently announce it to the public once we have the facts. We always have and we always will.”

Rumours about local transmissions have been rife since the news broke of new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend.