Fiji’s quarantine protocols over the past months prove that our systems can support the safe repatriation of Fijians.

Acting Permanent Secretary Dr. James Fong says this goes to show that Fiji does not turn its back on its own people.

With 105 Fijians returning from India in quarantine, and 162 soldiers being cleared yesterday – authorities’ say their safety protocols are working.

The Health Ministry is working with other arms of government to accommodate Fijians who want to return home during this crisis but it will be done under strict conditions.

For as long as there are Fijians out there I expect that we will continue to work on getting them back. There is a significant list but I know there are efforts continuing to try and get our citizens back home.

Dr. Fong says Fiji is regarded as a COVID-19 contained country.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services will continue to work closely with the RFMF and the border control teams at our ports of entry, to ensure that our border control measures remain firm and the systems and processes for the checking and clearance of quarantine individuals are working well.

Head of Health Protection DR Aalisha Sahukhan says they’ve been repatriating people since March and have also learnt from experiences in other countries.

Almost four thousand of our citizens have passed through these facilities in this manner. Since the end of March. So this is not new to us. This is just the first time that any of them have tested positive. So we’ve got our protocols in place.

Fiji recorded five more border quarantine cases on Friday bringing our total active COVID-19 cases to eight.

The five new cases including the three existing border cases are returning citizens who boarded the repatriation flight from India.