The soldier who contracted COVID-19 in border quarantine in Nadi over the weekend may have handled the baggage of two passengers from India.

Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary, Dr James Fong says they believe the soldier interacted with these passengers.

The 69-year-old and a 38-year-old arrived from Rajkot, India, on flight FJ1362 from Singapore on the 10th of April.

“That means when he was carrying their baggage down, he had his appropriate PPE on but we feel that was the most likely area of the touchpoint, based on the fact that he was able to transmit it to somebody else. It had to be harbored for a few days and then transmitted. The next touchpoint was the lady who was cleaning the room and getting the room ready and he walked in to put his stuff in the room and he stayed there for a bit of time and that’s the interaction. Because it’s a contained space we believe “

The soldier tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday while still in the quarantine facility and has since been taken into isolation at the Lautoka Hospital.

Dr Fong says the contact between these two individuals was a breach and should have been reported, and the woman should have gone into quarantine immediately.