The Health Ministry is reminding people to refrain from sharing misinformation and only resort to official information released by official sources.

Chief Medical Advisor, Doctor Jemesa Tudravu made the comments this afternoon as the Ministry confirmed there are no new cases of COVID-19 in Fiji apart from the man from Lautoka who was confirmed as Fiji’s first case yesterday.

Tudravu says the ministry will continue to advise Fijians if and when the situation changes.

“This situation that we are in is about all of us. It not just about the patient who is suffering from it or the relatives. It is about all of us and we are all in this together.”

He has also expressed disappointment with the vilification of the patient, who has been subject of numerous social media posts since yesterday.

“It is something that we guard jealously and the privacy of patients is paramount and very important to us. The Ministry respects patient confidentiality and the public should to.”

Tudravu has also confirmed that the fever clinics, which was announced by the Prime Minister yesterday, are now set up and these will play an important role in the response to COVID-19.

“We have started two clinics in Lautoka which are now operational and we intend to increase this number as well as roll it out to the rest of the country. The purpose of the fever clinic is to just increase our capability to be able to identify people who have potential (suspected of COVID-19) and it certainly allows more access for members of the public to be able to get to a facility where the health staff is without having to visit the hospital.”

We will have more soon.

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