Fiji has one of the most stringent systems of isolation in the world, and more rigorous than both Australia and New Zealand.

Acting Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong pointed this out after a nurse tested positive for COVID-19 in quarantine.

Dr. Fong says more than 3,000 people have passed through Fiji’s quarantine facilities, but only one front line staff had caught the virus.

“Around the world, rates of infection among healthcare staff are among the highest of any group. As nearby as New Zealand, during the month of April, one in ten cases are recorded among healthcare workers. Even when every protocol is followed, even when Personal Protective Gear is employed properly, this unpredictable and unwieldy virus can still be transmitted.”

The 25-year-old nurse was at high risk because she was caring for COVID-19 positive Fijians in isolation.

Head of Health Protection Dr. Aalisha Sahukhan says Fiji may be the only country to have had an outbreak of COVID-19 and go 138 days without a re-emergence in the community.

“Our Military has been directly involved in supervising our border quarantine facilities right from the beginning from the end of March. We have had no breaches, nobody has escaped. And so far we have managed to contain any cases that have come through border quarantine in border quarantine.”

8,400 people have been tested to date, only three active cases of COVID-19 remain in isolation.