Health

Vaccinated tourists only: Waqainabete

September 20, 2022 6:30 am

Tourist arriving at the Nadi International Airport. [File Photo]

The Health Ministry will continue to ensure that only fully vaccinated travellers are allowed into Fiji.

Health Minister Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete says this is in line with the World Health Organization’s call to ensure the safety of vulnerable individuals in society.

He says WHO’s statement that the end of the pandemic is in sight, means the countries must strengthen their capacity to live with the virus.

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About 106 European countries have allowed unvaccinated individuals into their country thus, despite the high vaccination rate in Fiji, the Health Ministry has only eliminated the pre-travel COVID-19 testing requirement for vaccinated visitors.

“We just have to be mindful at the moment that not all countries in the world have the same percentage of fully vaccinated coverage.We also need to be mindful that there are some sub-variants coming through and the opening of borders is travelling quickly around the world and so that’s why we are sitting there at the moment but again as we said before, we are going to be guided by science and our team of experts have done well to give us the best technical advice until now.”

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus says we have never been in a better position to end the pandemic.

“We’re in a winning position. But now is the worst time to stop running. Now is the time to run harder and make sure we cross the line and reap the rewards of all our hard work. “

The ministry is targeting an 80 percent booster coverage for those over 18 years, in order to remove the remaining public health measures.