Lockdowns are not part of the World Health Organization’s recommended public health and social measures.

World Health Organizations Technical Lead for COVID.19 Doctor Maria Van Kerkhove says wearing masks, physical distancing and avoiding crowded places are a combination of interventions that can help halt transmission.

“Reduced inappropriate use of public health and social measures. The use of these measures does not mean lockdown. Public health and social measures does not mean lockdown.”

Meanwhile Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says hard lockdowns as a strategy to halt the COVID transmission is off the table for Fiji.

“A period of 28 days of a hard lockdown — as some are calling for — cannot be strictly enforced everywhere in Fiji and our experts tell us it would not kill off the virus. But it would kill jobs and it could kill our country’s future.”

COVID-safe measures currently being implemented have proven to effectively work in minimizing transmission.