The Health Ministry’s fever testing team screened the temperatures of nearly 10,000 Fijians in the Lautoka confined area – several of whom were running a fever.
This was revealed by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama in a press conference this afternoon.
Mr Bainimarama said while fever in itself was not necessarily a cause of alarm, upon further investigation, the team discovered that one of these fevers belonged to a man who was not only displaying other symptoms, but also had a recent travel history – a history he was hiding from officials.
“He arrived in Fiji on the 24th of March from Uruguay, transiting through Singapore,” he said.
“Now, you might be wondering how this gentleman arrived in Lautoka when the lockdown came into effect on the 19th of March.
“After further questioning, we discovered that he had in fact smuggled his way into the confined area.
“Once inside, it appears he remained within a set area in Lautoka. Now that he’s showing symptoms, our contact tracing teams are determining how many Fijians he may have put at-risk.”
Mr Bainimarama said the ministry will learn the results of his COVID-19 test tomorrow morning.
“In the meantime, our contact tracing team has determined the area in which this gentleman stayed.
“So, we plan to lift the lockdown of the broader Lautoka confined area tomorrow at 0500 hours.
“But, we will also be announcing a new confined area within Lautoka based on this gentleman’s movements. These details will be announced tomorrow.”
