The Ministry of Health’s clinical scoping team in Kadavu, south of Fiji, has begun to put together a clinical response plan to help efficiently escalate its response to the expected wave of severe COVID-19 infections and deaths on the island.
And a key part of this response plan is to identify persons vulnerable to severe COVID and to “pre-emptively engage them in a care plan that allows early identification of danger symptoms and signs and access to clinical care in a timely manner”.
Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr James Fong said the situation in Kadavu remained a major concern and they anticipated their plan would be a challenging exercise.
“Another important part of the response to mitigate severe disease will be community-wide engagement to establish specific plans that help maintain oversight over vulnerable persons, and facilitate their timely transfer to a health care facility when required,” Dr Fong said last night.
He said the public health team was also continuing with screening and isolation protocols.
Dr Fong has also reiterated calls for maritime islanders to refrain from engaging in any unauthorised travel to and from Viti Levu.
All the current protocols to regulate domestic movements must be adhered to in order to prevent spread of the virus beyond Viti Levu, he says.
“We repeat our call to all village leaders and elders to support our current efforts to protect our maritime islands and to immediately report any suspicious movements into your community.”
