Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr James Fong says COVID-19 transmission will be slower, and the ability to contain the outbreak better, once Fiji achieves a high vaccination rate and also maintains strict adherence to COVID-safe measures.
He said this in a virus update for the 24 hours to 8am on Sunday where he announced 54 new cases.
Dr Fong said 93 people were admitted in hospitals – 43 in Lautoka, 50 at the CWM Hospital, St Giles and Makoi.
He said 10 were in severe condition and four in critical condition.
Dr Fong said as of September 25, 591,293 adults or 95.7 per cent of people in Fiji had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 425,902 or 68.9 per cent had received their second jab.
“Based on our updated total population of 618,173 people aged 18 years and over (adults), the revised vaccination coverage rates are 95.7 per cent for adults who have received at least one dose, and 68.9 per cent are now fully vaccinated nationwide,” he said.
“As for children, 17,996 children in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine as of the 24th of September.”
So far, 590 people have lost their lives to COVID-19.
He said there were 99 new recoveries to report since the last update, bringing the total currently infected to 13,022 active cases.
