The permanent secretary for Health and Medical Services Ministry Dr James Fong announced 118 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24-hour period ending at 8am on Tuesday.
He said there were 113 new recoveries which meant there were 12,948 active cases. When you consider the figures, we have actually had very high numbers.
There have been 50,128 cases during the outbreak that started in April this year. That’s when our second wave started.
This is quite high! He reported one new death from the Western Division.
In total though, we have recorded 576 deaths because of COVID-19, with 574 of these deaths during the second wave.
Given our population figures, this, again, is just too high!
It reflects how deadly the virus is, and why we must remain vigilant.
It also reflects our response. Interestingly, Dr Fong confirmed a total of 358,649 samples had been tested since this outbreak started in April, with 401,510 tested since testing began in March 2020.
He said 1343 tests had been reported for September 20.
The seven-day daily test average, he said, was 1274 tests per day or 1.4 tests per 1000 population.
Weekly testing was at eight tests per 1000 population, which remains above the WHO recommended level of four per 1000 population per week.
Now, again, we note that the national seven-day average daily test positivity is 10.8 per cent, which is on a downward trend, according to Dr Fong, but it still is indicating a high level of community transmission.
It is this level of community transmission that is worrying. We realise our containment borders have been reopened around Viti Levu.
We realise that people are happy about the change.
They are keen to see some semblance of order back in their lives. Traffic has picked up over recent days around the country. It seems foot traffic has also picked up in some urban centres.
Lest we forget though, this community transmission issue should be a wake-up call for us all. It should ensure we are vigilant, and continue to keep our guards up.
As our children go through a vaccination campaign targeted at various age groups, we are reminded also that we still have vulnerable children who may not be able to get the jabs yet.
This means we must continue to play it safe. We must adhere to strict COVID-safety measures.
The last thing we want is the virus infecting the young. But that means showing responsibility when out in public.
It means adhering to physical distancing rules for instance, and just being aware and safe.
