Permanent secretary for Health and Medical Services, Dr James Fong made an emotional plea yesterday, pointing to contact tracing.
It’s not easy to do it the traditional way, he said. An app, careFiji, is supposed to enable that, and make contact tracing faster, and more accurate.
The fact that we now have four new cases, two of them at our border quarantine facilities and two local transmissions, is a concern.
However, what should stand out is the fact that many of us are still not listening to good advice.
We are still not hearing the plea from our health experts.
We are still congregating. Some of us are still not adhering to social distancing rules.
Many parents and guardians are still allowing their teenagers and young children outside without masks on.
Some of us are still engaging in risky behaviour and some youths are oblivious to the danger posed by this Indian variant, and continue to test the law, even during the recent lockdown, and during curfew hours.
If there is a time for us to fight this virus, it is now. If we want to return to life without lockdowns, then we have to adhere strictly to rules set down for us to follow.
We know where our cases started. We know right now that the majority of our local transmissions stemmed from the one case in Nadi.
Except for the cases in Ra, we know the links because Dr Fong and his team have been quite transparent and vocal.
The warning last night that there may be other people out there among us, living with the virus, should be a worry for us all.
Now that we know that the virus detected in the first case in Ra is genetically identical to other local cases will come as a relief.
However, as Dr Fong pointed out, not yet having a person-person link indicates that other chains of transmission have happened, and are possibly ongoing in the community.
There are likely more cases out there linked to this cluster that have not been found.
If this isn’t fair warning, then something must be wrong with us all. It is really in our best interest to stay at home and to adhere to social distancing rules.
We must not invite others into our homes. We must not gather for family functions. We simply cannot tell who is a carrier.
As the good doctor said, we are truly at war with the virus. We must be part of the good fight, for ourselves, our loved ones, and for our country.
So let’s play our part. It may be difficult, but we should not shake a hand.
Do not hug a friend or relative. Sneeze into your elbow or into a tissue and dispose this safely. Do not touch your face when out in public.
Wear a mask, and if you can, just stay home! We have time on our side if we do this now!
