Fiji

The decision was made following the authorization of the use of Moderna vaccine for booster doses in more than 30 countries including the United States, the UK, Israel, Singapore, and France.

The Health Ministry said they want to ensure full protection against Covid-19 for those who will deal directly with incoming travellers when the borders reopen tomorrow.

The booster is also for those who will be at high risk of severe disease when exposed to the virus.

Ratu Inoke is joined by Ali’ioaiga Feturi Elisaia, High Commissioner of Samoa to Fiji.

The Committee will be supported by the Forum Secretary General, Henry Puna, and staff of the Fiji Government and Forum Secretariat.

The committee was deployed by the Pacific Islands Forum to observe New Caledonia’s third and final independence referendum under the 1998 Noumea Accord on December 12.

Both cases are from villages in the Serua/Namosi provinces, just outside the capital Suva.

The Health Ministry said on Friday a child was presented to the Korovisilou Health Centre on November 17th.

The child was then transferred to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital.

Tests carried out by the Centre of Communicable Disease confirmed it was measles.

Both patients and their families are in isolation.

The Government also confirmed eight of the latest cases were recorded in the 24 hours to 8am Thursday.

There are no deaths to report and the toll remains at 694.

Health Secretary James Fong said 17 Covid patients are in hospital, eight in the central division and nine in the west.

"We have recorded 596 Covid-19 positive patients who died from serious medical conditions they had before they contracted Covid. These are not classified as Covid-19 deaths."

This brings the total number of active cases to 821 since this outbreak began in April this year.

There were no deaths reported in the latest update on Monday with the toll still at 679 since March 2020, 677 of them from April.

Fiji's Health Ministry says a total of 52,326 cases were recorded, with 71 percent from the Central Division, 28 percent from the west and 1 percent of the cases from the eastern and northern divisions.

Fiji's daily average is 17 cases.

Photo file 

The students are back in the school premises after six and a half months.

Minister of Education, Premila Kumar said face to face learning is vital for the academic achievement, mental and physical health, and overall well-being of students.

She added this is an important term for students as they complete their 2021 syllabus and prepare for external examinations.

The Minister also said that good marks will qualify students for the Toppers Scheme, as well as student loans.

Joshua Aziz Rahman was arrested after Police found 39 bars of cocaine weighing a total of 39.5 kg in a house rented by Rahman and his father in Caubati, Suva in February 2019.

Justice Daniel Goundar said Rahman had the option to live a good and decent life but he chose a life of crime.

He said rehabilitation is of little value when the offender does not take responsibility for his crime.

Fijivillage reports Rahman was not present in court today.

He appeared via a zoom link from the Remand Centre.

A non-parole period of 14 years has been set.

This was underscored during a recent virtual Japan Market Brief for exporters and stakeholders in the Pacific and facilitated by the Pacific Islands Centre (PIC) and the Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Plus Program (PHAMA Plus).

The Brief was attended by PHAMA Plus partners and stakeholders from industry working groups, government agencies and business associations.  It provided insight into doing business in Japan, market opportunities, market access information and service offering for interested exporters.

But the Health Ministry said the death was caused by a pre-existing medical condition and not by the delta virus.

The Ministry said several HIV patients, diagnosed with Covid-19 in Fiji, were among 36,724 people who had recovered from the coronavirus since March last year.

Fiji received $US272,000 worth of anti-retroviral medicine from the Atlanta Medicare Company Ltd of Thailand on Tuesday.

The UNAIDS agency contributed $US37,000 in air freight costs.

Australia also donated paediatric HIV drugs and freight worth about $US5000.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services said children in this age bracket were being vaccinated first as these children were mostly in secondary school and some of them are nearing the end of their secondary education.

The ministry's advisory said that children will need to receive two doses of the Moderna vaccine which is administered at a dose interval of 28 days.

Parents and guardians will be asked to sign a consent form for children receiving this vaccine.