COVID-19

Fiji ramps up Covid-19 protocols amid case spike

 From 1 January 2022, travellers to Fiji must now produce a negative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test taken no more than two calendar days before the scheduled day of departure, the government said on Wednesday.

Prior to this, travellers had to return a negative PCR test 72 hours before leaving for Fiji.

The Health Ministry made changes to its travel protocols overnight as senior officials prepared for a possible third wave of the coronavirus outbreak.

Hundreds given false Covid results in Sydney lab error

The mistake, which took place over the Christmas period, was due to a "data processing error".

The Australian state of New South Wales is seeing rising infection numbers following the arrival of the hyper-infectious Omicron Covid variant.

Officials say an increase in swabbing tests has caused massive backlogs.

Some of those affected have expressed concern that they may have unknowingly infected their loved ones over Christmas.

Fiji braces for Covid-19 third wave

Two weeks ago, Fiji was reporting less than 10 cases of the Covid-19.

This week, the Health Ministry has confirmed 208 new cases of Covid-19 in the community with 20 reported on Christmas Day, 109 on Boxing Day and 79 on Monday.

On 24 December, the ministry reported 109 new cases; 40 of them were recorded on 23 December and 69 cases on Christmas Eve.

Fiji reopened its borders to international travellers on 1 December and thousands of tourists have arrived from its partner countries such as New Zealand, Australia and the United States.

Sydney pathology service incorrectly tells 400 positive Covid-19 cases they are negative

The laboratory's medical director professor Anthony Dodds blamed the mistake on the "large volume of tests" they were processing.

Those affected were notified of their result, for swabs taken from December 22 and December 23, last night at 8pm.

Professor Dodds said they had become aware of the mistake this morning.

"These people had tested positive to Covid," he said.

"As soon we became aware of the issue this morning, SydPath immediately commenced a process to contact impacted people.

"We sincerely apologise to all those impacted."

Pre-Christmas Omicron surge leads to record new British Covid cases

Many industries and transport networks are struggling with staff shortages as sick workers self-isolate, while hospitals in Britain have warned of the risk of an impact on patient safety.

Omicron's rapid advance has driven a surge in cases in Britain over the last seven days, with the total rising by 678,165, government data showed.

As the Conservative government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson struggles to limit the economic impact of the latest Covid-19 outbreak it said on Wednesday it was reducing the legal self-isolation period in England to seven days from 10.

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New South Wales passes 3000 Covid-19 cases

It is the first time daily cases have reached the 3000 mark anywhere in Australia.

Hospitalisations again increased today to 284, up from 261 yesterday.

There are now 39 patients in intensive care.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet yesterday reiterated calls for calm, saying hospital and ICU figures were still low.

Perrottet said his government's pandemic response was about balancing keeping people safe and boosting the economy.

"The pandemic is not going away, we need to learn to live alongside it," he said.

Omicron variant drives surge in Covid-19 cases across US

The fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus has become dominant in the United States with lightning speed, and claimed the life on Monday of an unvaccinated man in Texas, officials said.

The spike in Covid-19 cases is alarming public health officials, who fear an explosion of infections after the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

The Omicron variant now accounts for 73 percent of US coronavirus infections based on sequencing data for the week ended on Saturday, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.

Six travelers test positive for Covid-19 in Fiji

The Ministry of Health recorded the cases after the mandatory 3-day hotel stay and testing.

MOH’s Permanent Secretary, Doctor James Fong said in accordance with entry requirements, all cases had tested negative in the 72 hours before departure and are fully vaccinated.

Dr Fong added that all the cases are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms and have been isolated within hotels with protocols that have been established in the lead-up to border opening.

He said the positive samples will be sent to the partner laboratory in Australia for genomic sequencing.

US surpasses 800,000 pandemic deaths

It comes as the US reached 50 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Monday.

Most deaths have been recorded among the unvaccinated and the elderly, and more Americans died in 2021 than in 2020.

The US is again seeing deaths rising at an alarming rate.

The last 100,000 deaths came in just the past 11 weeks, a quicker pace than any at other point aside from last winter's surge.