By Barbara Dreaver, 1 NEWS Pacific correspondent
A disaster is unfolding in Fiji as covid-19 cases continue to escalate – 94 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest recorded daily number to date.
That is the highest ever daily total for the country, and health experts have told 1 NEWS the country is on the brink of losing control.
A Fiji government media statement released late Tuesday night shows a medical system under stress and unable to cope with the dramatic rise in numbers.
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It says due to the high number of those testing positive with covid-19 and constraints on quarantine capacity, all new positive cases will be isolated at home where feasible.
But in the Lami-Nausori containment zone a serious crisis is emerging where all resources will be solely directed at those seriously ill with covid-19.
“We are preparing to shift into a mitigation phase that ensures that healthcare resources are focussed on caring for patients who develop severe illness as a result of the virus,” the statement read.
Suva’s main Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH), now closed because of a raft of cases from there, is now being used as a covid-19 care facility.
The Valelevu Health Centre also closed this afternoon after two patients recently discharged from hospital went there to be tested and returned positive results.
So far there have been three covid-19 related deaths in the last few day, but authorities are refusing to count them as such, stating that they died of complications from underlying conditions.
Republished with permission.
Fiji covid pandemic crisis worsens. Video: TVNZ News
Crisis expected to get worse. Video: TVNZ News
