By Praneeta Prakash in Suva
Four people have been isolated by Fiji health officials and are being monitored for suspected Covid-19 coronavirus infection.
The Health Ministry in a statement said all four people were in strict isolation and were in a stable condition while they were awaiting test results.
The ministry said a 15-month old girl developed respiratory symptoms in Suva yesterday after arriving in Fiji from the US on Tuesday.
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A 37-year-old Fijian woman returning from a trip to Italy was flagged with respiratory symptoms during a health screening at Nadi airport yesterday.
A three-year-old Fijian boy and his mother, a 26-year-old Fijian woman, developed respiratory symptoms today after returning from Bali and Singapore.
Contact tracing has started for all four patients, the ministry said.
The ministry said the case definition for suspected cases was being widened to include anyone with respiratory symptoms who had recently travelled to a country reported to have local transmission.
It added that this should not alarm the public, but be an indication of the high level of alert and stringent preventative measures the ministry was proactively taking in response to the global outbreak.
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services reiterated that there were currently no confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Fiji.
Praneeta Prakash is a multimedia journalist for the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation’s FBC News.
