FIFTH CASE DETECTED IN ISOLATION WARD

Country has a fifth case of COVID- 19, and she is the sister of the little boy who is positive upon returning from Fiji.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare made the announcement in his nation-wide address today.

PM Sogavare said the little girl is with her parents in isolation and therefore no risk is posed to the public.

PM Sogavare continued to say “with this confirmation from the Ministry of Health, our official figure of COVID-19 cases diagnosed in the country now stands at 25 cases”.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare made the assurance that those who have travelled on both the Fiji and Brisbane flights had their quarantine periods extended. This is because they are exposed to the original four positive cases

“For the information of the public, many of the passengers that travelled on both the Fiji and Brisbane flights have had their quarantine periods extended following contact tracing that identified they had been exposed to the original 4 cases. Their 14-days quarantine re-commenced on the last day of exposure to the positive cases,” PM Sogavare stated.

PM Sogavare also made the confirmation that the Ministry of Health and Medical Services have detected the types of COVID- 19 variant on our returning nationals.

“…the Ministry of Health has advised that the case from Dubai is of the Delta Variant, and the three from Fiji are of the Omicron Variant. This means, we now have the two most transmissible and deadliest variants of COVID-19 in the country,” the Prime Minister highlighted.

PM Sogavare applauded the health and camp management teams for identifying and managing these cases in the quarantine stations and isolation centres.

He reiterated that it is his hope that variants will be contained and eliminated in the quarantine and isolation facilities.

“It is my fervent hope that we will contain and eliminate both variants in our quarantine and isolation facilities,” the Prime Minister stated.

End///.