SUVA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Fiji has reported nine new COVID-19 deaths in recent days, bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths recorded in the island nation since confirmation of the third wave to 33.
According to a press release issued by Fiji's Health Ministry on Sunday, four of the deceased were not vaccinated, while the rest of them were fully vaccinated. All these individuals were over the age of 60, with the majority having pre-existing medical conditions.
Fiji's Permanent Secretary for Health James Fong said that the death rates indicate an upward trend in Fiji, which has recorded a total of 730 deaths of COVID-19 since it reported its first confirmed COVID-19 cases in March 2020.
Since the last update on Wednesday, Fiji has reported a total of 733 new cases, according to Fong.
Fiji now reported a total of 59,418 COVID-19 cases since March 2020, of which, 6,520 cases have been recorded in the third wave which started from the beginning of this year.
According to the permanent secretary, Fiji's national 7-day average daily test positivity is 34 percent, which is above the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of five percent. The high positivity rate is an indication of wider spread community transmission in Fiji.
Currently, 92.5 percent of the target population in Fiji are now fully vaccinated, while 97.9 percent have at least received one dose.
The country, which has a population of around 900,000, started its booster dose program in November last year with frontline health and essential service workers and was later opened to everyone aged 18 and over.
The Fijian health ministry has urged Fijians to get their booster shots to better protect themselves from COVID-19, especially the Omicron variant. ■
