COVID-19 in Fiji
Patrick C Reading A B and Richard A Strugnell B CA WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, 792 Elizabeth Street, Vic. 3000, Australia
B Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, 792 Elizabeth Street, Vic. 3000, Australia
C Tel.: 0478 473 924; Email: rastru@unimelb.edu.au
Microbiology Australia 42(4) 192-195 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA21053
Submitted: 23 October 2021 Accepted: 10 November 2021 Published: 19 November 2021
Journal Compilation © The Authors 2021 Open Access CC BY, published (by CSIRO Publishing) on behalf of the ASM
Abstract
With the implementation of strict quarantine and adjunct health measures, Fiji was largely spared from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In April 2021, the arrival of the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 resulted in a major outbreak that is only now under control. The country enacted swift countermeasures to reduce population movement, but the delta variant gained a foothold in the peri-urban areas of the largest city, Suva, and from there spread to other major urban centres of the largest island, Viti Levu. A very effective vaccination campaign has since been implemented resulting in a rate of two-dose vaccination, above 70%, that exceeds many higher income countries and, as of late October 2021, the numbers of COVID-19 cases were in decline. Fijian life, especially in rural settings, is based on hierarchical but supportive community structures and the responsibilities that flow from community membership, for example, attending large funerals, mitigated against the organised and systematic control response instituted by the Fijian Ministry of Health and Medical Services, including vaccination, and the other Government agencies. A positive consequence of the outbreak has been the development of new capabilities, and the distribution of molecular diagnostic technologies that can be exploited to help control other infectious diseases.
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