Open Questions for the PM, Dr Bloomfield and Helen Clark

Do we know yet why the UN person, got flown in from Fiji but not – for example – the two child in this report yesterday? I may have missed updates – but who was the UN person? Why have they been regarded as being more important than the rest of that nation’s wonderful people?

11 deaths in Fiji (RNZ yesterday)

Two children are among 11 people who have died from Covid-19 in Fiji, reports RNZ.

The Government also confirmed 205 new cases for the 24 hours to 8am on Friday.

That compares with 423 cases and six deaths the previous day.

Health Secretary Dr James Fong said the children’s deaths showed a new picture of how the virus is spreading in the community.

“The death of a child is always terrible and sadly Covid-19 does not discriminate. Whilst we know children are at significantly lower risk of suffering severe Covid, unfortunately as we continue to see the virus spread in our community, we will see children being infected and some tragically dying from the virus.

“This is why I cannot reinforce enough that while Covid-19 vaccines are critically important, we must all continue to practise other Covid safety measures if we want to see a drop in cases in our community.

“This means wearing a mask properly, keeping a physical distance from others outside our household, washing our hands regularly and avoiding crowds.

“Without these measures and high levels of vaccination coverage, we can expect to see Covid continue to spread in our communities and find those who are most vulnerable.”

Unfortunately, Dr Fong said the situation in the Western Division was getting worse.

He said they were seeing an intensifying outbreak in the west.

He said while there was drop in infections in the past 24 hours, they were concerned at the location of these cases.

“We are now managing outbreaks in multiple locations across Fiji, including in some remote areas with limited healthcare infrastructure.” – RNZ

Alwyn Poole
alwyn.poole@gmail.com