SUVA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Fiji reported its 18th confirmed case of COVID-19 after a 51-year-old woman tested positive for the virus on Monday.
Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said in a televised announcement on Monday that the woman, who is from Ba, one of the provinces in the western side of Fiji's main island of Viti Levu, arrived in Fiji from the United States on March 22.
She was cleared after a 14-day self quarantine on April 4, but later developed signs of COVID-19 and was subsequently tested again. Contact tracing continued for her since she had been in Fiji for a month.
The 18th patient was a low risk transmitter who lived with three others and they had all tested negative but were under quarantine.
Three patients, including a 27-year-old Fiji Airways flight attendant, had tested negative already for COVID-19, but they were still under isolation. The remaining patients were in a stable condition.
The prime minister said that it was good news there were no deaths in the country so far and he hoped good hygiene practices would continue among Fijians.
Bainimarama said the virus was out there and Fijians needed to be careful at all times even though not socializing with family and friends was hard.
The nationwide curfew remains as nightclubs, gyms, cinemas and swimming pools stay closed. Public gatherings are not permitted. Physical distancing of two meters should be maintained at all times, he said, adding that schools in the island nation will not open until June 15.
Fiji had reported its first confirmed case of the virus on March 19. The Fiji Airways flight attendant had overseas travel history to the United States and New Zealand. Enditem
