People line up for shopping at a supermarket ahead of a curfew in Suva, Fiji, April 30, 2021. Fiji announced on Friday night a curfew in the Suva-Nausori area after the island nation reported one new COVID-19 case, the seventh straight day of registering new COVID-19 cases. (Xinhua/Zhang Yongxing)
SUVA, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Fiji announced on Friday night a curfew in the Suva-Nausori area after the island nation reported one new COVID-19 case, the seventh straight day of registering new COVID-19 cases.
According to Fiji's Health Ministry, the new case on Friday makes the total number of three cases in Rakiraki, a district about 163 km north of capital city Suva, forming two clusters.
The Permanent Secretary for the Health Ministry James Fong said that starting from 8:00 p.m. Friday night until 4:00 a.m. Monday morning, there will be a curfew for Fijians living in the Suva-Nausori corridor. No businesses, including supermarkets, banks and pharmacies are allowed to be open during the next 56 hours while all Fijian have been asked to stay at home.
He stressed that the medical teams need the 56 hours to break as many chains of COVID transmission as possible.
Meanwhile, Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama on Friday reminded Fijian soldiers of their duty and care to the island nation. This came after earlier this week the health ministry blamed the soldiers for breaching quarantine conditions, which led to some contracting COVID-19.
Currently, there are 50 active cases in Fiji, with 19 border quarantine cases, 29 locally transmitted cases and two cases with unknown sources. A total of 65 cases in Fiji have fully recovered and two have died since the nation's first case in March last year.
The health ministry has confirmed that the B1617 variant of COVID-19 first detected in India has now been discovered in Fiji.
To contain the spread of COVID-19, Fiji announced on Sunday the 14-day containment zones in the Lami-Suva-Nausori area. Fijians will not be allowed in or out of the containment zones in the area.
Fiji has also maintained a nationwide curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. local time since March last year. Enditem