SUVA, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Fijian Permanent Secretary for Health James Fong said on Wednesday that people need to take all the necessary COVID measures including vaccination as new COVID-19 cases continued to rise between the Lami-Nausori corridor in Fiji.
Fong said with many more cases and more severe cases, things would get very difficult in Fiji, according to the Fijivillage news website.
He said there were 60 positive cases at the Colonial War Memorial hospital in the capital city of Suva and 11 of the cases were severe that required oxygen.
The Ministry of Health also advised people to get vaccinated as soon as they could.
UN Resident Coordinator for the Pacific Sanaka Samarasinha told local media that the risk of more COVID-19 cases yet to be reported in Fiji was high.
Samarasinha, who received his second dose of the vaccine on Wednesday, said Fijians seriously needed to consider taking the vaccine.
He said the rate at which cases were being recorded in Fiji was worrying and a collapse in the health care system could be expected if people continue to take advisories lightly.
He said the UN would continue to support the country through humanitarian needs, however he called on people to practice COVID-19 safe measures all the time to reduce the risk of infection.
Fiji recorded 126 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the total tally to 2,090, and the recovered patients reached 532, while the death toll stood at seven, according to the health ministry. Enditem
