COVID: Two major cities in Fiji have been contained

Authorities said on Sunday that two of Fiji’s major cities were locked up on Monday after the archipelago recorded its first local case of COVID-19 in a 12-month pandemic.

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The same source confirmed that a 53-year-old woman was infected with the virus after she had been in contact with a soldier who was quarantined in Nadi, a town northwest of the main island of Viti Levu.

“In order to allow for rapid tracking and to reduce the risks of new contamination, we announce that the Grand Club and Lautoka will be contained from 4:00 this morning,” the Ministry of Health announced in a statement.

Nadi and Lautoka are the third and second largest cities in Fiji respectively. The club is located northwest of the main island of Viti Levu. Lautoka is located on the west coast of Viti Levu, 24 km north of Nadi.

Fiji has largely escaped the epidemic thanks to strict measures, including border controls, with fewer than a hundred cases and only two deaths out of 930,000 people.

More than 330 people were put in contact with the woman who tested positive in solitary confinement and police were tasked with imposing a 24-hour curfew in Lautoka and Nadi.

Outside of confined areas, Fijians still remain indoors. Schools and businesses are closed.

“All Fijians should stay home. There should not be public meetings. The Ministry of Health added that all services except those in the health sector should be closed.”