Nearly 500 new infections are from the western division as the virus spreads to Namalata Village on Kadavu.
Photo: AFP
Fiji has reported 591 new cases of Covid-19 for the 24 hours to 8am on Monday.
The Government also confirmed six deaths, taking the toll to 444 - 442 of them from this latest outbreak that began in April.
That compares with 303 cases and five deaths in the previous 24-hour period.
Of the latest cases, 498 were recorded in the Western Division, 89 in the Central Division and four cases on remote Kadavu in the east.
Fiji now has 19,062 active cases in isolation.
Health Secretary Dr James Fong said the four new cases on Kadavu were from Namalata Village.
He said the six deaths were recorded between 16 and 22 August. Three were from the Central Division and three from the West.
The Covid-19 Drive-Through Vaccination Centre in Suva. Photo: Facebook/Fiji govt
Public urged to seek early medical help
The Health Ministry has called on members of the public to present themselves to their nearest medical facilities early if they are suffering from severe Covid-19 symptoms.
Of yesterday's six deaths, five had died at home. Among them was a 20-year-old.
Dr Fong said people with severe symptoms were still dying at home or were presenting themselves to health facilities in the late stages of severe illness.
He said severe Covid was a medical emergency, and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment reduced ones chance of recovering from the disease.
"You are at higher risk of developing severe Covid-19 if you are over the age of 50 or have a non-communicable disease or chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease, or if you are obese or pregnant," he said.
People have been urged to contact 165 if they could not travel to their designated hospital.
Dr Fong has also called on the public to adhere to covid safety protocols even though they only had a case in the division.
"The situation in Kadavu remains a major concern, the clinical scoping team in Kadavu has begun to put together a clinical response plan that will help to efficiently escalate our response to the expected wave of severe disease and deaths in Kadavu, however, we do anticipate this to be a challenging exercise.
"The public health team is continuing with screening and isolation protocols, a key part of the response will be to identify persons vulnerable to severe Covid and to pre-emptively engage them in a care plan that allows early identification of danger symptoms and signs and access to clinical care in a timely manner."
Dr Fong urged maritime residents not to engage in unauthorised travel to and from the main island of Viti Levu.
Shipping services to and from Kadavu have been suspended.
Residents look on as police check people are wearing face masks in Suva. Photo: AFP or licensors
Covid Fiji update
616 new recoveries reported since the last update
19,062 active cases
9,723 active cases are in the Central Division, 9,203 in the West, one active case in the Northern Division (Nabouwalu) and 135 active cases in the Eastern Division (all in Kadavu).
44,118 cases during the outbreak that started in April 2021
44,188 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020, with 24,425 recoveries.
