Covid-19 restrictions on funeral gathering and the curfew have been eased amid positive vaccination rates, the Government said.
Photo: AFP
Twenty people can now gather at funerals which previously had permitted 10.
The new curfew restriction, which came into effect on Saturday, will now start from 8pm-4am. Previously, curfew was from 7pm-4am.
The moves come amid more than 50 percent of the targeted population being fully vaccinated.
As of 3 September, the Health Ministry said 566,210 adults in Fiji had received their first dose of the vaccine while 299,943 got both jabs.
"This means that 96.5 percent of the target population have received at least one dose and 51.1 percent are now fully vaccinated nation-wide," Health Secretary James Fong said in a statement.
Dr Fong said this is in line with the Prime Minister's earlier comments on the country achieving 50 percent full vaccination on 22 August this year.
Only travellers fully vaccinated against Covid-19 are now being allowed entry into Fiji.
The government said the only exceptions will be "a few emergencies."
It also expects to have at least 60-percent of the country's target population vaccinated by the end of October, and to reopen the border in November.
"As at midday Saturday September 4, 2021, 298,834 of the vaccine eligible public had received the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine," Dr Fong said.
"We continue to encourage those who have not received their vaccination, to visit a vaccination clinic nearest you and for those yet to receive their second dose to receive it on their due date.
"Achieving full vaccination status for all vaccination eligible residents provides the layer of protection that protects our families, our communities and our nation," Dr Fong said.
.. Photo: Facebook/Fiji govt
Govt confirms 156 new cases
There were 156 new cases of Covid-19 reported for the 24 hours to 8am on Sunday.
Of these, 17 were from the outer islands, 73 from the Central Division and the rest from the west of the country.
The Government also confirmed 696 new recoveries with 15,997 active cases now in isolation.
There were no new deaths to report on Sunday.
However, there are two deaths being investigated to determine the cause, Dr Fong said.
"There were 319 Covid-positive patients who died from serious medical conditions they had before they contracted the virus; these are not classified as Covid-19 deaths.
"Please note that due to the time required by clinical teams to investigate, classify and report deaths, a 4-day interval is given to calculate the 7-day rolling average based on the date of death to help ensure the data collected is complete before the average is reported.
"Therefore as of August 31st, the national 7-day rolling average of Covid-19 deaths per day is 4 - one in the central division and three in the west."
The ministry is continuing its testing program across the containment areas where infections have soared since the virus spread beyond the main island Viti Levu.
A total of 339,443 samples have been tested since this outbreak started in April 2021, Dr Fong said, with 382,304 tested since March 2020.
He said there were 1297 tests reported for 4 September and the national 7-day average daily test positivity is 19.7 percent.
Dr Fong said this was on a downward trend but still indicated a high-level of community transmission.
