Fiji now free of COVID-19 – Prime Minister, Frank Says

Fijian Prime Minister, Voreqe ‘Frank’ Bainimarama on Friday declared the Pacific Island country coronavirus-free.

Bainimarama in a post on his Twitter page announced that the country has no more active COVID-19 cases.

His tweet read: “Fiji has just cleared the last of our active COVID-19 patients and even with our testing numbers climbing by the day. It’s now been 45 days since we recorded our last case. With no deaths, our recovery rate is 100 per cent.

“Answered prayers, hard work, and affirmation of science!,” Bainimarama tweeted.

Fiji, with a population of more than 900,000 had recorded a total of 18 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak of coronavirus on March 19.

The country last recorded a coronavirus case on April 21.

Earlier, Fiji’s Health Minister, Ifereimi Waqainabete, on Friday morning announced that the last three COVID-19 patients have been declared free of the virus.

Waqainabete, however, said the government will continue to run tests on all suspected cases on a regular basis.

As of Friday, more than 2,000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Fiji with about 100 people still at quarantine facilities, but none of them have tested positive for coronavirus.

Fiji is one of the very few countries in the Pacific Ocean region that has confirmed cases of COVID-19, unlike its neighbours Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, and several others.

Fiji has closed its borders to all travelers from abroad but organizes rare chartered flights for its citizens.

The country has maintained restrictions on social gatherings to 20 people and observing a nationwide curfew.