SUVA: The Fijian capital Suva entered in a 14-day lockdown today, April 26 as the Pacific island nation battled to contain a COVID-19 spike following a superspreader funeral event.
Around 100,000 individuals within the city must stay in containment zones and non-essential businesses are shuttered after the first community COVID-19 cases in 12 months were detected.
A soldier contracted the virus at a quarantine facility and is believed to have transmitted it to a maid, who then exposed up to 500 individuals at a funeral.
The permanent secretary for health and medical services, James Fong, stated 4 new cases emerged over the weekend.
“Three of the cases involved individuals who attended the funeral that we have identified as a superspreader event, including a husband and wife who circulated through the community,” Fong stated.
It’s not clear how the fourth person, a woman from the outskirts of Suva, became infected.
“She and her husband have been placed in quarantine, however, prudence requires us to treat this case as a possible community transmission,” Fong stated.
“Because we cannot but pin down the movements of these individuals and identify all their contacts, we’re forced to take strict precautionary measures.”
Fiji has largely contained the virus through strict isolation measures and border controls, recording fewer than 100 cases and just two deaths in a population of 930,000.
The emergence of community transmission is a blow for Fiji’s hopes of opening quarantine-free travel bubbles with Australia and New Zealand, the source of most of its international visitors.
Fiji’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism, which has all however evaporated during the pandemic.
Monthly visitor numbers have been down up to 99 percent from pre-pandemic levels, according to government statistics.