Fiji has confirmed its first Covid-19 related death.
Health Minister Ifereimi Waqainabete Photo: Fiji Govt
Health Minister Ifereimi Waqainabete said the 66-year-old man, who was in border quarantine, died at Lautoka Hospital.
Waqainabete said the man was the country's first border quarantine Covid-19 case.
He said the man was repatriated to Fiji from India on 1 July after receiving medical treatment in Delhi.
"Sadly, despite the best efforts of our healthcare professionals this gentleman passed away yesterday in the isolation ward at Lautoka hospital due to complications from covid-19," Ifereimi Waqainabete said.
"The ministry of health and medical services has extended our sincere condolences to this gentleman's family who we have remained in constant contact with since his diagnosis," he said.
The government said the man apparently contracted the coronavirus while in India but it was still committed to repatriating such citizens back home.
The minister said there were now eight active cases of Covid-19 in Fiji, all of them in border quarantine.
Health authorities have moved to reassure the public that the public remained safe and Fiji continued to be a "Covid-contained country".
Fiji's first border quarantine case –– a 66-year-old man who contracted COVID-19 in India –– has sadly passed away.
— Frank Bainimarama (@FijiPM) July 31, 2020
Fijian communities still remain free of the virus, but that does not make this tragedy any easier to bear.
His family and friends have our deepest sympathies.
