Fiji: First cases of the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus

The Fiji Islands verified the first two cases of the OMicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 yesterday, Monday, which apparently stopped at an entrance gate without any other infection in the small Pacific country, according to the authorities.

Health officials said Monday night that two Fiji nationals who returned from Nigeria via Hong Kong on November 25 were confirmed to be infected with Omicron.

The two men, fully vaccinated, were in quarantine after their arrival, as Nigeria is considered a high-risk country.

“It seems we have avoided mass infection for the time being,” Fiji Health Minister James Fong said in a press release issued by his services.

About two weeks after the announcement by the South African authorities that a new variant has been identified, Omicron cases have been confirmed in some forty countries around the world.

The Fiji Islands managed to stay virtually untouched by the pandemic for about a year, until they were hit this year by the second wave due to the Delta variant, resulting in some 700 deaths in the state of one million inhabitants.

Infections have decreased, however, as the percentage of the population that has been vaccinated has exceeded 90%. Yesterday Monday, authorities reported 10 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 and no deaths due to COVID-19 in 24 hours.

SOURCE: AMPE