5th June, 2020
Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Frank Bainimarama said on Friday that the Pacific Island country had no more active cases of COVID-19.
Bainimarama announced via Twitter that the islands are now covid-19 free.
He wrote; “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!”.
Fiji has just cleared the last of our active #COVID19 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%.
Answered prayers, hard work, and affirmation of science!
— Frank Bainimarama (@FijiPM) June 4, 2020
Fiji had 18 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since it was first reported on March 19.
The country, which has a population of more than 900,000 last recorded a coronavirus case on April 21.
Earlier, Fiji’s health minister, Ifereimi Waqainabete, said that the last three COVID-19 patients, including a 12-year-old girl, were cleared to be free of the disease on Friday morning.
They were all residents of capital Suva.
Waqainabete said the government has continued testing all suspected cases referred to them regularly.
“We cannot drop our guard,” he said.
More than 2,000 COVID-19 tests have been done in Fiji.
About 100 people are still in quarantine facilities, but none of them tested positive for coronavirus.
Fiji is one of the very few countries in the Pacific Ocean region that had confirmed cases of COVID-19, unlike its neighbours Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, and several others.
Fiji has closed its borders to all travellers from abroad but organised rare chartered flights for its citizens.
The country still has restrictions on social gatherings to 20 people and a nationwide overnight curfew.