The Fijian government says there are no cases of Novel Coronavirus in Fiji and the Ministry of Health confirms that the six Chinese travellers who were quarantined as a precaution have tested negative for the virus and have been cleared.
The government says it is closely monitoring the developments surrounding the coronavirus that is now present in eighteen countries with no deaths outside of China.
The Ministry is working closely with relevant border control agencies to implement further enhanced health screenings and treatment guidelines to detect and manage ill passengers travelling to Fiji on direct or connecting flights from affected areas, especially Hubei Province, China, in a concerted effort to rapidly contain the virus.
In his statement, WHO Director General, Doctor Tedros Ghebreyesus, reiterated WHO does not recommend limiting trade or movement and calls on all countries to implement decisions that are evidence-based and consistent.
The Ministry of Health says a supplementary health card will shortly be given to all inbound travellers to complete before being allowed into the country. Based on the information they provide in the card, travellers will be advised on what procedures to follow, in addition to taking with them pertinent information on coronavirus and what they can do if they become ill, in the form of a tear-off section.
Entry screening is part of a layered approach used with other public health measures already in place to detect arriving travellers who are sick (such as detection and reporting of ill travellers by airlines and vessels during travel and referral of ill travellers arriving at a port of entry) to slow down and reduce the spread of any disease into Fiji.
Fiji is actively monitoring this situation for relevant information from WHO and other credible sources about the outbreak as it evolves.
