Dr Fong: North Herd Immunity Rate Hoped To Be Achieved By December

Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr James Fong said they hoped to reach the required herd immunity level for the North before international travel starts in December.

Dr Fong said while the geographical barriers and a small number of communities not wishing to vaccinate is was a concern, the COVID-19 vaccine coverage rates for the Northern Division was at 91.8 per cent for first dose and 75.1 per cent for the second dose.

Fiji’s herd immunity rate is at 80 per cent.

He said while they were continuing the process of normalizing movement between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, presently, movement was mediated by registration for a repatriation number and the issuance of a ministry travel pass.

“The team managing the travel to and from the North will continue to increase the number of travelers we can support to travel when the vaccination rates improve,” Dr Fong said.

As of Tuesday, October 19, all travel from Vanua Levu to the Central Division do not need a registration number nor a pass.

However, these requirements and pass process will be maintained with regards to travel from Viti Levu to Vanua Levu to ensure that the travel is documented for contact tracing, a negative pre-departure test, and vaccination status is verified, and the travel caseload to the North team is kept manageable.

“All these factors are important to both preventing and being able to contain SARS-COV 2 transmission in Vanua Levu,” Dr Fong said.

“The public is strongly advised to only do a pre departure test only after your registration number is obtained.

“Also note that given the increasing vaccination rates, daily travelling quotas to Vanua Levu are being increased and we will be transitioning to self-monitored home quarantine.”

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