22 Solomon Islands students Studying in Fiji tested COVID-19 positive
Twenty-two (22) Solomon Islands students studying in Fiji have so far been tested positive for Covid-19, the Solomon Star reports.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister (PM) Manasseh Sogavare has confirmed this during his nationwide address on Monday.
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| rime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. Photo by Solomon Star |
Sogavare said the situation in Fiji is extremely worrying for the local students, parents and the government.
He said a total of 22 of the students and dependents have been infected by the virus.
“13 have now been declared active by the Fiji Ministry of health and 9 remain active.
“All 22 cases are asymptomatic,” he said.
He said the country’s High Commissioner in Suva, the education attaché and other Solomon Islanders living in Suva have been supporting these students that were in isolated when they were infected.
With this worrying situation, PM Sogavare said the Oversight Committee have discussed the Fiji situation yesterday, and will advise him and the Cabinet on the situation.
He said currently the country had approximated 850 students both government and privately sponsored students in all the training institutions in Fiji.
“Just over 50 of these have graduated and can return home, the rest will remain in Fiji,” he said.
However, he said the timing of any repatriation flight for the graduation students will be determine by the country’s health team and it will occur when it is safe for the country to repatriate the graduation students.
Given the highly transmission of the delta variant of the Covid-19 virus which is in Fiji, the PM said; “it is not the good time to undertake and repatriation flight from Fiji to Solomon Islands right now because we import delta variant cases into the country.
“It can spread very quickly and have a devastated effect on our population,” he said.
Sogavare said his government will consider ways to provide support the graduating and continuing students in Fiji while continually assessing the situation there.
Over the past days, Fiji had recorded more than a thousand cases per day.
Solomon Star / ONE PNG
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