Fiji locks down capital, cancels international flights

Sydney, Australia, Apr 26 (EFE).- Fiji’s capital Suva began a strict two-week lockdown on Monday following an outbreak of Covid-19, while Fiji Airways announced the cancellation of all domestic and international flights.

The health authorities also locked down the areas of Lami and Nausori, near Suva, all located on the main island of Viti Levu, for two weeks after four cases of the coronavirus were registered the previous day, according to an official statement.

The entrances to these three “containment zones” will be guarded by the police of the South Pacific nation, and people will only be allowed out for essential purposes, with social interactions limited to household members.

In addition to these areas, the cities of Nadi and Lautoka, also on Viti Levu, have been confined since Apr. 19 as a result of the first case of local contagion in Fiji that occurred due to failures in the protocols in the quarantine of international arrivals.

Three of the four new infections reported on Sunday are linked to a soldier who returned from abroad and was confined in a quarantine center and infected a female worker who then traveled through various places in Nadi and Lautoka.

The authorities of Fiji, which has recorded under 100 cases of Covid-19, including two deaths, have not specified how long this measure will last.

Fiji Airways announced that it had canceled all international and domestic flights until May 2, however “dedicated international freighter services will continue to ensure vital export and import supply chains for Fiji remain intact.”

Fiji is an archipelago located in the South Pacific and made up of 332 islands, of which 110 are inhabited, although about 70 percent of the more than 900,000 inhabitants live on Viti Levu. EFE

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