SUVA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Three sets of new equipment for COVID-19 tests have been installed in the Fiji Center for Communicable Disease Control to speed up the coronavirus testing in the Pacific island country, allowing an additional 1,000 tests to be conducted on a daily basis.
The equipment can in the longer term also be used to support tests for a range of other diseases, such as influenza, tuberculosis and HIV infection, according to Fijian Health Minister Ifereimi Waqainabete.
The testing equipment was procured by the World Health Organization and funded by the European Union.
Waqainabete said the testing systems came at a right time boosting the Fiji's testing capacity amid the current COVID wave, and helping make timely decisions in public health response.
Fiji reported 94 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, marking a new record of its daily cases. It has 604 active cases currently, and has so far reported 234 recoveries and four deaths from the pandemic.
Permanent Secretary for the Health Ministry James Fong said given the increasing number of new cases in the Lami-Nausori containment zone, the health ministry is preparing to shift into a mitigation phase to ensure healthcare resources to be focused on caring for patients, who develop severe illness.
Fong said that due to a high number of confirmed cases and the strain on quarantine capacity, new infections are being put into home isolation where feasible.
Fong noted that while authorities regularly check up on such cases, adherence to the home isolation protocols within the household is critical at all times.
Fiji is currently listed among countries facing the more infectious Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus. Enditem