By RNZ.co.nz and is republished with permission
The Fijian Government lifted its nationwide curfew at midnight – ending almost 22 months of strict movement restrictions due to Covid-19.
Several other measures were also relaxed, over public transport, sports events, nightclubs and no longer requiring the use of the care-Fiji contact tracing app.
Mask wearing, however, will remain mandatory.
Acting prime minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said Fiji is past its worst with over 90 percent of the population over the age of 15 fully vaccinated, and the number of people hospitalised declining.
He said “it is time for a new direction” in responding to Covid-19.
Fiji recorded its first positive infection in March 2020, and has had 811 deaths since.
Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. Photo: Facebook/Fiji govt
“What this means in practice is that we no longer need to look at the world solely through the lens of Covid-19. We are moving to a stage where we can remove our blinders and treat Covid as an endemic disease instead of a pandemic, not unlike the common flu,” Sayed-Khaiyum said.
“Covid cases aren’t going away, but our focus — from a health and policy standpoint — will be on particularly vulnerable groups, while the rest of our society more or less live normally as we rebuild our economy and focus on addressing the other challenges affecting the lives of ordinary people,”
