Fiji has recorded 636 new COVID-19 cases and six deaths in the past 24 hours, as of 8am Tuesday.
It comes as the Pacific nation experiences a recent surge in cases.
Three of the deaths were in people who weren't vaccinated and the other three had received their first dose, Fiji's Ministry of Health and Medical Services says.
The first death is a 74-year-old woman from Delainavesi, Lami. She presented to the FEMAT field hospital in respiratory distress and died on the same day. She wasn't vaccinated.
The second is a 74-year-old woman from Raiwaqa. She was admitted at CWM Hospital for treatment of a serious non-COVID-related medical condition and later tested positive in hospital. After investigation, her doctors determined that her death was caused by COVID-19 and not the prior medical condition. She wasn't vaccinated.
The third death is an 80-year-old man from Suva. A health response team was called to his home and he was then transferred to CWM Hospital after he was found to have severe symptoms, including shortness of breath. He developed severe respiratory distress and died two days later. He had received the first dose of the vaccine in the first week of June. However, he hadn't received the second dose and was not fully vaccinated.
The fourth death is a 43-year-old woman from Makoi. She was admitted at CWM Hospital for treatment of a serious non-COVID-related medical condition and later tested positive in hospital. After an investigation, her doctors determined that her death was caused by COVID-19 and not her prior medical condition. She had received the first dose of the vaccine at the end of April, but she hadn't received the second dose.
The fifth death is a 70-year-old man from Nausori. He presented to the FEMAT field hospital in severe respiratory distress and died on the same day. He received his first dose of the vaccine in the first week of June, but also hadn't received the second.
The sixth death is a 63-year-old man from Nailuva Road. He presented to the FEMAT field hospital in severe respiratory distress and died on the same day. He wasn't vaccinated.
There was one more death in a COVID-19-positive patient, but it was classed as a non-COVID death by doctors. They found it was caused by a serious pre-existing medical condition.
Thirty nine adults have died from COVID-19 in Fiji with 37 of these occurring during the outbreak that started in April this year.
There are 5776 active cases in isolation. There's been 7079 COVID-19 cases since the outbreak that started in April this year and a total of 7149 cases in Fiji since the first case was reported in March 2020.
COVID-19 vaccines in Fiji
To date, 324,462 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 54,737 have received their second dose. This means that 55 percent of the target population has received at least one dose and 9.3 percent are now fully vaccinated, the ministry says.
Outlook
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services says the seven-day average of new cases per day has increased to 429 cases per day, or 485 cases per million people each day.
"As expected, with the increasing case numbers we are also seeing increasing numbers of people with severe disease and more deaths in the Suva-Nausori containment zone," the ministry says.
"We continue to see people with severe COVID-19 dying at home or coming to a medical facility in the late stages of severe illness and dying within a day or two. Severe COVID-19 is a medical emergency and a delay in receiving appropriate medical treatment may result in a higher risk of death."
