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All health inspectors and security personnel at the Nadi International Airport have now been instructed to wear masks and gloves at any time flights arrive at the terminal.
And employers of other personnel working in the airport vicinity have also been advised by the Ministry of Health to provide employees protective equipment to safeguard against the risk of contracting the influenza H1N1, formerly known as the swine flu.
In its third round of media briefing following the alert on the global health scare on Sunday, the National Taskforce on Pandemic Influenza said though Fiji had not recorded any confirmed cases, the island nation was not very much “out of the woods”.
National Advisor Communicable Diseases Dr Eric Rafai maintained the ministry’s advisory that people returning from affected countries seek medical attention seven days upon showing symptoms of coughs and flu to allow authorities to treat and test them to determine whether or not they have contracted influenza H1N1.
He said the meeting of the taskforce, aviation security and other stakeholders in Nadi yesterday reinforced the need to maximise security and strengthen border control at key ports of entry.
The taskforce also confirmed to reporters this afternoon that the two New Zealanders suspected of having the influenza H1N1 after returning from Mexico have been tested, cleared and returned to their home country.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has enforced provisions of the Quarantine Act, under the Ministry of Health Emergency Response Plan, in response to the new influenza.
“This is to reduce or minimise the international spread of the disease and to delay the entry into Fiji,” Fiji’s permanent secretary for Health Dr Salanieta Saketa said.
