Asia Today: Fiji sequesters hospital staff after COVID death

The military and police in the Pacific nation of Fiji have surrounded and locked down a major hospital amid concerns of a growing coronavirus outbreak

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- The military and police in the Pacific nation of Fiji have surrounded and locked down a major hospital amid concerns of a growing virus outbreak. Health authorities say they’re quarantining 400 patients, doctors, nurses and staff within the compound until they can determine who had contact with a coronavirus patient who died. The 53-year-old patient at Lautoka Hospital was just the third person in Fiji to die from the virus but the nation’s leaders are deeply worried that the latest outbreak is spreading, especially after two doctors at the hospital tested positive for the virus. Authorities say that throughout the country, there are currently 28 cases of community transmission. They have restricted movement in six so-called containment areas, including the capital, Suva.