Suva, Jul 1 (IANS): Fiji on Friday reintroduced more stringent Covid-19 safety measures as the island nation has reported a resurgence of fresh cases.

Hospitals have been notified to reintroduce more stringent safety measures of coronavirus while other workplaces have also been urged to more actively promote Covid-19 safety measures, Xinhua news agency quoted the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) as saying in a report.

Permanent Secretary for Health James Fong said that hospitals in the country will now start restricting visitors, with more strict enforcement of masking and hand sanitization practices, and strengthening screening protocols.

The Ministry of Health is also calling on workplaces, advising that Covid-19 safety measures be more actively promoted and enforced by management, he added.

Fong confirmed that the ministry has noted an increase in cases admitted that are positive for the virus, with more cases reported from workplaces in the country.

According to the top official, Fiji has recorded 158 new Covid-19 cases since Tuesday, of which 67 were reported in the central part of the country, 53 in the western part, 21 in the northern part and 17 in the eastern part.

He also confirmed that an 89-year-old unvaccinated woman with co-morbidities died due to Covid earlier this week.

Fiji, a South Pacific island nation with a population of around 900,000, has recorded more than 65,000 Covid-19 cases, with 866 deaths since March 2020 when it recorded its first confirmed infection.