SUVA, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Fiji reported on Sunday two more confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of active COVID-19 cases to 11 in the island nation.

In a statement on Sunday, Fiji's Ministry of Health said two members of a shipping vessel have now been isolated at the Navua Hospital, about 30 km from the capital city of Suva after testing positive for COVID-19.

The two sailors, non-Fiji citizens, arrived in Fiji's Lautoka port on Wednesday onboard the freighter MV Island Chief to deliver cargo. The freighter then proceeded on to the Suva port.

According to the ministry, the positive results are both what may be called a "weak positive" indicating that a very small amount of viral material was present in the sample. Based on these test results, and the fact that both crew members have no symptoms, the indication is that they are at the end of their illness and these are what they call historical cases. Fiji is exploring options for further testing to confirm whether they were infectious while at Fiji's border.

Currently, all 21 Fijian officials, who boarded the vessel, have been placed in quarantine and authorities are conducting contact tracing for casual contacts.

Fiji, which now has 46 COVID-19 cases overall, reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case on March 19 this year, and two COVID-19 patients have died.

The island nation still maintains a strict travel restriction for foreign visitors as it also keeps a nationwide curfew effective from March 30. Enditem

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