The Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS) is calling on the government to activate the Disaster Management Committee (DISMAC) to address the Covid-19 crisis in the country.
.. Photo: Fiji govt
Listen to this story on Pacific Waves
The council's chief executive Vani Catanasiga said it would help stop more people from dying due to the virus.
The call came amid a daily record 791 infections and three more deaths confirmed by health authorities for the latest 24-hour period.
There are now over 6000 Covid-19-positive people in isolation with the death toll at 42, all but two of which are from the latest outbreak which started in April.
Catanasiga said the health services and front-liners were overwhelmed "and may not be able to cope much longer if the full capacity of the national humanitarian system is not activated as soon as possible".
"FCOSS believes that activating DISMAC brings the full surge support currently missing from this incident management approach that Ministry of Health has been utilising since the beginning of the crisis," she said.
Catanasiga said the health system had been severely impacted, affecting access to health services for the chronically-ill and other patients, including those requiring maternal health services.
"We have used the humanitarian system annually to respond to disasters that had similar impacts at the community level; this should compel leaders to consider using the system to stop more people from dying."
She said FCOSS had been collecting daily observations since the beginning of the crisis from its sub-national platforms.
"The situation on the ground is getting dire. People isolating at home and are unable to get support from the Health Ministry are now resorting to getting help from community volunteers, including for herbal remedies.
"We've also noted incidents of threats against families whose homes have been cordoned off because a family member is Covid-19 positive.
"FCOSS is urging the government to consider this option with urgency before systems collapse and more people lose their lives to Covid-19."
Vani Catanasiga. Photo: Supplied/FCOSS
Call to remove VAT on basic food items
Meanwhile, Catanasiga is also calling on the government to scrap the value-added-tax (VAT) from basic food items.
She said this was a key feature of the council's submission to the 2021-2022 National Budget consultation.
The budget is expected to be revealed later this month.
Catanasiga said the government must ensure VAT was removed so the hardship faced by communities with food security and hunger could be alleviated.
"This is no longer just a health crisis - this is a humanitarian crisis with far-reaching and long-term impacts on the well-being of Fijian citizens," she said.
Catanasiga said access to food was one of the first challenges identified in the council's People's Livelihood Survey that was undertaken after the first wave of Covid-19 infections and in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Harold in April, 2020.
"The removal of VAT from basic food items, however, needs to be heeded this year as we anticipate that this health crisis will continue into the next few months.
"We've had two protests from communities in lockdown already in the last few weeks - much of it had to do with access to food.
"This should send a clear signal to the government that the removal of VAT from basic food items must be done in this year's budget."
Fiji has 6524 active cases in isolation from this latest outbreak that started in April.