Suva, Jun 25 (IANS): Fiji recorded 308 new cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, setting a new record for daily infections, according to the Ministry of Health.

Fijian Permanent Secretary for Health James Fong said that a 63-year-old who was positive for Covid-19 had died and doctors were investigating whether this is related to the virus, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Of the new cases, 297 are from the Lami-Nausori Containment Zone and 11 from Nadi, Fiji's third largest town in the western part of Viti Levu.

Fong confirmed that there were seven severe cases of Covid-19 admitted at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva as two people are recovering and no longer classified as severe.

Head of Health Protection in Fiji Aalisha Sahukhan said they had continued to record clusters in Naitasiri and Tailevu provinces.

Sahukhan said Fiji has recorded 13 Covid-19 deaths so far, 11 of which are from the current outbreak alone.

There were 17 recoveries in the last 24 hours which means 2,173 active cases are in isolation.

Fiji has recorded 2,778 cases of Covid-19 since the outbreak in April and 2,848 cases since the first case detected in the country in March 2020 with 653 recoveries so far.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama stressed on Friday that the Covid-19 vaccine is the key that will open the gates to normal life in Fiji, urging all eligible Fijians to get vaccinated.

The prime minister said the vaccine is the right thing for each individual's health and safety as a total of 299,202 Fijians have been vaccinated with at least one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, representing 45 per cent of the targeted population in the island nation.