Authorities Investigate Isolated Health Incident at Coral Coast Resort

Incident at Coral Coast Resort

The Ministry for Tourism and Civil Aviation, together with Ministry of Health, want to acknowledge the serious health incident that occurred at a resort on the Coral Coast, where seven guests presented with illness after consuming a cocktail at one of the resort’s bars.

Our thoughts are with the affected guests and their families during this time, and we are ensuring that they receive the best medical care possible. We are reassured that their condition this morning was stable, and we do hope their condition continues to improve.

As of now, all seven guests have been transferred to Aspen Lautoka Hospital for further medical care, investigation, and management. Our health team has conducted initial investigations, and so far, no further cases have been reported. We are continuing to investigate the cause of this incident, and further testing and research are underway, with the full support of the Ministry of Health and the Fiji Police Force.

This is an extremely isolated incident, affecting only these seven guests at a specific bar within the Resort. No other incidents have been reported either at the resort, or across Fiji. The resort has been operating in Fiji successfully for many years and holds a strong reputation, particularly among our Australian visitors.

The management is obviously distressed and concerned for the welfare of their guests, and they are fully cooperating with authorities. We do not wish to speculate about the cause at this stage, as we are awaiting the results of ongoing investigations and laboratory tests.

The resort management has assured us that they have not engaged in practices such as substituting ingredients or altering the quality of drinks served to guests. The incident occurred at only one bar, and it involved seven tourists, ranging in age from young to older, who fell ill. The resort management shares our concerns and is fully cooperating with the Ministry of Health and other authorities to identify what happened and to ensure the safety of all future guests.

The Fijian Government would like to reassure both local and international visitors to Fiji that this is a very isolated incident. Thousands of tourists are currently visiting Fiji, and close to a million tourists visit annually, and safely. This is the only reported case of its kind that we’ve experienced in recent memory, and certainly nothing like this has been experienced this year.

While we understand the concern, we want to emphasize that the tourism experience in Fiji is typically very safe, and we have acted immediately to try and discover the cause of what made these guests, at this resort, fall ill.

As we approach the festive season, we always advise everyone to exercise the usual caution about what they consume. We continue to monitor the situation closely.

Once again, our thoughts are with the affected families. We are glad to hear that they are stable and hope their conditions continue to improve. We remain focused on ensuring they receive the best care and support. We will keep the public informed as the investigation progresses.

-ENDS-