Seven individuals, including an American citizen, were admitted to the hospital over the weekend due to suspected poisoning following the consumption of cocktails at a hotel resort bar in Fiji, as confirmed by health officials on Monday. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services in Fiji disclosed on Sunday that among the seven hospitalized individuals were four Australian citizens, one American citizen, and two other foreign nationals who were currently residing in Fiji, according to reports from local media citing the Ministry of Health. By Monday evening, Tourism Minister Viliame Gavoka stated that two individuals were still in the hospital but were in stable condition. It was also mentioned by officials that the incident is currently under investigation.
The suspected poisoning occurred after the individuals had consumed pina coladas while at a bar located in the luxurious Warwick Fiji resort near Sigatoka on Saturday evening. During a brief press conference broadcasted on Facebook on December 16, Gavoka revealed that the affected individuals had been drinking pina colada cocktails. All seven victims, whose ages ranged from 18 to 56, were transported to Aspen Lautoka Hospital, where two individuals were still receiving treatment as of December 16. Health authorities in Fiji stated that no additional cases had been reported.
Health and law enforcement officials in Fiji are actively conducting an investigation and have not confirmed whether the illnesses were a result of contaminated alcohol. This incident comes shortly after six tourists tragically passed away from methanol poisoning after consuming drinks at a bar in Laos.
Gavoka characterized the recent poisoning incident as an “extremely isolated case” and mentioned that “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.” He added, “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.”
