Tourism Minister Viliame Gavoka confirms that drink samples from the suspected alcohol poisoning incident at Warwick Fiji Resort will be sent to Australia for analysis, as investigations continue into the case.

Gavoka confirmed to FBC News that the seven affected individuals were served Pina Coladas at the resort’s Suva Wing Bar.

He says that the same drink was served at four other bars within the resort that evening, yet no other guests fell ill.

The Tourism Minister says that the Pina Colada is prepackaged and there is no concern that ingredients were made by the resort.

He also confirms that one of the seven patients has returned to Australia.

Gavoka adds that this person who was believed to be linked to the incident had been ill since last Thursday.

Gavoka describes the incident as a very unusual case.

“The whole case is quite mystifying, but we are doing everything we can in terms of the health ministry and the police to really determine what happened on that evening when these people were served with pina colada in one of these bars. Now, let me say here particularly that Warwick has five bars altogether. This was in Suva Bar, and the pina colada was served in the other four bars during the evening, and no one got ill.”

Gavoka highlighted that the Warwick Fiji Resort, one of the country’s most renowned properties, maintains excellent global standards.

“With my years in the hotels, it’s the first time we’ve seen something like this, and we really need to get to fully understand what happened and take precautionary measures going forward. As I said, Warwick is very well established. Most of us know the property, and the person working in the bar that day was a 16-year veteran of the resort. So it is quite mystifying, but we are determined to go down to the root cause.”

He says the whole case is quite mystifying adding that the health ministry and police are working diligently to uncover what occurred on the evening in question.

Gavoka says their thoughts are with the affected guests and their families during this time, and are ensuring that they receive the best medical care possible.

He adds they have been reassured that their condition this morning was stable, and do hope their condition continues to improve.

The Minister says all seven guests have been transferred to Aspen Lautoka Hospital for further medical care, investigation, and management.

The health team has conducted initial investigations, and so far, no further cases have been reported.

Gavoka says the management is concerned for the welfare of their guests, and is fully cooperating with authorities.

He says they do not wish to speculate about the cause at this stage, as they are awaiting the results of ongoing investigations and laboratory tests.

The resort management has assured the Ministry that they have not engaged in practices such as substituting ingredients or altering the quality of drinks served to guests.

Gavoka says the government would like to reassure both local and international visitors to Fiji that this is a very isolated incident.

He says thousands of tourists are currently visiting Fiji, and close to a million tourists visit annually, and safely.

He says this is the only reported case of its kind that they have experienced in recent memory, and certainly nothing like this has been experienced this year.

He also stresses that the tourism experience in Fiji is typically very safe, and they have acted immediately to try and discover the cause of what made these guests, at this resort, fall ill.

Gavoka adds they continue to monitor the situation closely.