World
Seven people, including one American, hospitalized after drinking cocktail at Fiji hotel
Seven people, including one American citizen, were hospitalized over the weekend for suspected poisoning after drinking cocktails at a hotel resort bar in Fiji, health officials said Monday.
The Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services reported Sunday that the seven people who were hospitalized included four Australian citizens, one American citizen and two other foreign nationals who were residing in Fiji, according to local media reports citing the Ministry of Health. As of Monday evening, Tourism Minister Viliame Gavoka said that two people remained hospitalized in stable condition.
Officials also said Monday the incident remains under investigation.
Poisoning suspected after drinking pina coladas
All those hospitalized were reportedly drinking at a bar at the upscale Warwick Fiji resort near the town of Sigatoka on Saturday evening.
In a brief press conference that was streamed on Facebook on Dec. 16, Gavoka said that they had been drinking pina colada cocktails.
All seven victims, who ranged in age from 18 to 56, were taken to Aspen Lautoka Hospital, where two people remained as of Dec. 16. Fijian health officials said that no other cases had been reported.
Fijian health and law enforcement officials are continuing to investigate and did not say for certain whether the illnesses were caused by tainted alcohol. The incident comes a month after six tourists died from methanol poisoning after drinking at a bar in Laos.
Gavoka described the recent poisoning as an “extremely isolated incident,” and said, “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.”
“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,” Gavoka added.
Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com.
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