The government of Papua New Guinea said on Tuesday that it would restrict the movement without drawing up a complete exclusion because coronavirus infections had skyrocketed in the Pacific country.
PNG recorded 82 positive cases on Tuesday out of 91 tests processed in a day, which led to the Australian state of Queensland suspending charter flights from the OK Tedi copper and gold mine, one of the country’s largest employers.
Of the most recent 500 swabs taken by Australian health workers from PNG residents, 250 of them have returned positive, according to Queensland health officials.
Prime Minister James Marape has warned that the country’s official total of 2,269 cases of Covid-19, including 26 deaths, is a countdown, as it is based on those who turned up for testing.
Only 54,410 of PNG’s 9 million people were tested, said police superintendent Dominic Kakas, the country’s Covid-19 spokesman.
‘Community transfer took place. It broke loose. We have to stop it from spreading further, ”Marape said.
‘If we do not do it [take a] proactive response to this, our health system will be clogged and we may not be able to sustain the outbreak that is currently taking place. ”
He said health authorities were looking at “city by city or city and town, province by province, to prevent people from moving in and out”.
The country’s maritime borders with Australia and the Solomon Islands have been closed.
Marape urged people to stay in their districts and towns. He said the police and army will ensure that people and public transport follow public health measures.
There are concerns about the increase in affairs after mass rallies were held this past weekend to commemorate Sir Michael Somare, PNG’s first prime minister, who passed away last month.
Officials in Australia, who ran PNG affairs until independence in 1975, said they were monitoring the virus’ progress. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said vaccines were being rushed to PNG to vaccinate frontline health workers.
“I am very concerned about the situation in PNG and we are monitoring it very closely and actively,” said Dr. Paul Kelly, Australia’s chief medical officer, said on Tuesday.
He said vaccination had begun in Torres Street, which separates the two countries. “They are currently vaccinated on Saibai Island, one of the islands in Torres Strait, very close to the PNG mainland,” Kelly said.