Coronavirus,
Australia will urge AstraZeneca and the European Union to speed up exports of a million doses of the coronavirus vaccine to be sent directly to Papua New Guinea to tackle the pandemic outbreak in Australia’s closest neighbor. The government has also newly restricted travel to and from the Pacific nation. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he spoke with Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape, about the outbreak, which has tested more than 100 people positive every day. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have always been very concerned for our Pacific family, for our neighbors, and over the past year the Pacific community has done such an exceptional job of keeping their islands essentially COVID-19 free” said Mr Morrison. “But we knew that this challenge would become too great for Papua New Guinea as time went on. Indeed, it is now.” Starting next week, eight thousand doses of vaccine will be given to Papua New Guinea to vaccinate frontline health workers, and personal protective equipment will also be shipped, including surgical masks, N95 masks, gowns, goggles, disinfectants for gloves, face shields and ventilators. Another 588,000 vaccines will be shipped to Papua New Guinea through June as part of the international COVAX facility. An AUSMAT team will arrive in Papua New Guinea next week to help respond to the outbreak and plan the launch of the vaccine. More employees are to be deployed in the coming weeks. Vaccinations in the Australian islands of Torres Strait will also increase. Passenger flights from Papua New Guinea to Cairns will be suspended from midnight on Wednesday, and flights have already been suspended from a PNG mine where the coronavirus test rate was almost half as high. Passenger restrictions from Port Morseby to Brisbane will be reduced by a quarter, Morrison said, and travel from Australia to Papua New Guinea will be suspended, except for essential and critical workers, including humanitarian activities. Fly-in, fly-out staff traveling between the two countries must stay where they are. “We will move from a 96-hour pre-departure screening to a 24-hour pre-departure screening as soon as possible,” said Morrison. READ MORE: The spread of the coronavirus in Papua New Guinea was likely much higher than official figures showed, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly told reporters on Wednesday morning. “Realizing they didn’t have the mass testing resources we have in Australia, any number you see of cases and even deaths in Papua New Guinea is going to be a huge underestimate,” said Professor Kelly. “There is a major outbreak of COVID-19 in Papua New Guinea. We know this from the places where tests can be done.” Half of women who presented to hospitals in Port Moresby because of pregnancy tested positive for coronavirus, Professor Kelly said. “We are seeing large numbers of frontline health workers in Papua New Guinea now contracting COVID-19. These are all signs that there is a major epidemic in the community.” Our journalists work hard to deliver local, breaking news to the community. Here’s how you can still access our trusted content:
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Australia will urge AstraZeneca and the European Union to speed up exports of a million doses of the coronavirus vaccine to be sent directly to Papua New Guinea to tackle the pandemic outbreak in Australia’s closest neighbor.
The government has also newly restricted travel to and from the Pacific nation.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he spoke with Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape, about the outbreak, which has tested more than 100 people positive every day.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have always been very concerned for our Pacific family, for our neighbors, and over the past year the Pacific community has done such an exceptional job of keeping their islands essentially COVID-19 free” said Mr Morrison.
“But we knew that this challenge would become too great for Papua New Guinea as time went on. Indeed, it is now.”
Starting next week, eight thousand doses of vaccine will be given to Papua New Guinea to vaccinate frontline health workers, and personal protective equipment will also be shipped, including surgical masks, N95 masks, gowns, goggles, disinfectants for gloves, face shields and ventilators.
Another 588,000 vaccines will be shipped to Papua New Guinea through June as part of the international COVAX facility.
An AUSMAT team will arrive in Papua New Guinea next week to help respond to the outbreak and plan the launch of the vaccine. More employees are to be deployed in the coming weeks. Vaccinations in the Australian islands of Torres Strait will also increase.
Passenger flights from Papua New Guinea to Cairns will be suspended from midnight on Wednesday, and flights have already been suspended from a PNG mine where the coronavirus test rate was almost half as high.
Passenger restrictions from Port Morseby to Brisbane will be reduced by a quarter, Morrison said, and travel from Australia to Papua New Guinea will be suspended, except for essential and critical workers, including humanitarian activities. Fly-in, fly-out staff traveling between the two countries must stay where they are.
“We will move from a 96-hour pre-departure screening to a 24-hour pre-departure screening as soon as possible,” said Morrison.
The spread of the coronavirus in Papua New Guinea was likely much higher than official figures showed, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly told reporters on Wednesday morning.
“Realizing they didn’t have the mass testing resources we have in Australia, any number you see of cases and even deaths in Papua New Guinea is going to be a huge underestimate,” said Professor Kelly.
“There is a major outbreak of COVID-19 in Papua New Guinea. We know this from the places where tests can be done.”
Half of women who presented to hospitals in Port Moresby because of pregnancy tested positive for coronavirus, Professor Kelly said.
“We are seeing large numbers of frontline health workers in Papua New Guinea now contracting COVID-19. These are all signs that there is a major epidemic in the community.”
Our journalists work hard to deliver local, breaking news to the community. Here’s how you can still access our trusted content:
