The National Pandemic Controller, David Manning has announced two specific Directions towards managing High Risk provinces domestically and High Risk Countries Internationally.
Manning said travellers coming in from a country that is not a High Risk country and if they are fully vaccinated, would be able to enter PNG without quarantine.
The only requirement will be a COVID-19 test upon arrival for all International travelers. If the result of the test return negative then they will be able to leave the airport precinct immediately. However if the test returns positive then they will be required to complete a 14 day isolation at the travelers cost.
Manning said it is important for other countries to respect Papua New Guinea as a sovereign nation and it is within its jurisdiction to protect its citizens.
Domestically, the most significant control measures to be applied to the High Risk Provinces, which are West Sepik, Eastern Highlands and Western Province will be a reduction of domestic passenger movements on aircraft, except for pre-approved travel for health workers, business travel and students.
It will be mandatory for the travelling passengers to have a negative pre-flight test results carried out at the airport before flights depart.
Manning said passengers travelling on operational flights into and out of Ok Tedi, can travel, so long as they are contained in a sterile bubble.
Manning further warned that there will be zero tolerance for breaking control measures on domestic flights and fines will be imposed on airlines and passengers who do not adhere to these safety requirements.
He said the authorities are concerned that there is a variant now in the country with a strain that is different to what they saw 12 months ago and it has high transmissibility, the symptom onset is faster and it is putting a real strain on health services around the country.
Factors taken into consideration to classify a province as high risk are based around Provincial Risk assessment, which include and are not limited to:
- Number of Tests conducted;
- Number of Deaths;
- Number of hospitalized cases and;
- Testing of suspect cases reported.
The approach taken in relation to domestic travel is designed to slow down further spread of Delta variant but still enable people to travel for essential reasons.