PNG's Foreign Affairs establishes ‘help desk’

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has established a ‘help desk’ for the coronavirus outbreak that started in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, in China.

Parents and relatives of those affected by the outbreak in China and other parts of the world can reach out to this help desk for consular service information.

The Department of Immigration and Border Security has set up a help desk to give updates on the coronavirus outbreak.

The PNG Embassy in China will be supplying the help desk with status reports on a daily basis.

Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Patrick Pruaitch, said given the urgency of the situation, they will facilitate government directions on consular assistance through respective PNG missions and posts to PNG citizens abroad and especially those at the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan, China.

The Department has also received situation reports from other PNG overseas missions and posts who are also taking precautionary measures to assist their respective staff and PNG citizens.

The Department will continue its consultations with all stakeholders; including relevant Government agencies, the World Health Organization in PNG and the Chinese Embassy for follow-up and to consolidate all options and avenues for precautionary measures.

Contact details for the help desk are as follows;

Email Address: Help Desk DFAIT <helpdesk.dfait@gmail.com>

Phone Number (+675) 301 4131 / (+675) 310 4115

Contact Persons:

  • Morea Veratau - Chief of State Protocol
  • Winnie Herry-Ugava – Director, Consular Affairs

 Location: Protocol Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ground Floor, Tower B, Central Government Office, Waigani, Port Moresby.

Furthermore, the Department has been provided with the 24-hour hotline number (+675) 7196 0813 from the National Department of Health (NDOH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) PNG.

Author: 
Freddy Mou