COVID

Residents complain of COVID testing fees

An employer advised the Morobe Provincial Health Authority that potential employees were being charged K10 each to get COVID-19 clearance; an amount that those seeking jobs cannot afford.

When asked about the issue, Morobe PHA CEO Dr Kipas Binga said citizens should not be charged any fee as we are still in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Of anything that is happening, and we don’t know about, and it’s improper then it should be reported to the appropriate authorities for action,” said Dr Binga.

As Papua New Guinea struggles with COVID, Australia must step up its ‘vaccine diplomacy’

Is the emergency assistance Australia offers enough in a country whose health infrastructure was already under siege before the pandemic?

An ancillary question is whether Canberra’s “vaccine diplomacy” in the Indo-Pacific is losing ground against an aggressive Chinese push to make available its Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines across the region.

Mass burial to relieve overflowing Papua New Guinea morgue as COVID cases surge

Papua New Guinea authorities have approved a mass burial to take pressure off Port Moresby’s hospital morgue where bodies are stacked on top of each other as COVID-19 cases surge.

The burial of more than 200 bodies comes as health teams around the country report being attacked as they took part in vaccination programs.

Powi Must Take Stock Of COVID Situation In SHP

Southern Highlander and former Chairman of PNG Power Board Peter Nupiri said the recent announcement by Governor Powi of a K1 million funding allocation is a knee-jerk reaction to a dire situation in the province.

“Southern Highlands have only 13 isolation beds in Mendi Provincial Hospital for COVID-19 patients. But the place is full now and the number of Covid patients flooding in now is unbelievable,” Nupiri said.

He said the entire leadership in the province had more than enough time to build proper isolation centers.

Colin Powell, former US secretary of state, dies at 84 of COVID complications

Powell, a retired four-star general who served as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff in the early 1990s, had been treated for Covid at Walter Reed national medical center in Bethesda, Maryland, where he died. He was fully vaccinated against coronavirus but had a compromised immune system having been treated for blood cancer.

Announcing his death, his family said they had lost a “remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American”.

Gaming Industry to reopen

The Gaming industry in Papua New Guinea has returned to its normal operation, under strict COVID-19 compliance.

The decision was reached following dialogue between the National Gaming Control Board and the National Control Centre.

All Gaming Machine sites reopened today, while bookmaker sites will reopen the following week.

NGCB Acting CEO, Imelda Agon welcomed the decision while reaffirming the industry’s preparedness to operate under strict COVID-19 protocols.

“We are grateful to the NCC for relaxing the restrictions on the gaming industry.

Tags: 

US commits additional K7mill

Working in partnership with UNICEF, World Health Organization and FHI 360, USAID will support vaccine deployment, as well as emergency response efforts, raising total U.S. government assistance to nearly PGK 25 million (USD $6.9 million).

“The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that an infectious disease outbreak anywhere is a threat to people everywhere,” said U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu Erin McKee.