Tuesday, 16 March 2021

Papua New Guinea reported five new COVID-19 deaths and 128 new cases nationwide on Tuesday March 16.

This has now increased the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country to 2,479 and death toll to 31.

The lack of compliance with the New Normal or “Niupela Pasin” is a major challenge facing Papua New Guinea as it continues to report high rise of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) says Police Commissioner and Controller of the PNG COVID-19 National Pandemic Response.

The new cases came from 10 provinces, of which the National Capital District reported the highest with 53 new cases.

The other nine were: West Sepik  11; Eastern Highlands  26; Western Highlands 17; Madang 2; Enga  5;  New  Ireland   9; East Sepik 1; Hela 3; and Southern Highlands 1.

The cumulative figures for the 19 provinces that have reported positive cases are as follows:

• NCD – 1159;
• Western – 324;
• West Sepik – 217;
• West New Britain – 197;
• Eastern Highlands – 103;
• Morobe – 100;
• Western Highlands – 54;
• East New Britain – 52;
• Autonomous Region of Bougainville – 48;
• Madang – 46;
• Enga – 43;
• New Ireland – 32;
• Central – 26;
• East Sepik – 17;
• Jiwaka – 17;
• Simbu – 17;
• Milne Bay – 10;
• Hela – 13; and
• Southern Highlands – 4.

In addition, there were two new exported cases for PNG which were identified in a hotel quarantine in Brisbane, Australia.

Since early this year, the number of COVID-19 cases in PNG have continued to rise and it is now at a very high peak.

Mr Manning said whilst his team of dedicated experts in various fields are working hard to contain the pandemic the biggest challenge is people’s compliance with the measures.

He said it has been proven in other countries that there are simple steps that people can take to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

These are handwashing, physical distancing (standing or sitting 1.5 to 2ms away from the next person), wearing a face mask, covering one’s cough, avoiding crowds, cleaning work benches, door knobs and personal items to ensure they do not have respiratory droplets from an infected person.

Mr Manning said, “People need to adopt these measures if we are going to win this battle. Please I urge you all to listen and follow the “Niupela Pasin”. By following them, you are not only protecting yourself but also your loved ones and others.’’

Mr Manning said everyone can be nice to someone without having to hug them or shake their hands by simply waving, bowing and nodding to them.

He said PNG is not the only country battling with this disease, however, each country has come up with their own measures to reduce the number of infections occurring most of which are the same as those being imposed in the country.

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s Global Statistics has shown that a total of 120,783,549 people had been confirmed with COVID-19 since the outbreak. Of this figure, 336,327, were new cases reported in the last 24 hours. There were also 7,110 new deaths, raising the global death toll to 2,649,722.

In the Oceania Region, there were 175 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, of which PNG reported the highest with 128 new cases; Australia – 13; French Polynesia – 15; New Zealand – 7 and Wallis Futuna – 8.

 

Media contact: Chief Superintendent Dominic D. Kakas, BEM, DPS
COVID-19 Media & Public Information Joint Agency Task Force
Mobile: 75430557 email: ddkakas@gmail.com
Police email:                       ddkakas.policemedia@gmail.com
COVID-19 JATF email:        ddkakas.covid19media@gmail.com