10 police officers in isolation at village

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
TEN police officers deployed to the villages in Western where the three recent confirmed Covid-19 cases come from have been put in isolation with the villagers.
North Fly Police Commander Superintendent Silva Sika said the 10 had been deployed to Dome, Iogi and Yungi villages in the Ningerum local level government located along the border with Indonesia.
The three confirmed cases – a 12-year-old boy, a man and a woman – were discovered a week after the officers’ arrival.
“They (officers) have been quarantined with the villagers by the provincial Covid-19 taskforce team,” he said.
“I’m concerned because they were deployed there without any personal protection equipment like mask and gloves.”
Sika said updated health situation reports would be released by the Provincial Health Authority.
Kiunga Catholic Dioceses priest Fr Gilles Cole said the three confirmed cases were among the villagers who were traditional border crossers.
“They have been isolated and the task force team is now carrying out awareness in those villages,” Sika said.
“North Fly MP James Donald is also involved in the awareness. The medical officers are checking out other neighbouring villages in that LLG.”
Meanwhile Indonesian rebel leader Jeffery Bomai, the Operassi Papua Merdeka commander said the villages were situated along the OK Tedi River.
“And after coming down the Ok Tedi River, they mingle with Indonesians along the Fly River,” he said.
“The Fly River runs along the PNG-Indonesian border and in some places, runs into Indonesia.
“Iogi villagers live in PNG and Indonesian territories.”

Villagers take part in Covid-19 awareness

PEOPLE living along the Kokoda Track region are now better informed about the Covid-19 and preventative measures – thanks to awareness conducted by health workers.
The health workers from the Central Provincial Health Authority and officers from the Kokoda Initiative visited around 50 villages in the Sogeri and Mt Koiari catchment areas recently.
They were part of the maternal and child health patrols supported by the PNG-Australia partnership through the Kokoda Initiative.
The villagers learnt about the importance of social distancing, good hygiene practices and proper sanitation to avoid the spread of Covid-19. Ward 14 councillor Gillmore Moduba welcomed the Covid-19 awareness.
“The information is very clear and easy to understand,” he said.
“The patrol team made it fun and interesting. Showing us is better than just telling us.”
The health patrol team members had undergone training themselves on Covid-19 prevention, management and awareness prior to their visit.
The training was conducted by the Central Health Provincial Authority and World Health Organisation.
Authority acting director Marcel Burua who facilitated the training highlighted the link between proper communication and containing the spread of Covid-19.

Restore normalcy quickly: Sir Julius

NEW Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan is urging the Government to restore normalcy quickly as dragging the state of emergency will cause the nation more damage.
“(It has already) caused enough damage to Papua New Guineans economically, physically and mentally,” he said.
“We cannot let this virus control our lives any longer. Just look around you. People are suffering.
“The disparity between the rich and poor is widening. How can people fend for themselves if you don’t give them the freedom of movement?
“We are encroaching on the constitutional rights of the people. PNG borders have been open prior to March. Have we had any reported deaths on coronavirus? No.” He said Covid-19 was here to stay “just like any other flu”.
“We have other diseases such as malaria and Tuberculosis that are a bigger threat than Covid-19,” he said.
“People die of these diseases every day and the bottom line is this is just a part of life. We have to get things back to normal or our people will die than survive under these draconian circumstances.”

He urged the Government to lift the emergency restrictions as soon as possible “because this is a time for public servants to earn their pay”.
“It is not fair that we have a large chunk of public servants sitting at home doing nothing yet on full pay, while other less fortunate Papua New Guineans are at the mercy of God, desperately trying to fend for their families,” he said.
“Although we all know the new normal will require all of us to practise good hygiene, social distancing and common sense, I believe in the people to do the right thing.”
He said they were reviewing the curfew restrictions in New Ireland and “then get rid of it all together”.

Bus, taxi services await Manning’s order

By SAMUEL BARIASI
THE Road Traffic Authority is awaiting the thumbs up from State of Emergency Controller David Manning before allowing bus and taxi operators back on the road in Port Moresby.
Authority chief executive officer Nelson Terema said they had been conducting social distancing and hygiene training for bus and taxi drivers while waiting for Manning’s instruction.
“Our decision to increase bus fares to K1.50 is also on hold awaiting the controller’s approval and instruction,” he told The National.
He called on the Government to make a decision on the matter so that the authority could make adjustments quickly.
“The previous arrangement to increase fares and issue passes was part of Order No 9 but now we have new orders,” he said.
Terema said the plan to increase bus fares and issue vehicle passes might have to be changed because of the new orders from Manning.
He plans to meet with officials from the Transport Department and the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission to make adjustments to fees and standards of operation.
He warned that social distancing would be difficult to maintain in buses when schools resume.
“The disease (Covid-19) is still here and we have to ensure that we do not put our people, especially our children, at risk,” he said.
Terema said about 800 vehicle passes were ready to be issued.

State of Emergency costing more than 10,000 jobs: Congress

By HELEN TARAWA
THE state of emergency has cost the private sector more than 10,000 jobs, according to the PNG Trade Union Congress.

Congress general secretary Clemence Kanau called the loss of jobs in the private sector discriminatory because while public servants were on full pay, with some “working from home”, workers in the private sector were laid off and told to use up their leave entitlements and retirement savings to survive.
“Unfortunately our private sector workers have not been taken care of (properly). Most on the low wage bracket were being laid off ,” he said.
Kanau said the 10,000-plus workers were taxpayers too.
“Public sector workers are well looked after because they are paid by the government. Private sector workers are at the whims of their employers. Most are now unemployed.”
The unions have talked to some employers who are willing to assist the workers.
Kanau said the Government should have offered the private sector some form of relief packages to avoid the laying off of workers.
“Workers are being told to take leave or retirement benefits which they have been saving over the years,” he said.

PNG Nurses Association president Fredrick Kebai called on Prime Minister James Marape and State of Emergency Controller David Manning to lift the lockdown and restore normalcy.
Kebai said the consequences of the lockdown were devastating.
“On behalf of nurses, I call on the Government to lift the lockdown. The Covid-19 is a health issue. The Government must keep its priority right.”