ENB urges presidents, members to implement strategies

The National Main Stories

By ROSELYN ELLISON
WARD members, local level government (LLG) presidents and ward development committee (WDC) members in East New Britain (ENB) have been urged to implement the Coronavirus (Covid-19) containment strategies as well as a 14-day lockdown extension which ends on Nov 14.
Provincial administrator and controller Wilson Matava said all wards in the province needed to enforce the following protocols and measures, which include:

  • NO unnecessary movements from house to house;
  • ALL people moving outside their family area/households wear a mask within the ward;
  • NO sports competitions and gatherings;
  • ONLY normal church gatherings will be allowed. No combined church gatherings, crusades, camps or outreaches will be allowed;
  • NO traditional or culture gatherings;
  • FUNERAL arrangements/burials will be allowed for 20 people only;
  • BURIALS for all Covid-19 deaths must be done within 24 hours;
  • COMMUNITY-based home isolation protocols must be adhered to;
  • ALL people in a moving vehicles, private or public motor vehicles (PMV), must wear a mask;
  • ALL citizens must carry own hand sanitisers everywhere;
  • ALL stores in the wards will be open from 7am to 5pm requiring shoppers to mask up and hand sanitise;
  • CURFEW hours will be observed from 6pm to 5am daily for the duration of the lockdown; and,
  • A BAN on alcohol consumption within the ward area to comply with lockdown measures.

Matava said non-compliance would be dealt with through fines.
He encouraged people to eat healthy food and have regular exercise as a means to ensure good health.
“Any person caught not complying with the ward protocols will be fined under the National Pandemic Act 2020,” he said.
Matava said containment strategies were to manage and control the surge to ensure that people were properly educated and could manage their own communities in future.
He added that throughout PNG, the morbidity and mortality rates continued to rise and the lives of people in ENB were at risk.
“We have seen an increase in the number of bodies at the Nonga Hospital mortuary from May to September and this is consistent with the current surge the country is facing,” he said.