Expat in ward

AN expatriate who tested positive for the Covid-19 last week is currently admitted at a private hospital in Port Moresby, an official has confirmed.
Pacific International Hospital (PIH) chief executive officer Colonel Sandeep Shaligram told
The National yesterday that they immediately reported the case to the Covid-19 National Control Centre (NCC) when the man tested positive.
He said it was the only confirmed Covid-19 case in Port Moresby tested at the hospital last week.
He said the PIH had reported the case to the NCC when the man was tested positive and admitted.
He also confirmed that another patient admitted was medically evacuated overseas but said the illness was not related to the Covid-19.
Shaligram said the only other case that was tested positive at the hospital was from the samples received from East New Britain last week which was also reported to the NCC.
“As soon as a test is returned positive, we report it to the NCC and they do the contact tracing,” he said.
According to sources, the patient currently admitted is a male expatriate aged around 50 who is feeling better and wanting to be medically evacuated overseas.
A woman who took the man to the hospital had tested negative.
The case of the Port Moresby man currently admitted at PIH was however not included in the NCC update circulated to the media last week.
It is not known what steps had been taken by the NCC to conduct contact tracing.
The only two cases in Port Moresby reported by the centre were of a 47-year-old woman and an 89-year-old man.
Attempts by The National to get comments from the Health Department and the Deputy National Pandemic Response Controller yesterday were not successful.
The national total for Covid-19 cases stands at 834 as of last Thursday.
It included a 48-year-old male mining contractor at Ok Tedi Mine who was tested positive on his return to work in North Fly.
He was not showing any symptoms of the Covid-19 at the time of testing but swab samples returned positive.
According to the NCC, 19 cases of Covid-19 were reported last week from around the country.