Five Covid-19 deaths, 128 new cases reported this week

PAPUA New Guinea registered five new deaths and 128 new cases nationwide on Tuesday, raising the country’s total cases to 2,479 and death toll to 31.
Police Commissioner and PNG Covid-19 National Pandemic Response Controller David Manning said in a media release that the lack of compliance with the new normal was a major challenge the country faced as infections continued to rise.
The new cases came from 10 provinces, of which the National Capital District (NCD) reported the highest with 53 new cases.
The others were: West Sepik (11); Eastern Highlands (26); Western Highlands (17); Madang (two); Enga (five); New Ireland (nine); East Sepik (one); Hela (three); and Southern Highlands (one).
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 media statement said that the number of Covid-19 cases in PNG had continued to rise and was now “at a very high peak”.
Comm Manning said while his team of dedicated experts in various fields were working hard to contain the pandemic the biggest challenge was the people’s compliance with the public health measures.
“It has been proven in other countries that there are simple steps that people can take to help reduce the spread of the virus,” he said.
“These are hand washing, physical distancing (standing or sitting 1.5m to 2m 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 there are no respiratory droplets from an infected person.
“People need to adopt these measures if we are going to win this battle.
“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.
“Everyone can be nice to someone without having to hug them or shake their hands by simply waving, bowing and nodding.”