Government has no idea of total cases, says Namah

The National National

THE Government has no idea how many cases of Covid-19 are in our communities and spreading, says Opposition Leader Belden Namah.
The Opposition is demanding that the Government release the numbers of those tested, those infected and where they are, and the true number of people the Government estimates are infected around the country.
Namah said the sad fact was that, Papua New Guinea did not have the capacity to test for the Covid-19.
All samples must be sent to Australia for testing, as confirmed by Dr Moses Laman, the deputy director of the Institute of Medical Research.
He admitted that testing could not be done in PNG because its hospitals and medical institutions do not have testing kits.
Namah said the 287 tests done as claimed by Prime Minister James Marape was low compared to what other countries had done.
“Prime Minister Marape had said that 254 Covid-19 tests would be done over the Easter weekend, but this did not happen,” Namah said.
“We still do not know the status of all of these tests after the Morauta Haus tests were taken.
“Now the tests must be sent to Australia, and we will again have to wait to know if there is already an outbreak of Covid-19 in our country.
“But what then?
“What if there is a positive test result?
“We have no domestic means of knowing if the virus has spread and created epicentres of disease in our country until more tests are sent to Australia and more time is lost,” he said.
“Three weeks ago, under the original state of emergency, PM Marape promised to give this nation a map of where coronavirus was present in PNG.
“But he did not deliver this map.”
Namah said this was because PM Marape, Police Minister Bryan Kramer, Health Minister Jelta Wong and the others did not know how to manage the crisis.

3 comments

  • It is good to see that our National Government Opposition is trying to keep the government in check. However, when you look at other nations their governments are working together to address this pandemic. The opposition leader has not provided any options so far in the media except just questioning all the decisions that the government is doing. This is a time that the government of PNG should be working together, helping to provide solutions to the problems identified. Instead of just pointing fingers, what is the opposition suggesting now to the government. Be more constructive

  • Check and balance…
    Anyway if the lady and other four recent cases in Kokopo and Daru are positive and have been in contact with their families and others, definitely there will be more positive cases or outbreak. If those test turns out negative, and yet we have positive with no serious positive cases were they are very ill and admitted due to respiratory failure and all symptoms of corona treatment and death like other countries are experiencing.
    Then what!??

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