Is the Govt ready for coronavirus?

Letters

HAS there been any official statement from the Government about “well-coordinated plans” to fight the coronavirus when it enters the country?
I mean are schools and sporting events going to be controlled until authorities are sure about the situation?
If the Government has not released its big plans yet, it has again shown to us and to the world how slow PNG governments have been in reacting to situations to protect its people.
Is it that the Health Department and its top brass are still asleep?
As you may have noted, the threat of coronavirus has been existing for many weeks – and in all this time, no official statement of “a big coordinated plan” has came out from government authorities.
That should include the control and monitoring of all passengers passing through our main airports, sea ports as well as land borders.
In Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is making statements daily regarding coronavirus after getting updated information from the health authorities who have set up units in major cities to treat and monitor those who are affected by the virus.
He is considering imposing overseas travel bans too.
Has the Government done the same to protect its people?
I have observed that governments over the years have been slow in:

  • Attending to natural disasters (floods, frosts, landslides, drought)
  • Responding to tragedies due to man’s actions (loss of lives at sea, tribal fights)
  • Putting up control measures against foreign diseases (coronavirus, SARS, ebola)

Is the Government also like the previous governments?
I remember that in the last regime, when there was a landslide in Southern Highlands, it took more than a week for the government to respond.
How can you save lives if you are that slow?
In such situations, it is only through fast response in the first 24 hours that you have the chance of saving any lives which may be buried under earth or rocks.
Do authorities know this?
The mv Rabaul Queen disaster in 2012, where hundreds of lives were lost, was a case that saw how ill-prepared the government was to respond to such accidents.
It’s time to set up a special or quick response to respond immediately to threats and one of its chief goals would be to wake up authorities to act immediately.
That is, they should act to protect those who may be victims of natural disasters, disease endemic or even foreign exploitation of our people.
I have been noticing that it is much easier to fund trips for a government delegation to Fiji, Malaysia, China or Solomon Islands but its sure is hard to respond immediately to threats on our borders.
Isn’t it one of the Government’s chief goals to protect its people against the evil influences and exploitations of the world?
Will there be a ban on people travelling to and from abroad?
Will there be on-the-spot monitoring of visitors coming into PNG from abroad?
I am thinking about the thousands of children who go to school every day.
Are they exposing themselves and their families to contracting the virus if it has already entered PNG?
Something should be done immediately.
Responsible authorities should be proactive to protect lives!
This is the 21st Century.

PNG Man

2 comments

  • Our government should look deeply into this issue before it affects our nation seriously

  • Exactly right, bro.. Countries all around the globe, (first world nations especially) during the COVID-19’s epidemic stage up till declared by WHO as a pandemic, talked very much and seriously about it for the last two months while PNG hasn’t even at least done something like them to at least alert our citizens as if we have the best medical facilities on earth and also we were from another planet where this virus can’t be passed onto..
    The earlier the better but I think we are taking the last train out…. so sad…
    GOD BLESS MY BLESSED PNG…

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