Lockdown is too late

PRIME Minister James Marape’s statement on Friday in The National about a one-week lockdown on all inbound flights to the country to prevent the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) is very late.
And, even then, we already have one confirmed case – but it is very likely that there could be other cases.
As an educated person who has taught the basics in microbiology, we in PNG are insulted by the late reaction by Marape and his ministers regarding the Covid-19 threat.
It shows a lack of understanding of the basics of microbes, how they can be transferred and controlled.
That is the impression I got when I read the statement on Friday.
I am of the view that the educated population is informing themselves more by what Australia and US and other countries are doing to control the spread of the virus than from information coming from our own health minister and his department.
Last week’s confirmation of a case in Bulolo does not mean that this is the only case in PNG.
There may be other cases in other parts of PNG.
But due to the lack of facilities and clear-cut plan by health authorities to fight the virus since its appearance last December, no case was detected then.
Marape said they are doing everything they could to stop Covid-19 from entering our country and killing our people does not make sense.
As an educated person who has spoken to a health official from another country recently about epidemic, I was asking myself what “big plan” has the Government put in place to control the spread of virus.
Anyone who knows about the spread of epidemics knows that the virus will take time to reach a peak and then it will go down.
Those countries with a “big plan”, which comprises control and monitoring strategies and are aptly funded will force the epidemic to reach the peak sooner.
That control and monitoring strategies should have possible drugs to treat patients who are suspected of being infected with the virus and most importantly isolate them from the rest of the population in a separate unit to prevent the virus from infecting in the community.
That missing plan should include stopping foreign travellers from entering the nation, schools to close, sporting events and public gatherings to be banned until the situation returns to normalcy.
That is what the “big plan” that educated people were waiting to hear from the Government and the health minister.
You do not wait until you have a confirmed case to act.
You act to prevent anyone from being infected and controlling and monitoring the ones who are suspected of contracting the virus.
That should have been part of the “big plan” that people want to hear from the Government.
With that in mind,: Are separate units created away from the general and provincial hospitals where infected people will be treated and monitored for a given amount of time?
Surely, they cannot be treated and kept in the same wards with other uninfected patients.
Do we have those kind of units built in all main centres of PNG and manned by well-trained medical staff to control the spread the virus?
I also read in Friday’s paper that a taskforce comprised of police, health, fire service and St John Ambulance officials was set up to conduct awareness on Covid-19 and they will target settlements and markets in Port Moresby.
Well, that is in some parts of Port Moresby.
What about the other parts of the city and the other parts of PNG?
Is there a “big plan” to effectively disseminate information on the virus to the population?
That strategy is the missing in the “big plan” that we want to hear about.
As yet, we are not assured that the Government is doing all it can to control the spread of the virus.
Marape, health minister and others in authority should sit and talk with epidemiology experts from the Health Department and work on the missing “big plan”.
Assure us that you are doing your best to control the spread of the virus as well as getting prepared for other epidemics that may threaten our nation in the future.

PNG Man