Parkop: No lockdown

By LULU MARK
NATIONAL Capital District Governor Powes Parkop has told the Government that he will oppose any further lockdowns in the capital city and the country because of the surge in Coronavirus (Covid-19) cases.
“I told the Government that I am against any lockdown. “If they want to, they can lock down Western and West Sepik, but not Port Moresby. A lockdown will cost us a lot and cause a lot of problems.”
Parkop said the Government had been considering lockdown measures because of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases.
No comment could be obtained from the Government to verify this.
It is estimated that so far, a little more than 180,000 people – around 2 per cent of the population – have been vaccinated so far around the country.
In comparison, many developing nations are nearing or have gone past the 50 per cent mark.
Parkop agreed that the solution to containing the surge was to increase the vaccination rate.
“Vaccination is the only solution. I encourage people to understand the situation and get the vaccine,” he said.
He urged the people not to listen to “misinformation” about the vaccine.
He spoke out as a mobile clinic bus began its rounds around the capital city to get as many as possible to get the vaccine.
Parkop said the deadlier Delta variant was spreading fast affecting many people, with the Port Moresby General Hospital, the country’s biggest hospital, scaling down some of its services from yesterday.
Its isolation ward was filled to capacity two weeks ago, and there was no money to put in more beds at the Taurama Aquatic Centre if things worsened.
The mobile clinic was at the Gomosasipo settlement in June Valley of Moresby North-West yesterday.
“The situation has become urgent now that we bring the vaccination into the communities,” Parkop said.
The mobile clinic was made possible through a partnership between ExxonMobil, USAID, FHI360 and the NCD Health Authority.