Prepare fast for Covid-19 pandemic, says Barker

By PETER ESILA
PAPUA New Guinea must prepare fast to fight the Covid-19 pandemic before it gets worse, according to the Institute of National Affairs (INA).
INA executive director Paul Barker said the fact that PNG was one of the last countries in the world to get the virus, provided opportunities to learn from other countries, notably South Korea and Singapore.
“The fact that we got this delay, that PNG is one of the last countries to get this virus, gives us the opportunity to plan and to try to get these kits to build up personal protective equipment, masks, respirators, gowns and all the rest of it and train the staff adequately,” Barker said in a press conference in Port Moresby on Friday.
“Some are already trained but others will need to be trained because we will need more people handling these (cases).
“It will be critical that this Government when they approve money, they issue the warrants, that the Finance Department makes sure that the funds gets released through to the Health Department, to the Institute of Medical Research and to other institutions, and that we are working closely with UN agencies, WHO and with our other friends to make sure that those medical goods come in at high speed.
“That means they have to come in on aeroplanes as well, and if we do not have any aeroplanes flying then we have to make sure that some aircrafts are flying for those goods.”