Soldiers tested at Western

National

A PLATOON of PNG Defence Force soldiers are going through testing after returning from border villages where three confirmed Covid-19 cases were reported in Western, provincial administrator Robert Kaiyun says.
“These 30 soldiers are tested at the Kiunga military forward base after returning from Iogi, Kungim and Dome villages along the PNG-Indonesian border in the Ningerum local level government in North Fly.”
Kaiyun said yesterday that apart from the soldiers, there had been 152 samples collected so far in the province from those who had close contact with the three positives cases: a 12-year-old, a man and a woman.
He said a second batch of samples from the three were also collected and sent for testing as well.
“All these samples were sent to Brisbane, Australia on Tuesday,” he said.
“In the meantime, everyone who was tested in those villages has been advised to be isolated in their respective villages.
“Those in isolation also include the 10 police officers who were deployed there a week before the three positive cases were confirmed.”
Earlier, North Fly Police Commander Supt Silva Sika had expressed concern that the 10 police officers were deployed to the villages without personnel protection equipment.