Vaccinated travellers may not need quarantine: Manning

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PANDEMIC Response Controller David Manning says fully vaccinated international travellers are not deemed to be high risk and they need not be quarantined.
“The only requirement for them is to undergo a Coronavirus (Covid-19) tests upon arrival,” he said.
“You return a negative result, you will be able to leave the airport precinct immediately.
“If you return a positive result, you will need to complete a 14-day isolation immediately at your own cost. It is important for other countries to respect Papua New Guinea’s (PNG’s) sovereignty and it is within our jurisdiction to protect our citizens.
“There is a (Delta) variant concern here in PNG.
“We are dealing with a strain that is different from what we saw 12 months ago. And it is proving to have a high transmissibility, the symptom onset is faster and it is putting a real strain on the health services nationwide.
“Even with the limited testing we are conducting nationwide, the positivity rates are alarming.”
He said factors taken into consideration to classify a province as high risk includes and are not limited to:

  • NUMBER of tests conducted;
  • NUMBER of deaths;
  • NUMBER of hospitalised cases; and,
  • TESTING of suspect cases reported.

“We have to accept that Covid-19 is already in every region of our country and it is highly likely that this includes the Delta variant,” Manning said.
“The approach being taken in relation to domestic travel is designed to slow the further spread of Delta, but sill enables as much as possible for people to travel for essential reasons. The most significant control measures will be applied to the high risk provinces which are Western, West Sepik and Eastern Highlands.
“For the specification of the three provinces, there will be a reduction of domestic air passengers.
“The only pre-approved travel will be for health workers, business travellers and students.”
He said negative pre-flight test results would be mandatory for all passengers.