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Summary:
- Australia has requested AstraZeneca to send one million doses of vaccine to PNG.
- It will also provide masks, sanitiser, ventilators, gowns, and other essentials.
- The island has 2,351 confirmed cases, 26 deaths as of March 16, 2021.
In a generous move aimed at mitigating the problems of its pandemic-battered neighbour, Australia has decided to send 8,000 locally manufactured AstraZeneca vaccine shots to Papua New Guinea next week, besides offering one million doses.
Additionally, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will also ask AstraZeneca to send one million vaccine doses, originally contracted by and destined for Australia, to PNG.
The initiative is to help a developing country in desperate need of these vaccines.
Australia has already paid for these vaccines to AstraZeneca.
Besides shots, Australia will send masks, sanitiser, ventilators, gowns, and gloves to PNG.
Beleaguered by the pandemic, the Pacific island nation of PNG is in dire straits, with half of the COVID-19 tests from the island being positive.
Covid 19 Stats for PNG till date
According to a report on WHO website, the island has 2,351 confirmed cases, 26 deaths, as of March 16, 2021. From March 1 to March 7, there were 357 new cases reported, the highest number of cases in a single week in PNG since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Last week, it had recorded 212 cases from the National Capital District, 39 from Morobe, 36 from both West Sepik and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, 11 from Eastern Highlands, eight from Madang, six from Western Highlands, four from East Sepik, two cases each from Western Province and Southern Highlands, and one case from Central Province.
Travelling Rules
Travel restrictions have been tightened between Port Moresby and Cairns. Australia has put a ban on workers flying in and out of the country.
The PM said in a press conference that from midnight tonight, Australia will suspend passenger flights for two weeks from Papua New Guinea into Cairns to further lessen the risk of COVID-19 spread from PNG to Australia.
PNG is the closest neighbour of Australia and lies within a few kilometres of its Northern border. Papua New Guinea is inhabited by around nine million people who follow diversified culture and speak 800 languages. Most of them live in traditional villages. The country is known for its beaches and coral reefs.
