Papua New Guinea preparing more Covid-19 beds, mortuaries

 News that matter in Papua New Guinea

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Papua New Guinea preparing more Covid-19 beds, mortuaries

PORT MORESBY: Papua New Guinea (PNG)’s National Control Centre (NCC) that was set up to manage the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic is to be disbanded by the end of the year, Prime Minister James Marape says.

“We are working towards entrenching the pandemic response and recovery into the country’s health care system so that the the Health Department responds better to future pandemic and endemic crisis,” he added.

At a NCC meeting on Thursday (July 22, 2021), Marape also slammed the PNG Institute of Medical Research for failing to study the Covid-19 pandemic in relation to Papua New Guinean immunology since the outbreak in 2020.

And Marape said although no Papua New Guinean will be forced to be vaccinated, the Health Department was preparing to increase the number of Covid-19 beds and mortuaries in anticipation of virus variants that could be three times deadlier.

“You do not want to be vaccinated, you run the risk of dying. God will protect you but God has also given intelligence to make intelligent choices. I think God has saved us enough, we must help ourselves,” he added.

The following are several Covid-19 news updates published by The National:

 

 

NCC to be disbanded

July 26, 2021The NationalMain Stories

THE National Control Centre (NCC) set up to manage the Covid-19 pandemic is to be disbanded by the end of the year, Prime Minister James Marape says.
“We are towards entrenching the pandemic response and recovery into the country’s health care system so the Health Department responds better to future pandemic and endemic crisis,” he said.
Towards this end, Marape said the NCC must acquit for all the money spent on operations this year as “we work to scale down operations progressively”.
Marape gave the directive to the NCC to acquit its expenses at a meeting on Thursday in Port Moresby.
He revealed in the meeting that the Government had remitted “K2million on average” to all the districts to assist the building of health care facilities to handle Covid-19.
“I know you have given reports, but I now want details. Let us get on with this. I want detailed acquittals to be done as soon as possible,” he said.
He also directed the involvement of the Auditor-General to spearhead the audit, assisted by the National Pandemic Response Controller Police Commissioner David Manning and the Health secretary Dr Osborne Liko.
Marape thanked Papua New Guineans for continually demanding for the report on the spending of Covid-19 funds which he said was good for transparency and accountability.
“No one taught us how to respond on this pandemic. We are on the job, adjusting and running as we go,” he said.
“Let us indicate how much money we have received, what we have spent, and in that context, you need to put in what needs to be done on a permanent basis, going forward into the future.”
Marape also acknowledged the financial support given by partner countries and agencies towards the handling of the pandemic crisis in PNG.

 

Marape slams researchers

July 26, 2021The NationalMain Stories

PRIME Minister James Marape has slammed the PNG Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR) for failing to study the Covid-19 pandemic in relation to Papua New Guinean immunology since the outbreak in 2020.
Speaking at a National Control Centre (NCC) in Port Moresby on Thursday, Marape told leading health practitioners that he was greatly “discouraged” by the inaction, lax attitude and lack of innovation shown by the country’s leading medical research facility.
“PNGIMR, I am yet to see a good, complete submission from you that says I want to do research,” he said.
To make his point, Marape highlighted the case of a Covid-19-infected woman in Eastern Highlands’ Asaro in which she had a pre-existing condition of living with HIV/AIDS but finally tested negative to the coronavirus, and how no one did anything to find out more about her perplexing case.
“That lady, living with HIV/AIDS, had low immunity and dependent on anti-retroviral.
“She was a candidate for death!
“Despite her low immunity, she tested negative to the Covid-19 14 days later.
“That should have triggered something in the mind of you scientists.
“Yet, PNGIMR saw this as just another case! No innovation. No motivation. No excitement in the space of research and science!
“Do you need the Prime Minister to tell you what to do? Your country is blessed with six per cent of the world’s bio-diversity.
“Someone should be going out there to find out why our ancestors lived through malaria, lived with snakebite?
“Sometimes I think maybe I am wasting my time up front.
“I may be talking something 10, 15 years down the line and you people are not getting it,” he said.
Marape said research was always needed and welcomed but researchers must come forward, state their case and justify the budget for it to receive the needed funding.
“No one stops the Health Department, medical researchers or any one of you from conducting research.
“Every good organisation has a strong element of research unit.
“Someone out there needs to step up and do it without being directed.
“When certain academics come to do research on their own, we accuse them for their initiatives.
“But our mindset must be frontier-breaking.
“We are now taking vaccines that are being developed by other human beings like you,” he added.
He said the Government was available to assist research and promote innovation but researchers must push for the money.
For the new plans to integrate Covid-19 response into the health system, Marape invited the Health Department to also include Covid-19 research into its submission.

 

Marape: No one will be forced

July 26, 2021The NationalMain Stories

PRIME Minister James Marape says no Papua New Guinean will be forced to be vaccinated but the Health Department will be preparing to increase the number of the coronavirus (Covid-19) beds and mortuaries in anticipation of virus variants that can be three times deadlier.
“This is the middle ground we have found in responding to the huge public outcry against compulsory vaccination and a high hesitancy in public vaccination,” he added.
While speaking in a National Control Centre meeting on Thursday, Marape said vaccination would remain voluntary, but Papua New Guineans must seriously start understanding that they could die prematurely if they did not accept the vaccines.
He said the last 18 months living with Covid-19 had seen a total of 192 deaths to date, although it was not as bad as countries like India which has been devastated by the virus.
Marape attributed solely to “God’s grace and protection” but added that “we have been given enough time to get ourselves medically prepared to fight the pandemic”.
“It is really by God’s grace that our country has been spared. That I have to give to Him,” he said.
“But God has also given us enough time to respond to the virus ourselves, to stock up on vaccination or to build up our physical capacities on the ground.
“There will not be any forced vaccination on our people.
“We leave the vaccination for anyone who feels that they need to be vaccinated, including those of us in the front line. You cannot force people to get vaccinated.
“They choose not to be vaccinated, they face the consequences. Let us build more bed space, let us build more mortuaries.
“You do not want to be vaccinated, you run the risk of dying. God will protect you but God also gives us intelligence to make intelligent choices. I think God has saved us enough, we must help ourselves.”