2021-05-14 12:05:53 GMT2021-05-14 20:05:53(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
SYDNEY, May 14 (Xinhua) Papua New Guinea (PNG) announced on Thursday a further ease of COVID-19 restrictions.
According to a press release from the government on Friday, Police Commissioner and COVID-19 National Pandemic Response Controller David Manning issued 12 new measures which eased a number of restrictions imposed over the last six weeks to contain the pandemic.
The changes that took place since Thursday including the size of congregations in churches increasing to 100 alongside everyone practicing safe physical distancing.
As of May 17, businesses including bars that also have a connected restaurant and bottle shops could also reopen with eased restrictions to enable patrons to engage in social gatherings of limited size.
PNG Health News
PAPUA New Guinea’s Covid-19 National Pandemic Response Controller David Manning has welcomed the challenge by Madang Governor Peter Yama to file a Supreme Court reference to stop vaccinations in his province and the country.
Manning, who is also the Police Commissioner, said Yama was a mandated leader and had the right to seek legal advice on the Government’s voluntary vaccination programme.
“The use of AstraZeneca as a legally authorised vaccine against the Covid-19 and is internationally endorsed by the World Health Organisation,” he said. “The PNG Government is among many other governments who are demonstrating responsibility and responsiveness to the pandemic in protecting its health workers and frontline workers from this horrible situation.”
Papua New Guinea has recorded its eighth death from Covid-19, a 49-year-old man from West New Britain.
Pandemic Response Controller David Manning said cases in PNG continued to increase as contact tracing was ongoing.
Photo: EMTV
The man suffered from abdominal pains, a cough, headache and shortness of breath from 4 December, he died four days later.
Papua New Guinea now has 720 Covid 19 cases, with 36 new infections reported over the last 48 hours.
Thirty-five of the new cases are from West New Britain (WNB), while the National Capital District had one case.
Among the new cases reported in WNB, 34 are from Talasea District while one case is a nursing officer from Gloucester who is a contact of a previously-identified case.