Voters queue at a polling station in Buka during Bougainville s independence referendum, November 2018.
Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
Delegations from the governments of Bougainville and Papua New Guinea have arrived in PNG s East New Britain province for talks.
The talks are to focus on consultations between the two sides over how to proceed with the result of Bougainville s independence referendum.
However PNG s national parliament must ratify the result for it to come into effect.
New Bougainille President, Ismael Toroama
Photo: ABG
He used the early arrival to update East New Britain s Bougainville community about socioeconomic and political progress his government has made since its inception last year.
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Buka Town in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea
Photo: RNZI / Don Wiseman
An earlier report on RNZ Pacific said the lockdown had been decided on.
That is not correct.
Rather President Toroama s executive is considering such a move.
He said the last official figures for Papua New Guinea s autonomous region of Bougainville were 40 cases of the coronavrius - a rise from just three last Thursday.
Toroama said Bougainville s health officials had been trying to convince people to wear masks, wash their hands and maintain social distance.
There had been criticism of Bougainvilleans failing to respond to the Covid-19 surge but Toroama said Buka town could go into a full, 14-day, lock down.