Photo: Solomon Kurukuru Futsal
An outbreak of Covid-19 has been declared for Temotu Province in Solomon Islands, with more than 400 cases reported in the nine days to Tuesday morning.
The Solomon Times reports that in response, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services has deployed a team of medical and public health workers to the province.
The deployment is in response to a request from the provincial Health Service based on the increasing number of cases, critical staff shortages and other gaps in its response to Covid-19 community transmission.
The team will provide support to Lata Hospital nurses to manage cases in the isolation ward, support infection prevention and control compliance, and boost their capacity for swabbing, data entry and epidemiological reporting of cases.
In addition, risk communication officers have been deployed to support covid safety awareness and communication activities.
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services also prepared extra Personal Protective Equipment such as face masks, gowns, face shields, gumboots, and sanitizer for dispatch.
World Health Organisation Representative to Solomon Islands, Howard Sobel, said the WHO is committed to supporting the outbreak response and ensuring the health system in Temotu is not overwhelmed.
"While Temotu is the last province to experience an outbreak of Covid-19, other provinces should use this as a wakeup call to enhance surveillance and take the necessary measures to prevent a resurgence of Covid-19," said Dr Sobel.
"The Covid-19 vaccine continues to provide good protection against severe disease and those who have not had the full doses should strongly consider getting vaccinated to protect themselves and their loved ones."
The WHO has also deployed one epidemiologist to support the response team on the ground.