Pacific / Papua New Guinea

Nine more Covid-19 cases on PNG’s New Britain

11:06 am on 30 November 2020

Nine new cases of Covid-19 reported in West New Britain have taken Papua New Guinea's total number of confirmed infections to 655.

West New Britain's total number of confirmed cases has now surged to 51, the third highest of any province.

PNG Pandemic Response Controller, David Manning Photo: EMTV

Six of the new cases are male and three are female, with the oldest being 63 years old and the youngest 38.

Contact tracing has begun with assistance being offered to provincial authorities by the National Department of Health and the World Health Organisation.

National Pandemic Response Controller, David Manning, has called upon people to continue to observe Covid-19 health protocols by wearing masks, practising hand sanitising and avoiding crowded areas.

He said PNG had done far better than many countries, but only because of drastic measures taken earlier in the year.

"We cannot let our guard down and must continue to be vigilant," Manning said.