Covid-19 health screening at the Jackson International Airport in Port Moresby. Photo: PNG Department of Health
Domestic travel restrictions have been imposed in Papua New Guinea as Covid-19 spreads across the country's provinces - including the first case confirmed in Bougainville.
25 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed on Friday night, bringing the national tally to 188.
177 of those cases have been in the past three weeks. Most of the cases are in the capital, Port Moresby, centred around a cluster at the city's main hospital.
But the virus has now been confirmed in eight provinces, including a 22-year-old student in Bougainville and a two year old child in Western Province.
The Bougainville student travelled to Buka from Port Moresby "recently," and officials said more information would be announced "later following contact tracing."
The child is one of seven cases recently announced at Tabubil, in Western Province, that saw the giant Ok Tedi mine closed.
Photo: PNG Department of Health
While the number of cases in the provinces remains low compared to Port Moresby, there is widespread belief that the rate of transmission is likely to be far higher.
The government said all passenger flights between provinces had been suspended as of last night.
"These restrictions are important for the country as we work with the provincial health authorities to contain the widespread transmission of the virus," said Dr Paison Dakulala, the deputy controller of the national pandemic response.
Only cargo and medical flights will be allowed to cross provincial borders, and the authorities will set up roadblocks.
Meanwhile, a doctor has warned that Port Moresby may need more isolation facilities for Covid-19 patients as the number infected continues to climb rapidly.
The Rita Flynn isolation facility had 38 patients on Wednesday, just over half its total capacity of 70. Its manager, Gary Nou, told the newspaper, The National, that number could only be expanded to 100, as the building only had eight toilets.
He said the Taurama Indoor Aquatic Centre could be converted into an isolation facility if the number of cases continues to rise.