The Opposition in French Polynesia has called for rapid testing of the entire population of 277,000 to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Eliane Tevahitua Photo: Tahiti Assembly
Eliane Tevahitua of the Tavini Huiraatira has written to the president Edouard Fritch, warning him of an impending catastrophe, given that 22 percent of the population has diabetes and 40 percent is obese.
She said if unchecked, another 16,000 people are likely to get the disease before the end of the year and another 100 could die.
Tevahitua said the French state should pay for the test kits and use its military and police to assist in the wholesale testing as to identify and isolate carriers.
She said those with the coronavirus should be kept apart for two weeks in dedicated hotels or if possible at home in order to break the chain of transmission.
Tevahitua said a tracing system needed to be urgently set up in cooperation with mobile phone companies.
She also wants a seven-day quarantine for anyone arriving from the outside.
In her view, these measures could stop the coronavirus, avoid a lockdown and allow for the curfew to be lifted.