There are worries that Covid-19 warnings from the Bougainville Government are not reaching the people.
Arawa Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
That's the view of the Executive Director of the Leitana Nehan Women's Agency Helen Hakena who said, despite soaring infections, people in the automonous region in Papua New Guinea, were not following the guidelines.
Bougainville, after staying almost completely free of the virus through 2020, had recorded dozens of infections in the past five days.
On Monday there were 31 cases, coming as infections across the rest of PNG continued to soar.
Hakena said few people were wearing masks, practising social distancing or avoiding travelling between villages.
"That message has not got down to the people.
"I am just seeing how people are moving in and out of our small town ship here, the market is still operating full swing, people are congregating in big groups. It shows very clearly that the message is not being heard by the people," Hakena said.
Helen Hakena. Photo: Wikimedia Commons