SYDNEY (Reuters) – Papua New Guinea recorded 351 new coronavirus cases and two deaths on Tuesday, as 8,000 vaccines arrived from Australia to assist health workers in overburdened hospitals.
The Pacific island nation has seen cases jump by 1,000 in six days, COVID-19 National Pandemic Response controller David Manning said in a statement on Wednesday.
Officials have tightened internal border controls and enforced mask-wearing in public as the country confronts the steep rise in infections.
PNG has recorded 4,109 cases and 39 deaths, most since the start of the month.
Half of the new cases recorded on Tuesday were asymptomatic, raising concerns the coronavirus was circulating widely in the community. Western province, which is closest to Australia, accounted for about 50% of the daily rise.
Charities and health workers said last week that the pandemic had hit PNG’s fragile health system “like a tornado”, with services shutting as staff fall ill.
Only 60,680 tests for COVID-19 have been conducted in a population of 9 million, nearly all of whom live in rural areas, many in isolated mountainous villages.
The emergency vaccine doses from the Australian Government are the first to arrive in the country and will be given to health workers.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Catherine Evans)
