Delta variant confirmed in PNG

Papua New Guinea authorities have confirmed that a positive Covid-19 case with the Delta variant has been detected in country. The case is a 65-year-old male Philippine national who is the captain of a cargo ship, the Grand Tajima, that arrived in Port Moresby 10 days ago. Because the ship had previously docked in countries with known cases of the Delta strain, additional quarantine precautions were taken. The ship’s captain was escorted under strict quarantine controls to the Pacific International Hospital where he tested positive. The deputy controller of the PNG Covid-19 national pandemic response, Dr Daoni Esorom, said the new case represented a serious threat to the country. He called for Papua New Guineans to get vaccinated against the virus. However so far less than 1 per cent of the population have had a first dose of the vaccine.