The controller of Papua New Guinea's Covid-19 State of Emergency says the government remains committed to making sure every single PNG citizen stranded overseas is safely brought home.
In a statement released last night, Mr Manning admitted PNG had not progressed as quickly as other countries have with their repatriation exercises but the work is ongoing.
But he said they had been working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assessing case by case arrangements to see how best they could not only facilitate travel, but also subsidise the cost for returning citizens.
Police Commissioner, David Manning. Photo: PNG police
Almost 800 Papua New Guineans have been stranded overseas because of the pandemic.
The majority were in Australia and the rest were scattered across the Pacific and other parts of the world.
David Manning said everyone who was repatriated would undergo a 14-day quarantine in select facilities upon their return.
He said the immediate focus was on helping stranded Papua New Guineans in Australia, then they would work to help citizens stranded across the Pacific and the rest of the world.
"Flights in and out of Singapore have been closed and may have an impact on citizens stranded there as well," Mr Manning said.
