PNG records seventh Covid-19 death

10:45 pm on 20 September 2020

Papua New Guinea has announced another death from Covid-19, bringing the country's coronavirus death toll to seven.

Port Moresby General Hospital

Port Moresby General Hospital Photo: POM General Hospital

A 71-year old man from Central Province who lived in Moresby South was brought to the Port Moresby General Hospital on Friday, tested positive for Covid-19 and then died the same day.

He had been suffering from a fever, a cough and shortness of breath but also had hypertension and diabetes as exisiting underlying medical conditions.

The Pandemic Response Controller, David Manning, said the recent death reinforced the call to citizens to go to health facilities and get tested if they had symptoms.

"Knowing your Covid-19 status will enable you to get immediate medical care."

Manning again repeated his earlier call for health facilities throughout the country to do more swabbing and to send samples to laboratories for testing in a speedy fashion.

To date, PNG has 517 cases of the coronavirus.