A first batch of Covid-19 vaccines has arrived in Papua New Guinea.
This comes as the country's number of confirmed cases of the virus fast approaches four-thousand.
Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape gives a Covid-19 update for media, 23 March 2021 Photo: PNG PM Media
The Pandemic Response Controller has reported another 184 cases, raising the national total confirmed cases to 3,758. In the past month, the number of cases has more than tripled.
Furthermore, another person has died of covid, taking the death toll to 37.
Marking a year since PNG confirmed its first case, Prime Minister James Marape said the country found itself at a point of crisis.
"Today we're in red stage meaning there is widespread and rife community transmission," he said, urging all citizens to follow the recommended safety measures.
These measures include use of masks in public, regular washing of hands and social distancing. Movment between villages, districts and provinces is also restricted.
"Responsibility of our country and care for our country and citizens is really on each and every one of us to be watchful of our society and community."
With almost half of PNG's confirmed cases of the virus reported in the National Capital District, the local health system is stretched to its limit, with many health workers also having tested positive for covid.
"I have said from the start, we have a health system that was stressed before covid, and this is the greatest challenge in our country's young history," Marape said.
Frontline health workers will be among the first to take the vaccine, although it's not compulsory.
Public hesitancy over getting vaccinated is significant in PNG. But Marape assured the public that PNG's medical authorities have approved the vaccine for safe use.
"Health workers will have preference over the rest of us," the prime minister explained about access to immunisation against Covid-19.
"If there's still people who are confused and feel unsafe, I'm willing to be the first person to take this vaccine to show it's safe for anyone of you to take."
Meanwhile, Marape told media that hundreds of thousands more vaccine doses were expected to arrive in PNG in the coming two or three months.
