PNG records 8th COVID-19 death as cases now reach 720

Papua New Guinea has recorded its eighth death from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a 49-year-old male from West New Britain. The deceased had abdominal pains, cough, headache and shortness of breath that started on 4th December. He passed away on 8 December.

Papua New Guinea has now recorded a total of 720 COVID-19 cases, with 36 new cases reported in the last 48 hours.

Thirty-five of the new cases are from West New Britain (WNB) whilst the National Capital District (NCD) had one new case. 

Among the new cases reported in WNB, 34 are from Talasea District while one case is a nursing officer from Gloucester who is a contact of a previously-identified case.

The youngest of the new cases is an 8-year-old female while the oldest is a 62-year-old male. Of the new cases, there are eight students, three nursing officers, two community health workers, an environmental health officer, a medical staff and a security guard. 

Most cases were identified as part of contact tracing and diagnosed through mass testing.

The Controller of the PNG COVID-19 National Pandemic Response, Mr David Manning said, “Our cases of COVID-19 in PNG continue to increase as contact tracing is ongoing. This is a reminder to all of us that the threat of COVID-19 remains in our communities and there is no room for complacency.

"Please continue to observe the COVID-19 health protocols. Use hand sanitisers or wash your hands regularly with soap. Wear a face mask when in a public space and avoid crowded places.

Be responsible. COVID-19 is here. There is no cure so our best defence is by taking the necessary COVID-19 health protocols."

To date, 16 provinces, including AROB, have reported COVID-19 cases. The distribution of the cases is as follows:

Provinces                 Confirmed Cases

NCD                         360

Western Province     204

West New Britain     103

Eastern Highlands      13

Central                         9

Morobe                        6

Western Highlands       5

East New Britain           5

East Sepik                     3

Enga                             3

Milne Bay                      2

New Ireland                  2

West Sepik                    2

Southern Highlands      1

AROB                            1

Hela Province               1

TOTAL                       720

Globally, the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 has reached 67,780,361, including 546,703 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. The death toll is 1,551,214; of which 10,132 were reported in the last 24 hours. 

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