- Australia has pledged one million AstraZeneca vaccines and suspended flights to Papua New Guinea as the country experiences an outbreak in COVID-19 cases
- As of midnight tonight, all outbound flights — with the exception of permitted medical, humanitarian and freight endeavours — will be suspended
- The Prime Minister also called for the global pharmaceutical and European authorities to release the vaccine supply boost so Australia could support its “nearest neighbour”
- As it stands, 8000 AstraZeneca vaccines are set to be sent to PNG, alongside hundreds of thousands of personal protective equipment items and a deployment of Australia’s emergency medical response team
- Papa New Guinea has 2351 confirmed cases of COVID-19 according to the World Health Organisation, but undetected cases mean this number could be much higher
Australia has pledged one million AstraZeneca vaccines and suspended flights to Papua New Guinea as the country experiences an outbreak in COVID-19 cases.
In a press conference this morning, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a series of support measures, including a two-week travel ban and a vaccine supply boost, in a bid to mitigate the spread of the virus across PNG and Australia.
As of midnight tonight, all charter and passenger flights — with the exception of permitted medical, humanitarian and freight endeavours — will be suspended.
The travel ban is set to remain in place for the next fortnight while the situation is assessed. It means those stationed in Papua New Guinea are potentially stranded there until further notice is given.
“This will include no general FIFO work. If you’re there, you stay. If you’re here, you stay, we cannot risk people going into those areas and back to Australia.”
In the same breath, he advised Australia would be sending 8000 of its AstraZeneca vaccines to the neighbouring country and would be requesting the pharmaceutical and European authorities release one million more of its purchased supply.
“We are also making a formal request to AstraZeneca and the European authorities to access one million doses of our contracted supplies of AstraZeneca, not for Australia, but for PNG, a developing country in desperate need of these vaccines,” The Prime Minister declared.
“We’ve paid for them, and we want them to come here so we can support our nearest neighbour PNG,” he commented.
Papua New Guinea’s hospital system is under considerable strain. According to the World Health Organisation, PNG has confirmed 2351 cases of COVID-19 since January last year, with 2173 cases reported last week.
However, this figure could could be much higher due to a lack of testing facilities.
In addition, the Prime Minister provided an extensive list of personal protective equipment set to be delivered.
This included one million surgical masks, 200,000 respirator masks, 100,000 gowns, goggles, pairs of gloves and sanitiser, 20,000 face shields and 200 non-invasive ventilators.
The travel situation is set to be reassessed over the period.
An Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT) is also set to be deployed next week, in a bid to establish and prepare healthcare plans for those in need.
“They’re our family, they’re our friends, they’re our neighbours and our partners, they have always stood with us and we will always stand with them,” the Prime Minister said.