79 new cases of COVID-19 have been detected in Western province on Monday this week while the existing 30 confirmed Delta Variant cases in the country have all recovered.
Of the 30 Delta Variant cases that recovered, one case was from Madang, seven from NCD and the remaining 22 cases were from Western province.
The samples of the 79 new cases have been sent away for further testing on Delta Variant.
Deputy Controller Dr Daoni Esorom said we could be expecting more Delta Variant cases from the 79 cases given the first 22 cases were also from Western province.
“All 30 cases of Delta Variant have recovered but we are now tracking the new 79 cases that were sent away for more testing.”
“All the 79 cases are from North Fly and Middle Fly and they are in isolation at the moment.”
Dr Daoni said the infection rate is growing in Western Province as more people are crossing the border to West Papua and bringing the virus back to the Province.
“We kept warning our people not to cross the border over to West Papua and they were not listening so this is what we get.”
“So we are warning of potential severe outbreak of Delta cases in the Western Province and we are working closely with the Provincial Health Authority to guide them as to what they need do.”
Dr Daoni said they will also be faced with logistics challenges given the province’s dense area, however there are clinics and hospitals in almost all districts that can be accessible by the people should there be an outbreak.