A total of 90 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the country on Saturday March 13, bringing the national total of confirmed cases to 2,173 with the death toll remaining at 21.
The new cases have come from five provinces with the highest of 65 from the National Capital District. The others were: West Sepik – 3; Autonomous Region of Bougainville – 4; Enga -11; and Hela – 7.
The reports are showing that everyone is at risk of getting COVID-19 – young and old. Among the 65 new cases from NCD, for instance, 28 were males and 35 were females while two did not state their sex.
The age range is from nine to 60 years old. The positive cases are scattered in all the three districts in NCD. Except in WSP where the new cases are found in Vanimo Green, the other provinces also show that the positive cases come from all the districts.
For example, in Enga, the 11 new cases come from Wapenamda, Kompian, Wabag and Kandep.
The total number of cases in the country are distributed as follows: ·
NCD – 1030;
Western – 324;
West New Britain – 197;
Morobe – 87;
Autonomous Region of Bougainville – 48;
Eastern Highlands – 45; ·
Madang – 44; ·
East New Britain – 39; ·
Western Highlands – 37; ·
Enga – 29; ·
New Ireland – 23; ·
Central – 22; ·
East Sepik – 16; ·
Jiwaka – 16; ·
Hela – 8; ·
Chimbu – 4; ·
Southern Highlands – 3;
Milne Bay – 2.
The Controller of the PNG COVID-19 National Pandemic Response and Police Commissioner David Manning has once again called on everyone in the country to follow the health measures in place to prevent further spread of the virus in the country.
He has appealed particularly to people living in towns or urban areas to ensure they do not carry this virus to the rural and remote areas where it may be difficult for people to seek health care.
Mr Manning said, “We must do all we can to ensure this virus does not spread to the rural and remote areas of our country.’’
He urged citizens to continue to practice the health measures such as: regular hand wash; cover your cough or cough into your elbow; avoid crowds; maintain physical distance from the next person by 1.5 to 2 metres; and wear a face mask all the time when in public and in places like shops, markets and on PMVs.
“I urge all PMV owners to take some responsibility by talking to the bus-drivers and crew to follow the health measures in place by making sure the PMVs are not over crowded and that all passengers wear face masks. If you want to continue to operate your business without the government imposing strict measures, please do your part by following the health rules in place. It is for the good of everyone,’’ Mr Manning said.
Meanwhile, the total confirmed COVID-19 cases around the global has reached 118,268,575 by Saturday March 13. Of this, 467,362 were new cases reported within 24 hours. The global death toll reported was 2,624,677, of which 9, 472, were in the last 24 hours.