The Commissioner of Police and Controller of the PNG COVID-19 National Pandemic Response, David Manning, has called on citizens to come forward and get the COVID-19 vaccine. Mr Manning called upon citizens not to be complacent against COVID-19 even as no new COVID-19 cases were recorded on Saturday 31 July. He said so far the virus has affected 17,774 people and claimed the lives of 192 people in Papua New Guinea. Mr Manning said the vaccine can provide cover against the virus therefore citizens must voluntarily submit for vaccination. The Controller said, “We continue to record COVID-19 cases which shows that community transmission is still occurring which is a worrying trend. Given the rise in community transmissions, every citizen has the responsibility to save lives through vaccination. “I call on everyone to get vaccinated to save their loved ones and fellow Papua New Guineans.” Mr Manning said although no new cases were recorded today the danger is far from over. He said there are several reasons why no new cases were reported today, among them would be the delay in the provinces sending the test results to the laboratories, under reporting of cases by health workers, low COVID-19 tests being conducted and limited contact tracing activities. The Controller called on health workers to ensure test results are sent to labs for further tests as this will determine the extent of the outbreak in the country. To date, the country has recorded 17,774 COVID-19 cases and 192 known deaths. All 22 provinces including the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB) have reported cases. Globally, the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 has reached 197,964,506 including 640,192 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. The death toll stands at 4,223,389 including 9,251 deaths reported in the last 24 hours.