Papua New Guinea records first COVID-19 case of highly contagious Delta variant

Papua New Guinea has confirmed its first positive case of the COVID-19 Delta variant. 

The new infection, the first and only case associated with the highly contagious variant, is a 65-year-old Philippine national, authorities said on Thursday. 

It comes as the Pacific nation, which lies 150 kilometres from Australia's northernmost islands, has been grappling with a steep rise in infections in recent months, prompting Australia to send medical help. 

Deputy Controller of the PNG COVID-19 National Pandemic Response Dr Daoni Esorom said the case is currently in isolation at the Pacific International Hospital and is in a stable condition.

The infected man is the captain of the Grand Tajima cargo ship, which departed from the Banjarmasin Port in Indonesia on 26 June.

He became ill while at sea, and the ship arrived in Port Moresby on 7 July.

“From the start, this case was treated as being a possible COVID-19 Delta mutation infection, and so the strictest safety measures were observed,” Dr Daoni said in a media release.

“When the ship’s captain returned a COVID-19 positive test result, genome sequencing was undertaken in Melbourne.

“At 9am this morning, it was confirmed that the ship’s captain tested positive with the COVID-19 Delta strain."

Six people who accompanied the captain to shore also went into quarantine as an additional precaution. Five of them are Papua New Guineans, and one is from the Philippines.

All six have so far tested negative to COVID-19, and will be retested, Dr Daoni said. 

An additional six crew members have tested positive, but not for the Delta variant. 

“It must be stressed that these crew members have not tested positive for the Delta strain, and we are awaiting test results. Two of these crew have become unwell, and are now in the isolation ward at the Port Moresby General Hospital," he said. 

“The four other crew who tested positive, but are not showing symptoms, remain in quarantine on board the ship. The remaining eight crew members are also in quarantine on the ship."

He said all relevant PNG government authorities are in close communication with the ship at anchor. 

PNG has introduced stricter border control measures in the wake of the Delta variant spreading around the world.

Dr Daoni noted the variant was “extremely dangerous”, urging Papua New Guineans “not to be complacent”.

“As we all watch the number of deaths continue to rise in Fiji, in India and right around the world, we should take this as a wakeup call for us all to vaccinate. The only way for our people to survive COVID-19 is through vaccination," he said. 

PNG began its rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in March, with the first 8,000 doses of the AstraZeneca shot supplied by Australia.

The doses were administered to health workers and elected officials, including the prime minister James Marape.

A COVID-19 outbreak in the island nation earlier this year saw its fragile healthcare system put under huge strain.

PNG has recorded 17,340 confirmed cases and 179 deaths since the pandemic began.

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