BY MAVIS N PODOKOLO
UP to 21,237 people were infected by the COVID-19 virus.
However, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said authorities were able to manage the cases successfully.
“We have successfully managed the COVID-19 pandemic in our country,” he said in his independence speech last week.
“About 153 people lost their lives to COVID-19. Our vaccination rate had been slow,” he added.
The country reopened its international borders on July 1.
Sogavare said about 50 percent of the eligible population are now fully vaccinated.
He added it is government’s policy that all eligible person must still be vaccinated.
“We encourage all eligible persons including children between 12 to 17 years of age to get vaccinated,” he said.
