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Koriovuku community imposes “no go zone” rules

Written by
Ben Bilua
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BY BEN BILUA
Gizo

KORIOVUKU community on Ranongga Island has imposed “No Go Zone” measures to restrict people from entering their community.

The decision was made after Koriovuku’s house of chief, church leaders, village elders, women, and youths met this week.

Speaking to Island Sun Gizo, Chris Podokolo said the community will no longer welcome people entering the village.

“Even families and relatives living outside of the village at the moment are not allowed to enter the village,” he said.

Podokolo said Amu Rural Health Center is temporarily closed at the moment awaiting a further decision from community leaders.

He said Koriovuku leaders will meet today to discuss other options that will help the community to effectively enforce the lockdown while respecting other essential services.

“As I’ve said, Amu Rural Health Centre is temporarily closed for reasons to stop people’s movement. But, leaders are also aware that people will need medical services, so leaders came up with public health measures for example; those who are fully vaccinated or partly vaccinated must bring their certificate, wear masks and maintain social distancing.

“Our leaders are also looking at identifying a quarantine center for those who are suspected to have COVID-19,” Podokolo said.

He said the Koriovuku community is mounting its security on potential entry points.

Podokolo said youths and elders are stationed on the entry points to stop people from entering their community.

He said the Koriovuku community will liaise with the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force to deal with people who attempt to invade its community bylaw.

Gizo Fuel shortage, officials under pressure

Written by
Ben Bilua
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MV Plus 1 outside Gizo. The vessel is bringing fuel to Gizo

BY BEN BILUA
Gizo

GIZO residents will have electricity until Friday before power shut down due to a shortage of fuel.

This is according to the Solomon Power Gizo report handed to the Western Provincial Disaster Operation Committee (WPDOC).

Speaking during consultation between WPDOC and Western Provincial Executive, Premier Christian Mesepitu said Solomon Power Gizo had submitted a request to his government to look at ways to address the issue.

“Information we received states that the fuel is onboard MV Plus which is currently anchoring outside Gizo.

“According to Solomon Power Gizo, we need to offload the fuel because there is not enough left to provide electricity to Gizo residence.

“Solomon Power states that they have limited fuel which will only last up to Friday,” he said.

Mesepitu said his government will work closely with WPDOC to make sure the rollout of the effort to offload the fuel and other essential goods.

Acting Director of Western Province’s Health and Medical Authority Dr. Michael Belande Buin said he will allocate a team to do swabbing on MV Plus and at the same time decontaminate the cargos before offloading.

Buala police call on boat owners to adhere to advice

Written by
Jennifer Kusapa
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Buala

BY JENNIFER KUSAPA

POLICE in Buala will investigate reports of boats leaving Honiara for Isabel Province recently despite efforts by the government to contain COVID-19 from spreading to other provinces.

And many people are saying the behavior and attitude of our very own people are risking the lives and health of those in the provinces.

Police in Buala will investigate following reports of small boats traveling to Sepi village on Isabel Province from Honiara.

A police sergeant from Buala police said they have received reports of boats traveling to the Bugotu areas, which is not a good practice.

“Boat owners should prioritize health as the COVID virus is deadly and can spread through movements of people.

“In Isabel, if we are not careful the virus will reach our shores”, the Officer said.

The officer said they were supposed to do patrols around the Island, but due to no fuel, they could not do so.

He however said they are waiting on the Isabel Provincial Government and the Provincial Disaster Office for fuel before they can attend to the reports in the Bugotu area.

The Prime Minister in his nationwide address highlighted that all passenger services by air and sea from Honiara to provinces are suspended to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 to provinces.

He said Cargo vessels including small boats are also not allowed to travel out from Honiara, and People from provinces are advised to delay their travel to Honiara at this point in time.

“These increases are directly related to the free movement of people. Many of the people that are moving freely around the city or out from the city to the provinces are carrying the virus without knowing it.” Sogavare said.

Boat from Marovo detained at Gizo

Written by
Ben Bilua
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Western Provincial capital Gizo

BY BEN BILUA
Gizo

GIZO Police detained and questioned passengers of a boat this morning at Gizo for breaching COVID-19 Public and Health Measures.

Report reaching Island Sun Gizo Office states that the boat with six passengers arrived at the Gizo Market Jetty and was questioned by the Market Security.

It states that the Market Security then contacted police who attended the situation.

The report states that the boat came from Nazareth village, near Seghe.

Seghe is identified by the Western Provincial Disaster Operation Committee as a high-risk area.

Earlier this week, Western Provincial Government endorsed the Public and Health Measures, one of which is restricting inter-island travels.

Gizo residents took their disappointment and frustration on Facebook condemning people who ignore COVID-19 measures.

16 more NRH staff tests positive

Written by
Mavis Podokolo
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The National Referral Hospital (NRH) in Honiara

BY MAVIS N PODOKOLO

A further 16 health staff of the National Referral Hospital are confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19.

This was according to Dr. Culwick Togamana Minister for Ministry of Health.

The 16 joined 55 other staff who all tested positive since the start of the community outbreak a week ago.

Dr. Togamana said the hospital is now stretched out in terms of human resource capacity, as more staff are sick from the virus.

Togamana adds that the NRH remains in Emergency mode, meaning the hospital will only receive emergency cases. He further stressed by confirming the number of patients admitted in the NRH.

“There are 19 patients admitted in the NRH and 33 in the Central Field Hospital making a total of 52 patients,” Togamana confirmed.

70 % of COVID patients asymptomatic: Togamana

Written by
Mavis Podokolo
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BY MAVIS N PODOKOLO

70 percent of COVID-19 patients are asymptomatic, with 30 percent showing symptoms of the virus.

These figures were released yesterday by the Minister of Health and Medical Services Dr. Culwick Togamana in his daily update on COVID-19 cases.

“The majority of the positive patients so far are asymptomatic (70 percent), meaning not showing any signs of coughing, shortness of breath, runny nose, etc.

“30 percent of these are with symptoms mainly consisting of fever, sore throat, runny nose and in some cases shortness of breath which was registered for three cases,” Togamana said.

He said the country will expect more people to contract the virus, more people to fall sick and severely ill from the virus.

“We can only pray that God will continue to guide and protect all our undertakings at this time to address the community transmissions and prevent as much as possible loss of lives of our people,” Togamana said.

Many Covid patients self-isolating

Written by
Mavis Podokolo
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BY MAVIS N PODOKOLO

MANY COVID-19 patients are now self-quarantined at their respective homes to prevent the further spread of the virus.

Minister of Health and Medical Services Dr Culwick Togamana confirmed this in his address yesterday.

“Many of the patients are in their homes and isolating themselves to prevent any further spread to their families and community,” Togamana said.

He advised the general public who think they have come into close contact with any positive cases or actually come close to them to self-isolate at home.

“Please self-isolate at home as we do not want to overwhelm our current health capacity,” Togamana added.

He said those who develop severe symptoms of COVID-19 such as severe runny nose, shortness of breath, coughing etc must immediately contact St John Ambulance on phone 115 for escort to the National Referral Hospital.

Possible community transmission in Kirakira

Written by
Mavis Podokolo
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Kirakira station, in Makira/Ulawa Province

BY MAVIS N PODOKOLO

KIRAKIRA the capital of Makira/ Ulawa province is said to have a case of possible community transmission of COVID-19.

This is confirmed by Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr. Culwick Togamana in his address yesterday.

 “We are working closely with our provincial health counterparts for COVID-19 testing and we will continue to encourage people in these areas and the rest of the country to continue practicing COVID-19 public health safety measures,”Togamana said.

He also said COVID-19 community transmission is also widespread in the capital Honiara and Malaita Outer Islands.

 “As of today pockets of incidences that quite could possibly be community transmission were picked up in several locations in our provinces such as Auki in Malaita, Marovo Lagoon in the Western Province and Kirakira in Makira Province,” he added.

Longer lockdowns expected as COVID surges in Honiara.

Written by
Press Release
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The roundabout at the Honiara City Council

Honiara city and other Provincial Hotspots are expected to head into longer lockdowns in the coming days as covid-19 cases continue to surge.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said on Monday that longer lockdowns can provide much higher chances of eliminating covid transmissions in communities.

Lockdowns usually follow the incubation cycle of the COVID-19 virus which is 14 days, which means a once-cycle lockdown is 14 days.

The reason for the 14-days is that if people’s movement over one COVID-19 cycle of 14 days is reduced, much of the COVID-19 that is already carried by infected people would be eliminated and would reduce transmission.

Similarly, if a lockdown for two COVID-19 cycles which is 28 days is enforced, there is a much better chance of eliminating transmission as most of the active cases of COVID-19 in locked-down areas would have been eliminated.

As lockdowns will affect business operations and services, Government Authorities is meeting with the Solomon Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the business houses this week to assist the government in implementing lockdowns in efforts to reduce transmission and to contain the outbreak.

“My office will seek a meeting with the SICCI executive to discuss and formalize our partnership to support lockdown operations,” Sogavare said on Monday.

The Prime Minister has asked State-Owned Enterprises to assist and support the implementation of any lockdown by providing logistics and food rations not just for Honiara but to stockpile supplies that can go to provinces if they implement hotspot lockdowns.

A similar request has been sought from development partners to support lockdown operations with logistics and food packages that can be dropped off to households prior to any longer lockdown.

The Government believes that the only way to stop the spread of the virus is to reduce movements by enforcing lockdowns.

Honiara city is heading into a 4 days lockdown starting at 6:00 pm Yesterday to 6:00 pm Saturday 29. A review is will be made before the expiry of the 4 days.

Gov’t failed to prepare for COVID outbreak: Wale

Written by
Press Release
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0
Leader of Opposition, Matthew Wale

LEADER of Opposition Matthew Wale says the National Government should humbly admit that it has failed miserably in the last two years to prepare for any COVID outbreak in the country.

In a statement today the Opposition Leader says there is nothing wrong with the Government admitting its failure, in fact, it is the right thing to do.

Mr Wale pointed out that in Sunday’s talkback show Secretary to Prime Minister Dr Jimmie Rodgers even indirectly admitted that there was no COVID response plan in place for the outbreak.

“The SPM told the radio talkback show that the government was just finalizing its national response plan on Sunday which will be handed to Cabinet today (Tuesday 25th, 2021) for discussions,” he said.

The Leader of Opposition said that itself is an indication that there was never a COVID response plan developed in the past two years to address the outbreak.

“We had a two-year grace period but it seems the Government has failed to prepare for this current situation,” he said.

Mr Wale said there are a lot of issues that have now surfaced to prove the fact that the Government did not prepare for this outbreak.

It includes;

  • The Government built a field hospital facility to cater for only 56 beds in the last two years. Surely, they knew very well that 56 beds would not cater for any COVID outbreak in the country.
  • The Gene-Xpert Machine in Auki is still not ready to undergo testing now that we have cases in Malaita province.
  • The Government had two years to establish food supply and distribution mechanisms. To date, it is still unknown how they will provide food supplies for communities in Honiara and other affected areas. The lack of proper planning means only short duration lockdowns possible, as shorter lockdowns are ineffective in arresting the runway infection rate. A 14day lockdown is appropriate to effectively deal with the exponential rise in infections. But, it is impossible to do so because the government failed to prepare for this.
  • The lack of priority and focus on the Tasman/OJ border. There was lack of resources and priority at the Tasman/OJ border. No quarantine sites and authorities on the ground to undergo proper monitoring and surveillance compared to Honiara and the Shortland border.
  • No COVID-response plan to counter outbreak at NRH. The statements made by the Prime Minister and the Health Minister in Parliament that NRH is fully equipped and prepared is contrary to the situation now.
  • The Government’s priority focus on building stadiums in the last two years and has ignored COVID health facilities in preparation for this outbreak is insane. This is a health crises that warrants are more comprehensive approach meaning we should prioritize all funding resources to our health care system and to manage and keep our citizens safe.
  • Gov’t has failed to train enough frontline personnel’s.
  • Allowance for frontliners very slow which further demoralises frontline staff performance.
  • Addressing mental and physical health of frontliners, addressing workload and fatigue taking into serious consideration of our lab technicians as well.

Mr Wale said it is also unfortunate to hear in the Prime Minister’s address on Monday this week that the Government is pleading with SOE’s and the private sector to help provide food rations and vehicles.

The Leader of Opposition said that itself speaks volumes of the lack of preparedness and response.

 “The Prime Minister should advise MID to recall all government vehicles and hire vehicles from non-essential staff to assist them. PMO should take the lead by recalling hired vehicles from the Political Appointees half of which have nothing to do but roam around misusing government hired vehicles,” he said.

Mr Wale said the Government had a two-year window to fully prepare but it is now clear that they have failed miserably.

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