BY BEN BILUA
Gizo
HIGH risk zones in the Western Province will be on lockdown as of tomorrow (Wednesday) starting from 6pm to Sunday 6am.
The high risk areas identified are as follows; Marovo region, especially Seghe and Rukutu village, Munda, Noro and Gizo.
Chairperson of the Western Provincial Disaster Operation Committee, Jeffrey Wickham said his committee will draft a report which outlines the boundaries of lockdown zones and send it to the National Disaster Office as well as the oversight committee for endorsement.
He explained that the lockdown will give Health and Medical officials the opportunity to effectively carry out contact tracing and swabbing.
Wickham said the zones identified have been exposed to COVID-19 following actions of a ship that breached the State of Emergency Protocols when traveling to Western Province.
“These zones have been exposed to crews of the MV Nusatupe who reportedly had contact with people during its recent trip to our province.
“The lockdown is important as it will help our health team to do their jobs smoothly,” he said.
Acting Director of Western Province Health and Medical Authority, Dr Michael Belande Buin said a team of five Frontline officers will be dispatched to Seghe today.
He said the team will carry out swabbing on people who have been in contact with the crews of MV Nusatupe.
“Reports we received has it that four passengers were onboard MV Nusapute from Honiara to Rukutu. The report further states that people came into contact with the crews during offloading at Rukutu.
“Our team will make a stopover at Seghe to compile information before heading to Rukutu and nearby communities for swabbing.
“The team is expected to return tomorrow 6pm however the expecting time depends on how fast the ground work such as swabbing and recording initial tests to patients is complete,” Buin said.
He said the result of the samples will be verified at the Gizo lab and results will be made known before the weekend.
