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Published on April 6, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/one-hundred-and-eighty-two-182-babies-born-during-the-long-easter-weekend/

Published on April 6, 2021

182 BABIES BORN DURING THE LONG EASTER WEEKEND

THE Port Moresby General Hospital Labour Ward has been quite busy as staff worked around the clock todeliver 182 babies during the long Easter weekend. Shift team leader and midwife Sr. Dephney H. Hevelawa yesterday said that the ward has been very busyduring Easter and with a shortage of manpower, some staff have had to take on double shifts. “Within this Easter period, it was quite busy. The beds were all full so we had to assist mothers to deliveron the floor. When we have our medical students are around, they give us a helping hand but otherwise,we have one or two midwives available on a shift,” explained Sr. Hevelawa.She has advised women to go on family planning and for expectant mothers to seek assistance quickly towhen they start to feel contractions. “Family planning is free. If you don’t get family planning and you stay home then this is what we arehaving now. There is a lot of mothers coming in to have their babies,” said Sr. Hevelawa.“If you know you are nearing your due date or are going into labour, come quickly so we can help you,”says Sr. Hevelawa. “Some mothers who wait too late either give birth along the way or in the car so theyare putting themselves and their babies at risk too.” She also cautioned parents to monitor and know the whereabouts of their children because teenagepregnancy is on the rise with girls as young as 14 or 15 years-old being admitted at the ward.“Most of these young girls are coming to deliver. There’s a lot of health risks involved. They can sustainbirthing injuries; their pelvis is not strong to hold the weight of the baby. Family planning is not for justmarried couples. Anyone who is sexually active can get them,” she added. PICTURE CAPTION:PROUD mum, 20-year-old Naru Yol, who hails from Chimbu Province, is pictured with her daughter whowas born at 4 a.m. on Easter Monday, the 5th of April, 2021.

Published on April 6, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/pcr-testing-is-not-a-requirement-for-discharge-from-isolation-says-manning/

Published on April 6, 2021

PCR TESTING IS NOT A REQUIREMENT FOR DISCHARGE FROM ISOLATION: MANNING

PNG COVID-19 National Pandemic Response Joint Agency Task Force Media Statement Tuesday 6th April 2021 Police Commissioner and Controller of the PNG COVID-19 National Pandemic Response David Manning said people in isolation are not required to take the prescribed COVID-19 test to be discharged. Mr Manning said Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing is not a requirement for discharge from isolation and citizens must be made aware of these facts to avoid being misinformed especially at this time when the country is battling to contain the surge in COVID-19 cases. Mr Manning said, “Let me remind individuals, business houses, government departments and even the general public that if a person or an employee of a company is tested positive and has completed the isolation period designated by their doctor or Provincial Health Authority and is symptom free, a repeat test to determine if someone is negative before leaving isolation is not recommended by national or international guidelines. “According to our medical team, PCR testing is very sensitive so people may test positive for more than three months after their initial test when they have completed designated isolation period and are symptom free, but are no longer considered infectious.” Mr Manning said respective doctors attending to a person will advise when one has recovered and can leave isolation. Meanwhile, the Controller announced that swabbing and testing for COVID-19 using Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Test (AgRDT) has been rolled out to the health facilities in NCD and in the provinces. He explained that the test is easy, convenient and fast and can be easily performed by any trained health care worker. He however said test results will need to be confirmed using PCR or GeneXpert, but an initial AgRDT result will be available within 20 minutes. He said having the Rapid Test will help to take quick measures to quarantine suspected cases and further isolate if the result comes out positive. This he said will minimise community transmission and allow healthcare workers to make critical decisions at the point of care. Mr Manning reminded citizens that COVID-19 is another respiratory illness which can worsen pre-existing conditions. “People with diabetes, hypertension, or obesity, and those who have Tuberculosis or other respiratory conditions may be at higher risk of severe illness or death if they acquire COVID-19. Fear, stigma and discrimination prevent people from accessing the test and care, leading to more community transmission and deaths. Let’s all care for our loved ones and help each other to go for a test if anyone in the family, work place or community has any symptoms of COVID-19. “Whilst, the government is adamant to roll out the COVID-19 Vaccine to the rest of the country on a voluntary basis in the coming months, let us all be vigilant and continue to follow the “Niupela Pasin” measures and strictly comply with the National Isolation Strategy being imposed. “This is the only way we can prevent further spread of COVID-19 and protect our family and loved ones from COVID-19,” said Mr Manning

Published on April 6, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/logging-companies-warned-to-pay-up/

Published on April 6, 2021

LOGGING COMPANIES WARNED TO PAY UP

The Minister for Forests, Walter D Schnaubelt MP has warned Timber Operating Companies in Papua New Guinea to immediately pay up their outstanding levies and royalty payments to both the landowners and the government. Minister Schnaubelt sounded the warning following failure by most companies and operations to meet their obligations under various agreements. “They are fully aware of the legal ramifications associated with non-compliance of their legal obligations as stipulated under the agreements and the underlying laws of the country governing the forestry sector,” Mr Schnaubelt said. He said the companies were engaged to pay up on time in compliance with the legal requirements in which they are party. “Many of these companies are not new to the fact that they have to abide by the legal requirements of the operating and export sales agreements. These companies have signed the agreements with the landowners and the state to pay up on time. “Many have not complied with the provisions of their respective agreements under which they operate and therefore have outstanding payments. “As minister responsible for the industry I call on them to immediately undertake serious actions and pay up their outstanding amounts. “This is critical to the economy that’s why we cannot allow such serious fiscal anomalies to undermine the revenue flow and foreign exchange earnings,” he said. Schnaubelt said landowners and communities need to be remunerated their outstanding payments considering they were mostly rural and remotely based and had difficulty accessing GoPNG vital services. “I would like to warn them now to fully cooperate with my call to seriously consider paying up now without any further delays,” Minister Schnaubelt said. Minister for Forests, Walter D Schnaubelt, MP

Published on April 6, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/new-classroom-the-start-of-morobe-schools-plans-for-success/

Published on April 6, 2021

NEW CLASSROOM THE START OF MOROBE SCHOOL'S PLANS FOR SUCCESS

A remote elementary school in Morobe Province has celebrated the completion of a new classroom which is providing a safe learning space for local children. The classroom at Ngariawang 2 Elementary School was the result of a successfully implemented School Learning Improvement Plan (SLIP), which was led by staff and the school board of management with support from parents and the nearby community. he project was initiated following training to improve the planning capacity of teachers and boards of management, which was delivered by World Vision as part of the Together for Education (T4E) program. The T4E program is supported by the Papua New Guinea-Australia Partnership and improves teacher performance, creates more inclusive learning environment, and strengthens the capacity of parents to support children’s learning. It provides professional development for teachers, provides contemporary learning resources for schools and works with stakeholders to strengthen school governance. Teacher-in-charge Yanik Kwanean has been teaching at Ngariawang for eight years and is currently the only teacher at the school. She took part in school management training along with board of management chairman Michael Kupik and board member Paul Magan. During the training, the three learned to create and execute SLIPs and identified a permanent classroom as the highest priority. Ms. Kwanean said they have proved community support can transform a school and contribute immensely to a child’s education. “Me and the community representatives have the knowledge” Ms. Kwanean said. “With the help of our community we have built this new permanent classroom. I am very thankful for that.” The Ngariawang 2 community is nearly three hours by road from Lae and until now the school has operated from bush material classrooms built by the villagers since its establishment in 2012. With no road access to transport building materials to the school, the local community built a one-kilometre road using spades and hoes. Mr. Kupik said that the school management training helped foster more engagement and the community has made it their business to ensure kids can attend school and get the knowledge they need to succeed in life. “The T4E intervention have transformed the school and also the community,” he said. “Our community has completely changed its mindset and is helping us to bring about necessary change to the community and the school.” Mr. Magan said the community have now made plans to build another classroom and build water supply into the village and the school. "After the SLIP training, we are confident we can achieve all these plans we have and we are working together towards it,” he said. Ngariawang 2 elementary is one of 109 schools supported by the T4E program in Morobe Province. The program also gave Yanik Kwanean the opportunity to undertake three teacher trainings, which she said have significantly improved students’ literacy and numeracy skills. “My students can read and do math's without much help, which was not the case in the past,” Ms. Kwanean said. “This is mainly because I now understand the concept of multi-grade teaching,” Ms. Kwanean said. The T4E Project is supported by the PNGAusPartnership and implemented by World Vision, ChildFund and Library For All. It is part of Papua New Guinea and Australia’s broader education and leadership partnership and a key contributor in supporting the National Department of Education’s priority of improving girls and boys early grade literacy and numeracy.

Published on April 6, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/six-more-covid-19-deaths-recorded-on-monday-april-5-png-death-toll-at-67/

Published on April 6, 2021

6 MORE COVID-19 DEATHS RECORDED ON MONDAY APRIL 5 – PNG DEATH TOLL AT 67

Six more COVID-19 deaths were recorded on Monday April 5, increasing Papua New Guinea’s death toll to 67. The six COVID-19 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours ending 12 midday on Monday April 5. This was among 368 new COVID-19 cases reported for the same period, increasing the total number of cases in PNG to 7,406. The recent deaths were recorded in the National Capital District, New Ireland and Morobe provinces. The NCD recorded three deaths of which two are males at the ages of 28 and 65 whilst the third is a 45 year old female. Morobe province reported two deaths, a 70-year-old male and a 55-year-old female. New Ireland province reported the death of a 53-year-old male. To date, NCD has recorded 52 deaths whilst Morobe and West Sepik recorded three deaths each. West New Britain, Western Highlands and Western province recorded two deaths each whilst Enga, Jiwaka and New Ireland reported a death each bringing the total number of deaths from COVID-19 to 67. Northern Province (Oro) reported its first three cases of COVID-19, two of whom are males and one female. Their ages range from 37 years to 60. Two cases were asymptomatic whilst one was showing symptoms of COVID-19 at the time of testing. The Western Province reported 108 new cases of which 91 are males, 16 females and one not stated. Their ages range from five years to 61. Eighty-nine cases were asymptomatic whilst ten cases showed symptoms of COVID-19 at the time of testing. The Morobe province reported 68 new cases of which 38 are males, 24 females and six not stated. Their ages range from seven to 79 years. Sixty-four cases showed symptoms of COVID-19 whilst four were asymptomatic at the time of testing. The NCD reported 61 new cases of which 33 are males and 28 females. Their ages range from five to 79. Thirty cases showed symptoms of COVID-19 whilst 31 were asymptomatic at the time of testing. East New Britain reported 47 new cases of which 25 are males, 20 females and two not stated. Their ages range from 15 to 65. Thirty-seven cases showed symptoms of COVID-19 whilst nine were asymptomatic at the time of testing. Western Highlands province reported 42 new cases of which 24 are males, 16 females and two not stated. Their ages range from nine to 62 years. Twenty-eight cases showed symptoms of COVID-19 whilst 14 were asymptomatic at the time of testing. West Sepik province reported 24 new cases of which 15 are males and nine females. Their ages range from 19 to 60. Eight cases showed symptoms of COVID-19 whilst 16 were asymptomatic at the time of testing. Eastern Highlands province reported five new cases of which four are males and one is a female. Their ages range from 26 to 52 years. Two cases showed symptoms of COVID-19 whilst three were asymptomatic at the time of testing. Enga province reported five new cases of which three are males and two females. Their ages range from 36 to 57 years. Four cases showed symptoms of COVID-19 whilst one was asymptomatic at the time of testing. Two cases each were reported in Central and Hela whilst New Ireland province reported one. Of the total five cases reported in three different provinces, two are males and three females. Their ages range from 30 to 47 years. Two cases were showing symptoms of COVID-19 whilst three were asymptomatic at the time of testing. The country’s COVID-19 cases now stand at 7,406 with 67 known deaths. Twenty provinces including the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB) have reported cases, the distribution of which is as follows: · NCD - 3,059 (52 deaths); · Western Province - 1,962 (2 deaths); · West Sepik – 349 (3 deaths); · Morobe – 348 (3 deaths); · Eastern Highlands – 302; · East New Britain – 271; · West New Britain – 214 (2 deaths); · Western Highlands – 194 (2 deaths); · AROB – 105; · Central – 93; · New Ireland – 90 (1 death); · East Sepik – 72; · Madang – 71; · Southern Highlands – 66; · Simbu – 65; · Enga – 58 (1 death); · Jiwaka – 33 (1 death); · Hela – 25; · Gulf – 13; · Milne Bay – 13; and · Northern – 3. Globally, the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 has reached 130,422,190 including 662,690 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. The death toll is 2,842,135 of which 10,173 were reported in the last 24 hours. Police Commissioner and PNG COVID-19 National Pandemic Controller Mar David Manning said it was very important that the people embraced the COVID-19 health protocols or the “Niupela Pasin” to contain and stop the spread of the virus. “There is no cure for COVID-19. The only way now to stop yourself or your loved ones from getting COVID-19 is to wear face masks, regularly wash or sanitise your hands, maintain a physical distance of 1.5 meters and avoid crowds,” Mr. Manning said. Meanwhile, Mr. Manning said the National Control Centre (NCC) is aware that there is a huge interest from the public about the number of active COVID-19 cases and the number of people who had COVID-19 and recovered. He said active and recovered cases are not currently reported by the NCC because these data are not available at the national level. Each Provincial Health Authority (PHA) is responsible for monitoring and reporting data on cases identified in their respective province. “In order to determine if an individual diagnosed with COVID-19 is still considered an ‘active’ case or ‘recovered’, their clinical status and the time that has passed since they tested positive for COVID-19 needs to be monitored and reported to the NCC daily,” Mr. Manning said. The length of time a case is considered to be ‘active’ (that is, infectious and capable of transmitting the virus) and the length of time a case needs to be isolated, varies from person to person. Asymptomatic cases that never develop symptoms are considered active for ten days from the date their positive swabs were taken. Symptomatic cases are considered active for ten days after the date of onset of their symptoms, and they must be symptom free for at least three consecutive days prior to release from isolation. Mr. Manning said a recovered case is someone who has completed their isolation period and is deemed to have clinically recovered from COVID-19. A positive case does not need to be re-tested (using either RT-PCR or GeneXpert) after completing their isolation period. People may shed virus for over three months after acquiring COVID-19, but are no longer considered infectious after completing their isolation period, as explained. Thus, re-testing after the isolation period is not recommended. Mr. Manning further said that in order to track active and recovered cases in PNG it is necessary for each PHA to monitor all positive cases in their province for the periods of time mentioned above and regularly share the information about the clinical status of their isolated cases with the NCC. PNG COVID-19 National Pandemic ResponseJoint Agency Task ForceMedia StatementMonday 5th April 2021

Published on April 6, 2021

PM MARAPE: GOVERNMENT SET TO SIGN AGREEMENT WITH BARRICK TO REOPEN PORGERA GOLD MINE

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape, MP, announced today that the Government is poised to sign an agreement with Barrick Gold for reopening of the Porgera Gold Mine in Enga, 12 months after its closure last April over rejection of renewing the mining lease by the State. PM Marape, announcing the breakthrough in negotiations by the State and Barrick, said Papua New Guinea would receive a “far superior deal” than the 31 years from 1989 to 2021. “I’m announcing to our country that within the principles of my Government, which includes getting more from our natural resources, we are in a better position now to sign an agreement with Barrick for what will be a new Porgera,” he said. “I can assure our country that this is a far-superior and better deal, meaning our landowners and Enga Provincial Government will get more, and the balance of equity through Kumul Minerals will mean we hold majority in equity. “Other benefits includes securing an increased and upfront tax with no concession as is the case with other resource projects, an increase in royalties as well as a better handle on environment and resettlement issues at Porgera and a Barrick exit option. "Those are some core issues I was not going to compromise on and I am happy to announce that we are almost there.” PM Marape said State-owned Kumul Minerals Holdings, since being granted the Special Mining Lease (SML) over Porgera, could have started" but many court cases Barrick had filed caused delays to reopen Porgera, hence we entered into these negotiations". “We realised that these court cases could have dragged on for years, so we have reached out for a possible commercial negotiation with Barrick,” he said. “Today, as I speak, I am happy to announce to the country that Government has not compromised our core principles of ‘Take Back PNG’ resources. "Those principles were outlaid to Barrick as conditions to start commercial negotiations. " And to date, under Mr Mark Bristow of Barrick Gold, they viewed our nation’s principles with respect. “We are almost at the point of signing an agreement with Barrick. " If the last round of negotiation is good, then I intend to meet Enga Provincial Government and all SML and LMP plus impact area landowners at the earliest to discuss on the benefit sharing. “Let me assure my landowners:there is more for you. PM James Marape "Let me assure Enga: there is more for you. "Let me assure PNG: we are restarting Porgera to a better deal for all of us, with better project economics for the county. PM Marape thanked the Barrick team led by CEO Mark Bristow for understanding his desire to get back more for PNG. He also thanked Enga Governor Hon. Sir Peter Ipatas, Mining Minister Hon. Johnson Tuke, Minister for Kumul Minerals Hon Tomait Kapili and other ministers, plus all Government officials led by Treasury Secretary Dairi Vele for negotiations thus far. PM Marape said:"To those who questioned Government and Kumul Minerals Holdings on why this turn in Porgera, I inform all that we have every capacity to operate Porgera like we are doing in Ok Tedi right now. "But with Barrack’s court cases, we had to go down this path. " Barrick has agreed with us on an exit option in the new Porgera agreement 10 years from now."

Published on April 5, 2021