COVID-19 surge in Papua New Guinea pushes health system to the brink

The health system in Papua New Guinea is on the brink of collapse due to the COVID-19 surge, leaving patients dying in car parks.

A coronavirus surge in Papua New Guinea is pushing the nation’s health system to the brink. Picture: Supplied

A coronavirus surge that has seen the number of cases triple over the last month in Papua New Guinea has left patients to die in car parks as the nation’s health system verges on collapse.

In the last 24 hours, the country of 8.7 million people reported a record number of daily COVID-19 infections at 295, while the country’s major hospital has reported seven out of every 10 symptomatic patients are testing positive to the virus.

Putting pressure on the nation’s already vulnerable health system, the spike in cases will lead to increases in unexpected deaths, the Port Moresby General Hospital have warned.

After a photograph went viral of a woman who died outside the hospital – where 90 per cent of beds in the intensive care unit are now full – Port Moresby General Hospital CEO Dr Paki Molumi wrote that they expect “more of these incidents of unexpected deaths inside and outside of the emergency department and the hospital car parks”.

“As the number of COVID cases increase in the coming weeks, the limited staff at PMGH will not be able to take care of everyone,” Dr Molumi wrote.

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A coronavirus surge in Papua New Guinea is pushing the nation’s health system to the brink. Picture: Supplied

At least 120 members at the hospital, many who work in the emergency department, have now tested positive to coronavirus and are in isolation.

“I urge the public to see this post on [Facebook] of the true situation at PMGH where you expect too much by an overstressed and limited health workforce. Help us to help you so we avoid more incidents like this,” Dr Molumi said.

Investigations are currently under way into the woman’s death.

National Pandemic Controller David Manning warned the nation would be “facing challenging times” ahead.

“We came through the first wave of the virus spread better than many other countries because Papua New Guineans are a caring people, and because we want to keep our communities safe,” he said.

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National Pandemic Controller David Manning warned PNG is ‘facing challenging times’ ahead. Picture: Supplied

COVID-19 testing at a swabbing facility in PNG. Picture: Supplied

“But this second wave of infections is much worse than the first and we must not let our guard down. The number of detected COVID-19 infections today has reached 3359, which is triple the positive cases one month ago, and we must prepare for this number to continue rising.

“Now is the time for all of our people to be reminded how serious this threat is to us and continue to take precautions to stop the spread. We must wear face masks, we must wash our hands constantly and we must maintain social distancing everywhere possible.”

Chief emergency physician Dr Sam Yockopua said PNG’s fragile health system is already feeling the stress of the recent surge.

“We may very soon collapse if we are not careful. People, the public, need to take heed to comply with simple orders to avoid being unnecessarily sick to add to the stress,” he said.

“It is a ticking time bomb … The real danger days are fast arriving. When we get exhausted, we will all take our mass break and you will be on your own … It will soon happen if you do not comply with the measures being put in place to protect you.”

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Australia will deliver vital COVID-19 equipment to PNG. Picture: ADF

New measures – including closing provincial borders and making masks mandatory – are now enforced across the country, with a team of Australian medical workers expected to land in PNG tomorrow to provide assistance and assess the need for further deployments.

Last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison also announced Australia would give PNG 8000 doses of its AstraZeneca vaccine, committing to providing another one million doses if shipments from Europe were released by authorities.

In order to reduce the risk to Australia, the Government will review the adequacy of pre-departure COVID testing and on-arrival quarantine arrangements from PNG. It will investigate options for pre-departure testing within 24 hours of departure.

Flights between Port Moresby and Cairns will also be suspended, while passenger capacity on flights between Port Moresby and Brisbane will be reduced by 25 per cent.