Three PNG Air passengers tested positive, health authority confirms

THREE PNG Air passengers were tested positive for the Covid-19 by the Western Highlands Health Authority last weekend.
They were among 13 passengers who flew into Kagamuga from Western’s Kiunga on Feb 20.
According to the authority, the 13 passengers were heading for Piambil’s Kombra village in Southern’s Imbonggu for a funeral.
The authority said 26 passengers were on the flight with the 13.
The other 13 passengers continued their journey to Port Moresby.
The airline has been advised to do a thorough clean-up of the aircraft and provide passenger details for immediate contact tracing.

“The authority’s Covid-19 surveillance team in Kagamuga screened the 13 passengers and one of the 10 who was heading for the funeral was tested positive and warded in Mt Hagen Hospital’s isolation unit for treatment and observation.
“The surveillance team followed the rest of the people to Kombra village the next day (Sunday), conducted further testing and found another two positive cases,” the authority said. All three have been admitted to the Mt Hagen hospital.”
The authority fears that the virus may spread from within this cluster and has sent a team to Kombra village to pick up the remaining seven passengers to be placed on quarantine at the Mt Hagen Hospital.
The authority feared that the passengers could have spread the virus to other mourners and advised all to go for Covid-19 tests at the nearest facility.
The authority urged Kombra people to go for tests should they come down with cough, headache, fever, running nose, aches and pains, sore throat, loss of sense of smell or shortness of breath.

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