Health authorities expect a surge in Covid-19 cases in rural areas
The health authorities in Solomon Islands expect a surge in Covid-19 cases in rural areas where up to 80 percent of the population live.
The death toll remains at 83 and the total number of infections since the outbreak began last month is now 5,891 - of which more than 4,000 are in Honiara.
The Health Minister Culwick Togamana said Covid-19 case numbers are now dropping in the capital, Honiara.
"The virus in now transmitting to our rural areas where 70-80 percent of our population reside therefore we are exacting a surge in Covid-19 cases througout our provincial hospitals."
Togamana said the Ministry of Health this week will continue to deploy more oxygen supplies, PPE gear and medication to provincial hospitals, clinics, area health centres and nurse aid posts.
"People who test positive for Covid-19 should not wait for their symptoms to get worse before showing up to hospital," he said.
There were 78 new cases in the latest reporting period on Monday, though a number of provinces didn't get their figures through.
Dr.Togamana said people with Covid-19 like symptoms or test positive to Covid-19 should not wait till they are bed ridden.
"We are seeing late presentations among many of the severely sick persons at the National Referral Hospital including Covid-19 related deaths. Please do not wait for symptoms to worsen."
CBSI and TCSI Sign MoU
The Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI) and the Telecommunication Commission of Solomon Islands (TCSI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday 17th February, 2022.
The MoU establishes mutual commitment by both parties, thereby complimenting each other’s duties and functions by enhancing their role as the oversight and supervision agencies of Digital Financial Services Providers (DFSPs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) under the related statutory instruments that govern their work.
The undertaking of this partnership is to recognize the growing convergence of telecommunications and financial services which enable Digital Financial Services to proliferate with a greater potential to better serve the needs of our unbanked population.
This being the case, the regulators identify the need for regulatory interaction and collaboration purposely to ensure the integrity, security, stability and protection of service providers as well as consumers in relation to the provision of DFS & related services.
Furthermore, the MoU provides the opportunity for collaboration pertaining to the national SIM registry and e-KYC initiative that CBSI is currently undertaking to enhance verification of financial services users including other proposed DFS services such as e-commerce as proposed under the National Digital Economy Strategy that the government will develop.
Moreover, this collaboration will also complement the Solomon Islands National Financial Inclusion Strategy 3, 2021-2025 where DFS is seen as a key driver for achieving the financial inclusion goals of Solomon Islands.
During the signing ceremony, CBSI Governor Dr Luke Forau, commended both parties for this very significant milestone. He highlighted that the signing of the MoU marks an important milestone where regulators’ collaboration is crucial in this changing financial landscape.
Adding to the sentiments expressed by Dr. Forau, the TCSI Commissioner, Mr Calvin Ziru, on behalf of TCSI, also highlighted the importance of partnership to collaborate and support the DFSPs and MNOs participation, as the payment platform providers for innovative financial solutions in the market.
The MoU signifies the two regulators’ shared efforts for oversight and supervision which underscores their mutual commitment to provide an enabling environment for responsible DFS and related services that will serve the needs of Solomon Islanders to be rolled out in the market.
Oversight Committee to Issue Recommencement Guidelines for Churches
Churches in the Honiara Emergency Zone have been ordered to close their doors since community transmission started just over a month ago.
Source: crosswalk.com
The Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr. Jimmy Rogers said that it is wrong to compare the restriction on Church Services to Casinos.
He made the remark during a talkback show over the weekend, hosted by the national broadcaster, SIBC.
The government has been heavily criticized when it passed orders (Covid-19) (Honiara Emergency Zone Orders No. 2 of 2022) to close all churches within the Honiara Emergency Zone but exempted Casinos.
The most vocal critic of the order was the Leader of the official opposition and Member of Parliament for Aoke/Langa Langa, Honorable Mathew Wale.
Following the order, Mr. Wale expressed horror over the government’s decision, saying that while he is not encouraging churches to gather at this time, he is questioning the wisdom of casinos being permitted to open, who, in his view, pose the same level of risk.
In response to this concern, Mr. Rogers said the Oversight Committee is soon to issue national guidelines for the recommencement of church services.
“These guidelines will apply to all communities where there is community transmission of Covid-19.
“However, communities that are yet to register community transmission can continue with normal services,” Dr. Rogers said.
He further stressed that as a matter of fact, communities in Rennell/Bellona and Temotu Provinces can continue with normal church services because they are still free of Covid-19.
“For parts of Western Province that are yet to register Covid-19 cases they can continue with church services as usual. Basically the guidelines are meant for communities that have community transmission,” he said.
The SPM went on to say that Church Heads will be issued with the national guidelines in due course and it is anticipated that they pass them on to the smaller churches within their church groups.
Essentially the Oversight Committee will recommend as a rule that churches in community transmission areas open their doors only to those who are fully vaccinated.
“Secondly, the Committee recommends as a basic formula that the number of people to attend a church service is calculated at one person for four square meters,” the SPM stated.
He says that what this means in practice is that in churches with a holding capacity area of one hundred square meters, only twenty-five fully vaccinated people will be allowed in. He says churches must ensure that the congregation is seated two meters apart in all directions from each other.
However, a family that resides together under one roof can sit together in the church, still with two meters distance in all directions.
The Oversight Committee will also recommend that churches in Covid-19 affected areas place hand sanitizers at the entrances and exits for ease of use by members.
Dr. Rogers also stressed that a mask is mandatory in church and must be worn during the singing because the virus is likely to spread when the mouth is not covered.
He also went on to emphasize that Holy Communion must be received in separate glasses to avoid spreading the virus.
Solomon Airlines Clarifies Current Airfreight Arrangements to Provinces
Solomon Airlines wishes to clarify the current air freighting of Government and private cargo to the Solomon Islands Provinces under the arrangements supported by the Australian Government.
Solomon Airlines aircraft are providing limited, cargo-only domestic flights within the Solomon Islands, partially underwritten by the Australian Government, to support the distribution of essential Government medical equipment and supplies, including PPE, to the provinces.
The Solomon Islands Government through the COVID-19 Oversight Committee (OSC) determines every day which routes they require Solomon Airlines to fly.
“We understand that there has been some confusion among the public about opportunities to send personal cargo on these aircraft, and also about the underwriting of airfreight costs by the Australian Government,” said Solomon Airlines CEO, Brett Gebers.
“Solomon Airlines can only fly routes which have been approved by the OSC. The OSC looks at each application and prioritises the routes based on where medical supplies are required. The space left over after these essential medical supplies are transported is available for any other cargo shipped by our customers at our normal rates.
“Our normal cargo rates were set at a time when we were allowed to fly a mix of passengers and cargo in both directions. Because we are not allowed to fly passengers unless specifically approved by the OSC, we have empty sectors back to Honiara where we earn no revenue.
"Flying empty sectors with no income is a loss-making exercise. This is where the Australian Government is assisting Solomon Airlines. The Australian Government covers the costs that are not recovered from the normal sale of cargo.”
Australian High Commissioner Lachlan Strahan said, “The Australian Government is not covering the full cost of current domestic Solomon Airlines flights, but underwriting some costs to ensure the flights and Solar can keep operating. Australia is delighted to work in this partnership with Solomon Airlines and the Government of Solomon Islands to keep Solomon Airlines operating and delivering essential medical supplies, food and other goods to the provinces.”
“Our team are working every day to ensure that if there is sufficient room for private cargo, we carry it, or if there is sufficient demand to warrant a flight, we do our utmost to make that happen’, said Brett Gebers.
“Solomon Airlines will continue to work closely with the Solomon Islands Government and Australian Government to ensure that we swiftly distribute critical medical supplies to where they are needed. We thank the Australian Government for their support for our nation.
“Currently Solomon Airlines is transporting medical and PPE equipment only, and we are ready, and able to also transport food supplies, should that be required of us,” he added.
Local Educators take in Arts in Literacy Course
More than 50 people from 15 different countries attended the training course from Payap University in Thailand
During the recent Covid outbreak when so much was shut down, three educators attended an online course entitled, “Arts in Literacy and Education Material Development”.
The course was offered by Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In total, fifty people from fifteen countries around the world took the three-week course.
Margaret Saumore, a principal education officer for Multilingual Education at the Ministry of Education and Human Resources (MEHRD) was one of the local participants, along with Corina Leve, a lecturer in Early Childhood Education at Solomon Islands National University.
The local group was facilitated by Martha Matzke, a literacy and education specialist serving with Solomon Islands Translation Advisory Group (SITAG).
The purpose of the training was to train teachers in how to develop learning materials based on the local language and culture in which they work. Each participant made a ‘cultural calendar’ to show things like; the seasons, winds, agricultural and fishing activities, festivals and celebrations for their home culture. The teachers then used the calendar to plan weekly themes for each week of the school year.
The training was based on a model of ‘Discovery, Decide and Develop’. The idea was to discover and study local art forms in a culture including things like; crafts, music poetry, stories, agricultural traditions, etc.
The teacher then chooses one idea or theme to develop learning materials for the students, based on that idea. At the same time, teachers are encouraged to think about the students and develop materials that are appropriate for their level of learning.
During the workshop, each person created materials based on one theme. When Margaret Saumore was asked how the course helped her, she said, “The training helped me to understand how to better develop culturally appropriate materials using the existing local art forms.” said Margaret Saumore.
Margaret Saumore chose ‘Ogu’ (the Arosi word for seaworm) for her theme. She created a big book, small reading book, ‘busy picture’, listening story, sequence pictures, song and poem, in Arosi. These materials were created for grade 3 students to help them learn more about seaworms and the place they play in the Arosi culture.
“The training helped me to understand how to better develop culturally appropriate materials using the existing local art forms as well as developing new ones.” said Margaret Saumore.
Corina Leve chose ‘ruku’ (rain, in Roviana) as her theme. She looked carefully at a traditional Roviana song to discover the patterns and style of the song. Then she wrote a new song about ‘ruku’, following the same pattern. The result is a lovely new song to teach Roviana children about the sounds and feeling of rain in their own language.
Sources – Solomon Times Online, Solomon Star NEWS and Radio New Zealand.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
