The threat of Covid-19 poses a threat that nobody can ignore and getting vaccinated the only option to be safe from the deadly virus
This morning I kept my appointment at a Bangkok hospital and took a taxi through the city’s main roads practically devoid of traffic and streets without pedestrians or shoppers. It was a surreal experience being the capital city of some 66 million living in Thailand.
Covid-19 has had a major impact on the nation and today some 14,200 fresh Covid -19 infections were recorded country wide.
Covid-19 remains a major health threat to millions throughout the globe and the only means of combatting the deadly virus is to be vaccinated. In Britain where some 80 percent of the population have been said to have received two Covid-19 vaccinations following a massive vaccination progamme hospital admission have fallen sharply and deaths due to Covid-19 substantially decreased.
Covid-19 remains prevalent in countries bordering the Solomon Islands, and I will quote some news reports to substantiate my comments.
Quoted are the latest news items.
NSW Covid-19 update: 145 new cases, 51 infectious in community
26 July 2021
New South Wales has 145 new cases of Covid-19, with 51 infectious while in the community, Premier Gladys Berejiklian told a media briefing in Sydney today.
Ms.Berejiklian has once again stressed that people should not leave home and mingle with other households. This remains a challenging aspect of the latest outbreak that has prompted a month-long lockdown, she said.
Yesterday NSW announced that there were 141 new cases and another two people had died.
One of the two people whose deaths were announced yesterday has been named as accounting student
She is one of eight people who have died in New South Wales' latest outbreak.
Queensland's only new case had been in quarantine
Queensland has recorded one new community case of Covid-19 overnight - a man who tested positive to the virus after undergoing 14 days of quarantine.
The man in his 40s had returned from China and was fully vaccinated.
Health Minster Yvette D'Ath said the man tested negative on his exit test from hotel quarantine.
"His immediate household members are now in quarantine and have also been tested and I'm pleased to say so far tested negative," she said.
There are currently 26 active cases in the state.
People in the state's south-east have been asked to keep checking for new exposure sites after a man carrying the Delta variant allegedly fled the Sydney lockdown and headed north.
11 new cases in Victoria
Victoria has recorded 11 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases, all of which were quarantined throughout their infectious period.
The new cases were detected from among 25,404 test results processed on Sunday.
Yesterday, Premier Daniel Andrews said the state was "well placed" to see its fifth lockdown ease early this week.
He described Sunday's figures, where all new cases had been quarantined for their entire infectious period, as "essentially a zero day".
"It is my hope that we can, well ahead of Tuesday hopefully, make announcements for the whole state and have settings that apply to the whole state," Andrews said.
The premier said masks were likely to remain in use until the "maximum number" of people were vaccinated.
South Australia expects to lift lockdown
While South Australia looks to be on track to end its lockdown this week, authorities must keep some restrictions in place to prevent a NSW-like crisis in the state, the Australian Medical Association has said.
On Sunday, SA Premier Steven Marshall said today would be "D-Day" as leaders decided whether the state was in a position to safely come out of its seven-day lockdown on Tuesday night.
Three Covid-19 cases were announced in SA on Sunday, but all were in quarantine.
Copyright @ 2021, Radio New Zealand.
Fiji has reported 684 new cases of Covid-19 for the last 24 hours to 8am on Saturday.
LATEST NEWS FROM FIJI – MIDDAY, SUNDAY, 25 July 2021
The government also confirmed five more deaths from 19-23 July.
That compares to 468 cases and 11 deaths in the previous 24-hour period.
Health Secretary Dr James Fong said 12 other covid-positive people had died however, he said their deaths were not caused by the virus but due to serious pre-existing medical conditions.
As of 23 July, 438,535 adults in Fiji have received their first dose of the vaccine and 95,173 have received their second doses, Dr Fong said.
He said this means that 74.8 percent of the target population have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 16.2 percent are now fully vaccinated nation-wide.
Dr Fong said the seven-day average of new cases per day is 863 cases per day or 975 cases per million population per day.
Copyright @ 2021, Radio New Zealand.
Covid-19 in Fiji: Pregnant health worker among nine dead
26 July 2021
A pregnant health worker is among nine people who died from Covid-19 in Fiji.
The government also confirmed 626 new cases of Covid-19 for the last 24 hours to 8am yesterday.
That compares to 684 infections and five deaths in the previous 24-hour period.
Health Secretary Doctor James Fong said the 44-year-old pregnant woman from Suva presented to a medical facility on July 16 with shortness of breath and chest pain.
She was taken by a medical team to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital and was assessed by specialists, he s"Her baby was safely delivered by emergency caesarean section two days later. Sadly, her condition worsened and she died five days after admission on 21 July," Dr Fong said.
Copyright @ 2021, Radio New Zealand.
The National Control Centre set up to oversee Papua New Guinea's pandemic response is to be disbanded by year's end.
26 July 2021
Prime Minister James Marape says his government is working towards entrenching the pandemic response and recovery into the country's health care system.
He says this can help the Health Department respond better to future pandemic and endemic crises.
Mr. Marape says the Control Centre, which has been led by police commissioner David Manning, must acquit for all the money spent on operations this year.
The Centre was given the directive to scale down operations progressively.
Health authorities recently also began scaling down testing for Covid-19, of which 17,637 cases and almost 200 deaths have been confirmed in the country.
Instead the focus of the pandemic response has shifted to vaccination, although the rollout has struggled with vaccine hesitancy among the public.
PM's blunt vaccination message
The Prime Minister said vaccination will remain voluntary, but that "Papua New Guineans must start seriously understanding that they will die faster if they do not get vaccinated".
"You cannot force people to get vaccinated. They choose not to be vaccinated, they face the consequences.
"Let's build more bed spaces, let's build more morgue spaces. Two things," Marape said in a statement.
"You do not want to be vaccinated, you run the risk of dying."
To date, 74,771 people in PNG have had at least a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. That is less than one percent of the population
Copyright @ 2021, Radio New Zealand.
DON’T WAIT, DO IT NOW!
SI will record more deaths if there is community transmission
SOLOMON Islands will record more deaths compared to Fiji if there is Covid-19 community transmission in the country.
Secretary to the Prime Minister (SPM) Jimmy Rodgers echoed this warning during a radio talk-back show yesterday over the national broadcaster.
Dr Rodgers said the only way for the country to lessen its impacts in terms of death casualties, health and economic collapse is for everyone above the age 18 to get vaccinated.
Dr Rodgers has confirmed the country does not have the capacity to manage the Covid-19 Delta variant if it reaches the country.
He said Delta can still slip through our border despite all effective strategies.
“However, the only option for us is to get vaccinated.”
He said the vaccines the country is using are effective against the Delta Variant of COVID-19 that is driving the new surge of infections around the world.
“Non-vaccinated people have no protection at all. Therefore, in-order for us to protect our youths and children below 18 years of age, everyone above 18 years of age must be vaccinated.
“Do not wait until there is an outbreak. Do it now. Visit the vaccination centres right now or go to the vaccination centres when our vaccination teams come to your areas,” he said.
Currently the rollout of AstraZeneca and Sinopharma vaccinations is underway in the country.
Copyright @ 2021, Solomon Star News
Comments.
The Solomon Islands is free of Covid-19 but to be sure it remains so, it is considered vitally important that all should get vaccinated to protect themselves, their family, their loved ones, their community and the country.
Please do take the advice given by the MHMS and your leaders very seriously.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
