Vanuatu Witnesses Increase In COVID-19 Community Cases

The number of COVID-19 community active cases on Efate, part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu, has increased to 10 since last Saturday with seven cases recorded in the last 24 hours alone

SUVA, March 8 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Mar, 2022 ) :The number of COVID-19 community active cases on Efate, part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu, has increased to 10 since last Saturday with seven cases recorded in the last 24 hours alone.

According to Vanuatu's newspaper Daily Post Tuesday, Vanuatu's Minister of Health Bruno Leingkone said contact tracing has shown that the case came into contact with 120 people, of which 48 are already in quarantine since Monday.

He said the Ministry of Health (MOH) is still tracing and moving the other close contacts to quarantine.

"Vanuatu has recorded 58 cases of COVID-19 so far since the Alert Level 1 was announced. This includes both border and community cases," he said.

Alert Level for Efate and its offshore islands has been upgraded to 3, which means the risk is high.

Under this level, non-essential services and schools are still closed, all church gathering, social events and public gatherings are strongly prohibited.

All essential services that operate must enforce strict physical distancing of at least one meter and observe all COVID-19 protocols at all times.

There is a restriction on the movement of people into essential services venues. A maximum of five customers are allowed in an essential service facility at any given time.

A maximum of only five passengers, including children, are allowed in each public transport trip, with hand sanitizers and masks provided to customers.

People are advised to wear masks at all times when going out in public places in the island nation.

People are also advised to seek medical care immediately if they have symptoms and are at risk of severe disease or if they have danger signs of COVID-19, such as difficulty in breathing, loss of speech or mobility, ongoing chest pain and severe headache for a few days.

The Ministry of Health said it has ramped up all its efforts in the areas of surveillance and testing, contact tracing and quarantine, risk communication and community engagement, case management and isolation, and vaccination.