PNG Releases New Measures and Restrictions on COVID

Photo credit: Lowy Institute - PNG Police Commissioner David Manning with Prime Minister James Marape

David Manning, the Police Commissioner and Controller of PNG's National Pandemic Response, has approved the release of new measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

These new measures, which took effect on September 15, 2021, were developed in response to the ongoing threat of COVID-19 while also ensuring continuity and normalcy in all aspects, according to Manning.

The national prohibition on the selling of alcoholic beverages on weekends is still in effect.

International and local travel, as well as social and commercial interactions, are all undergoing significant changes.

The new measures for overseas travel are as follows:

1. New Quarantine Periods - Those who are completely vaccinated must be quarantined for seven days, while those who are just partially vaccinated must be quarantined for fourteen days. Unvaccinated PNG nationals and permanent residents would be quarantined for 21 days. Unvaccinated foreign nationals will not be allowed entrance into PNG. Children under the age of 18 who travel with a parent or guardian will be confined for the same amount of time. Unaccompanied children under the age of 18 will be evaluated and quarantined on a case-by-case basis. Children under the age of five are exempt;
2. Unless an exemption is granted, these additional quarantine durations do not apply to all those who are presently in quarantine.
3. Approvals to enter PNG now have a 60-day validity period rather than the prior 90-day period.
4. Persons travelling to PNG only for the purpose of holidaying, vacationing, or other similar activities will not be granted entry permission.
5. All visitors to Papua New Guinea must obtain a valid COVID-19 test 72 hours before leaving their original port of departure, rather than seven days before arriving in Port Moresby. To be clear, if a person began their journey in the United States of America and flew to Port Moresby through Singapore, they would need to be tested 72 hours before to their aircraft from the United States of America, not the flight departing from Singapore. Children under the age of five are excluded from being tested;
6. All visitors to Papua New Guinea must be tested upon arrival and while in quarantine. This is the duty of the confined person's host facility. The expense may be passed on to the person, but it is the quarantine facility's obligation to organize the tests and report the results to the NCC.
7. If a person refuses to get tested, they will be placed on a 14-day quarantine.
8. There are no restrictions on which medical practitioners are allowed to perform these tests, save that they and their personnel must be legally licensed. All medical testing providers' results will be accepted by the NCC.
9. Individual tracking for quarantine reasons is now limited to house quarantine exclusively. Quarantines in regularly scheduled facilities are not needed to be tracked; and
10. All Charter Flights require the Controller's written permission in addition to the usual approvals. This authority is not delegated. Measure No. 3 "Domestic Metrics" combines domestic travel and social measures.

Other domestic restrictions continue to apply, including;

1. If a person has COVID-19 symptoms, they are not allowed to travel, and
2. All passengers must have their temperature checked by airline personnel, and no one may travel if their temperature is 37.5 degrees Celsius or above (except for medivac and emergency flights).

Reference: Salmang, Grace Auka. Post-Courer (15 September 2021). “Conttoller Issues New Measures as COVID-19 Remains A Threat.”