21 January 2022
During his national address yesterday, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said 48 positive locally transmitted cases had been recorded by the Ministry of Health.
23 cases were from the crew of the vessel MV Akwa that was exposed to a passenger that tested positive 9 days after arrival on the 10th of January 2022.
9 cases are family members of a person that was also on board MV Akwa and became infected.
4 staff from the maritime authority, and the Solomon Islands enterprise, which were exposed when the boat berthed at point cruz.
9 are from the NRH hospital – 3 staff members and 6 patients at the hospital.
2 from the Lord Howe settlement, and
1 from police headquarters
Prime Minister Sogavare says it was very likely the numbers will continue to increase as more tests are being conducted.
The Prime Minister again stressed the only way to fight Covid virus now is in our community to get vaccinated. He says while there are many lessons that can be learned from, one important lesson is that those countries that were successful in containing Covid and combatting it had high vaccination rates.
Source – Solomon Times Online.
Comment.
The SI has a low vaccination rate of about 17 percent compared to its neighbours like Fiji and Tonga and despite constant MHMS and government advice about the absolute necessity of getting vaccinated fully with the WHO approved vaccinations the SI government has been rolling out throughout the provinces over several past months.
Again, as I have often raised in my letters to the media, please all those remaining unvaccinated in the SI, do get vaccinated as soon as possible.
I feel sure many thought the Covid virus was nothing much to worry about as it was occurring outside the country but now the reality is it has reached into the local community and put citizens are risk from catching a virus that could have fatal consequences if one is not fully vaccinated and protected.
Please heed the MHMS and the government’s sound advice on the necessity of vaccinations.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
