A total of 396 new COVID-19 cases detected throughout the country have been sent overseas for further testing on Delta Variant. Deputy Controller Dr Daoni Esorom said these cases are inclusive of the previous 79 cases from Western province have all been isolated while they wait for the results that should be ready by today. Following the recent 30 Delta Variant cases, Dr Daoni believes there will be more Delta Variant cases from the 396 COVID-19 cases pending results. Meanwhile the National Control Center for COVID-19 is finalizing new Delta Variant Measures for all provinces given the presence of the virus already on PNG soil which may spread quickly depending on the movement of people. “The new measures are not only for Western Province and neighboring border provinces but the measures will also apply to other provinces that may have Delta Variant cases.” He said the National Control Center is working in partnership with Provincial Health Authorities to make sure the new measures are adhered to by the public. These new measures will be made known this week.

The “No Jab, No Job” move by the private sector has prompted the Ombudsman Commission to call on the private sector to act with caution when it comes to the constitutional rights of citizens regarding mandatory vaccination imposed by private sector. The Ombudsman Commission has noted with concern that more and more organisations, especially the private sector, have imposed No Jab, No Job policies in their workplaces which borders on the rights of citizens who have chosen not to be vaccinated. “Whilst the Commission is mindful of the private sector’s rights and obligation to protect their businesses,  we  urge  them  to  come  up  with  arrangements  that does not infringe on people’s right to choose. People must have a choice and that choice must not be taken away from them,” said the Chief Ombudsman Richard Pagen. The Commission is urging the private sector to explore all possible avenues to protect the rights of employees who choose not to take the vaccine. The Ombudsman Commission does not have jurisdiction over the private sector, but as a supervisor of public administration, it is committed to the protection of constitutional rights of the citizens of the Country. And even though it (the Ombudsman Commission) does not have a specific mandate on human rights enforcement, it however has the mandate to inquire into matters of discrimination pursuant to Section 21 S (b) and Section 219 (I) (c) of the Constitution. This anti-discrimination and equal opportunity jurisdiction is an added source of the mandate that gives the Ombudsman Commission the responsibility to supervise the enforcement of these constitutional rights which falls squarely within its general jurisdiction. Hence, the Ombudsman Commission maintains that it is important to prevent discrimination happening to the citizens of Papua New Guinea in relation to the COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The Commission is also calling on relevant government authorities dealing with private companies and entities to ensure that they are aware of their actions when it comes to people’s right and freedoms. “The Ombudsman Commission is fully aware that PNG is a signatory to several core Human Rights Treaties and that it’s National Constitution is very unique that it almost contains all the rights and freedoms enshrined in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. As a signatory to these UN Human Rights Treaties and Conventions, we as a Country have an obligation to assist our citizens to ensure that their rights and freedoms are not taken away and that their choices are respected," said the Chief Ombudsman. The Ombudsman Commission urges all who have been affected by the vaccines mandates or have been treated unfairly at work to lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman Commission.

Life after rugby can be challenging as players try to shift their focus to self-sustaining activities after sports. For those with no form of employment, they must have savings set aside to support themselves and their family financially once their rugby days are done. That is why Mantas Rugby 7’s team in Port Moresby, decided to better prepare their players by choosing to save with ncsl. Through senior player Constantine Bais, 12 players now have savings accounts which they can utilize to support them financially when they run into unplanned injury, need new sporting gears, or save for future needs. Mantas has produced some of the best players in the likes of Emil Latumahina, Debe Keith Tore, Shallendra Birney and Junias Sabatha who went on to represent the National rugby 7’s team, Pukpuks and also the Capital Rugby Union. Bais who mentors and teaches them the importance of setting aside savings, said most players are in their early 20’s which was a good time to start saving. He continues to actively encourage players to consider life after rugby and saving money now will ensure a better transition back into their society knowing they are able to support themselves.

Air Niugini would like to advise customers that due to the current outbreak of COVID-19 in New South Wales, Australia, the Australian Government has placed further restrictions on the number of passengers on board all aircraft arriving into Sydney. For the period 8th September to 30th October 2021, the number of passengers the airline is permitted to carry into Sydney has been cut by 40%. Consequently, we expect that some passengers already holding tickets on PX001 to Sydney over this two month period will not be able to travel, and will be contacted and assisted to re-book their flights for later dates. Air Niugini regrets the inconvenience caused, and appreciates our customers’ patience and understanding, while we manage our way through the latest restrictions imposed.

National Capital District Commission’s environment health officers press on cleansing public health hazards and environment pollutions in the city. Following complaints by residents over flowing of raw sewerage from manholes located around the old Civil Aviation compound at Konedobu, they closed parts of Desh Besh Supermarket at Konedobu on Friday. Team leader Abraham Keple said fast food bar and the bakery would be closed for an indefinite period until the shop owner complies with the recommendations of improvement made under the Public Health regulations. The indefinite closure notice was served on the supermarkets management last Friday. Mr Keple said based on a joint inspection by NCDC and Water PNG officers, the supermarket had been in operation while breaching the public health regulations. “There have been blockages on the sewer lines, continuous over flow of raw sewerage at the nearby manhole, direct discharge of raw sewerage into the storm water drainage and other building and structural issues. “The supermarket will now have to demolish their staff sanitary facilities together with the other illegal structures that are currently in encroachment to the drainage reserves,” he said. He instructed them to comply with the recommendations to ensure their business resumes normal operation without delay. “Failure to comply will render tougher legal action against the operation of their business at Konedobu,” he said. He warns that further random checks will continue with other business premises throughout the city to ensure they are complying with public health and sanitation regulations.

Access to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities (WaSH) in Western Province’s South Fly District continues to be strengthened under the South Fly Resilience Plan (SFRP). The SFRP, supported by the Australian Government through the Papua New Guinea-Australia Partnership, aims to strengthen government and community mechanisms to improve WaSH standards and food security in the South Fly region. Australia is also building upon its existing investments supporting improvements to health and infrastructure needs in South Fly and working to address the harsh impacts of climate change, long dry seasons and flooding, which results in contaminated water, unreliable cropping systems and infectious disease outbreaks. Under the SFRP – refurbishment works have started on community health centres, water tanks have been provided to communities, regular COVID-19 awareness have been conducted, vaccinations have been rolled out and WaSH surveys have been done across South Fly. The South Fly Resilience Plan involves collaboration from World Vision, Community Ranger Program and the South Fly District Administration. On a recent visit to South Fly, Australian High Commission representative Paul Lehmann spent time in communities with the World Vision survey teams and Community Rangers. Mr Lehmann commended the World Vision and Ranger teams for the long days and distances travelled throughout South Fly, the effective engagement with community and local-government, and their commitment to improving living standards in communities.

Gulf Governor Chris Haiveta and his Provincial Executive Council (PEC) has welcomed PNG Football Association president John Kapi Natto and his Member Association Manager Stanley Khanna to its provincial capital to find ways to re-admit Kerema Soccer Association back into the football family. Mr Kapi Natto was on a familiarization visit last Thursday to support Mr Khanna to ensure Kerema Soccer Association returns to the fold as an affiliate member before he steps out of football. The trip to Kerema township was to ensure KSA meet all the guidelines and requirement to elect new office bearers to work together to get KSA back as an affiliate to PNG Football Association. Governor Haiveta had to suspend his PEC meeting to host Mr Kapi Natto and his team stating that as a passionate sport lover, he wanted to see football also find its feet in Kerema Town and also in Gulf province as a whole. “I have known Mr Kapi Natto for a long time on a business front as board member of Petroleum Resources Kutubu (PRK) and have been following him to get once fragmented football body back to one united football family,” Mr Haiveta said Gulf people are renowned for rugby league but they are also good in other sports such as basketball, volleyball and soccer too. “Late Joe Turia and his brother, Toru were products of Kerema Soccer Association through their adopted family, the former Gulf District Administrator Late Don Sigamata. “He comes here at the only Kerema Main Oval early in the morning and return home in the dark. On Sunday, everyone in Kerema Town goes to church, Late Don Sigamata goes to soccer field trying to convert church goers to follow football,” he said. Gulf Governor said people around Kerema Bay are good in soccer including from the highlands of the province, the people of Kaintiba who were converted into football by Lutheran Missionaries coming from Morobe province. “In fact, Kaintiba has a soccer field with rocks in the middle of the field but players negotiated their way around the rocks to play their favourite game and this is true passion of sport of football,” he said. Mr Kapi Natto thanked Mr Haiveta and his PEC to suspend their PEC meeting to chat with him and his team. “I am very privilege to set foot in Kerema Township. I have been flying in-and-out of Kerema Airport but never had a chance to visit the small colonial township which administer Western and Southern Highlands during colonial era, and now I am glad to visit the township as football administrator,” he said. Mr Kapi Natto said his visit is to familiarize and set up network with Gulf Provincial Government through its Sports Office and the football fraternity in Gulf province to get Kerema Soccer Association back into PNG football family.

The JPG Waghi Tumbe rugby league team from Jiwaka Province have created history by winning the preliminary finals with a 31-16 win over a seasoned PRK Mendi Muruks side thus booking the last spot and their first ever Digicel Cup Grand Final with a thrilling performance at the Oil Search National Football Stadium in Port Moresby. The boys from Jiwaka took to the field with a hunger and determination for a Grand Final spot and their efforts have proved that they are Grand Final ready come next weekend. In a display of tremendous footy from the Joe Frank led side, the Waghi Tumbe came on top with an 18 points lead to Muruks 10 points at half time. In the second half, the boys from Mendi put up a fight with Leon Undupia leading his boys from the left wing however could not withstand a determined Tumbe side who raked in two more tries and a field goal to push the lead further to 31 points over Muruks 16 points on the 78th minute. First time coach Mr Baundo Abba who was overjoyed at the win said that he is proud of his boys for delivering such a strong performance and securing their first ever grand final appearance in the Digicel Cup since the club re-entered the semi-professional rugby league competition in 2014. “As a young and inexperienced coach, it’s a history for me and also for Jiwaka Waghi Tumbe for us to make it into the grand finals and so I’m very happy and pleased with my boys.” “I am also very happy with Joe Frank for not letting us down and leading the boys well into the grand finals.” “As a captain, he did not let us down and as a leader he had to fight hard and now we’ve won this game and so I am very happy with his performance today,” Abba said. The former Waghi Tumber player who has debuted this year as a coach for his team said that there are however a lot of areas that they need to improve on before taking on the Lae Snax Tigers in the Grand Final Match this weekend. Man of the Match and Captain of the JPG Waghi Tumbe Joe Frank also nicknamed the Six Cylinder by fans said that they will go back to Jiwaka and continue to work hard before they can face the Tigers. The captain also expressed his thanks and gratitude to coach Baundo for his efforts in getting the boys game ready for this season of Digicel Cup and also the Jiwaka Provincial Government for continuing to support them all throughout the season. “I take this time to thank our coach Baundo Abba, although inexperienced, he has led us well with the support of Kupun Wisil right behind him.” “I also want to thank the Jiwaka Provincial Government as well as the few business houses in Jiwaka for their support throughout this season,” Frank said. The JPG Waghi Tumbes will now take on competition leaders the Lae Snax Tigers in the Digicel Cup Grand Final on Sunday 12th September 2021.

Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (Kumul Petroleum) welcomes the government’s decision to award a fourth Petroleum Retention License (PRL) to the national oil and gas company (NOC). This decision comes less than five months after the awarding of three licences. The Minister for Petroleum, Hon. Kerenga Kua, in officially announcing the award, described the occasion as momentous for Kumul Petroleum as Papua New Guinea’s NOC. “In April of this year, I announced the Marape-Basil Government’s support of the decision of the Petroleum Advisory Board (PAB) to grant PRL 48, PRL 49 and PRL 50 covering the Kimu, Barikewa and Uramu gas fields to Kumul Petroleum. Today’s announcement brings the total amount of PRLs awarded to Kumul Petroleum to four”. Minister Kua said the award empowers Papua New Guinea’s own NOC to take a “significant step forward in its mandate” and thereby also fulfils the Marape-Basil Government’s greater vision of ‘Take Back PNG’. He said he as Minister for Petroleum is pleased that our own NOC has technically and financially prepared itself to take on some of the licenses as their terms expire, and also be able to support the Papua LNG, Pasca and other developments like P'nyang when they happen. He expressed confidence in the technical capabilities of the nationals employed by KPHL and urged the NOC to swiftly progress development plans to commercialise these fields and proceed to developing them as soon as possible”. Upon receiving the award of the Pandora License, the Managing Director of Kumul Petroleum, Mr Wapu Sonk thanked the PAB and the Minister for Petroleum for having confidence in the NOC’s capabilities and for recognising the NOC as an important partner in the Government’s ‘Take Back PNG’ vision. The Pandora license is the fourth PRL that Kumul Petroleum has secured this year, and presents for the NOC the opportunity to put to test aggregation and development concepts which the company has been developing. He said Kumul Petroleum will now be able consolidate these asset and move toward commercialising fields which were previously held by different owners and were otherwise considered stranded, isolated and economically challenging. Kumul Petroleum’s commercialisation plans will include further to drilling of delineation and development wells and project capital investments. Hence to mitigate Kumul Petroleum’s associated risk exposures, the company will look to invite joint venture partners and technical service providers with the requisite technical and financial capabilities who will assume critical roles in the development of these gas fields. Mr Sonk stated that “Kumul Petroleum will commit itself to work with the Department of Petroleum in carrying out the licence conditions. We will also look at the best way possible to commercialise this licence so that it benefits our people who have entrusted us to hold this licence”.

HEALTH authorities in West Sepik are seeking help to manage the COVID-19 pandemic as the number of cases rise. They are also advocating for provincial lock-down or a partial lockdown to prevent a possible second surge of COVID-19 cases. It had a lock-down early this year when it had its first surge. Director for WSP Public Health and Incident Manager Dr Trevor Kelebi said in a situation report submitted to the National Coordination Centre that the six-bed isolation ward at the Sandaun Provincial Hospital was full throughout the month of August and is managed by one health extension officer and junior nursing staff and need added clinical manpower support. “We are advocating for a provincial lock-down during Provincial Control Centre (PCC) or a partial lockdown with strict compliance to Niupela Pasin, vaccination and mandatory swabbing,’’ said Dr Kelebi. He said West Sepik has so far confirmed a total of 594 positive cases of which seven died, including two in the month of August, and they are expecting a surge in the coming weeks. It is also difficult to know the real situation in the province now due to low testing, especially with swabbing hesitancy which poses a challenge to effective contact tracing. The other big challenges facing West Sepik’s response to COVID-19 lies in high hesitancy towards vaccination and lack of adherence to Niupela Pasin. “A total of 490 vials (10 doses per vial) of AstraZeneca vaccines were received on 22 April 2021 which expired on the 29th of July, 2021 and additional 200 were received in early August which will expire on 30 September, 2021,’’ he said. Furthermore, he said all health facilities and business houses’ attempts to strengthen the ‘no mask, no entry’ policy at all entry points remains a challenge due to so many social media critics having a big influence on the public. Together with the Sandaun Provincial Inter-Agencies, the Provincial Health Authority has submitted the West Sepik Surge Plan on August 4, 2021 to NCC and relevant government agencies. With its close proximity to the border with Indonesia and the threat of current or future outbreaks of epidemics or pandemics, the WS PHA is also seeking a new isolation and quarantine site to be constructed on state land. Currently, they are renting a private property for quarantine and isolation for COVID-19 asymptomatic or mild cases with their contacts which the WSPHA says is not sustainable. In response to the WS PHA request, the Deputy Controller for the National Pandemic Response, Dr Daoni Esorom, has confirmed receiving the WS PHA report at the National Coordination Centre and will be providing support to the PHA. Dr Daoni confirmed that an Emergency Medical Team is now being put together with the clinical management and the Emergency Medical Team clusters at the NCC that will consist of an emergency specialist doctor, four clinical nurses and an Infection Prevention Control (IPC) nurse to support the PHA team respond to the surge. He also confirmed that WHO has three staff already on the ground in Vanimo to support the PHA. “We will support the WS PHA team to respond to the current surge. Some of the positive samples have been sent to Melbourne for genome sequencing which will confirm whether they are delta variant cases. “I strongly urge all the PHAs to be prepared for any surges in the delta cases. This is the time that all PHAs must be preparing themselves for surges in the delta variant cases. I urge all the PHAs to increase the surveillance, testing, IPC and to have in place enough ICU beds to respond to any delta variant cases. All hospitals must have enough oxygen in the ICU and hospitals to respond to any increase in the number of cases,’’ Dr Daoni said.

SP PNG Hunters proved the lessons learned in their challenging Intrust Super Cup season as they held off a Central Queensland Capras fightback for a treasured 22-20 win in Rockhampton tonight. The Capras scored twice in the final minutes, including from a crossfield kick after the siren that bounced and fell for a try for the home team. That left them with a conversion from about 10 metres in from the sideline which swerved to the left, delivering a deserved victory to the Hunters. The visitors made it difficult for themselves at times with intercept passes, three sin-bins and dropped balls over the tryline but they scrambled all night, none more important than the bone-rattling tackle by Benji Kot as the Capras threatened to score close to the posts in the final minute. It was a dramatic end to a match that the Hunters controlled early when they jumped out with three tries in the opening 14 minutes before the Capras began a fightback that threatened to derail the game for the visitors. The Hunters have conceded handy leads previously this season to the likes of the Sunshine Coast Falcons and Mackay Cutters but tonight they showed the benefits of those experiences to win the match. “That was a pleasing result because we are showing the benefits of this season together,” Hunters coach Matt Church said. “We stuck together when the Capras kept coming at us but we knew that they weren’t going to go away easily tonight. “I was proud of the way that the players’ hard work paid off tonight. They have been working towards a win like this and, while we did make it tough at times, we were good enough to scramble when it mattered. “We’ve got plenty of young players in our squad and a win like that is a very good experience for them.” One of the decisive moments in the match came before halftime when the Hunters followed two successive Capras’ tries with a stirring movement that went the length of the field for a memorable try. Emmanuel Waine’s storming run ended with an offload to Judah Rimbu, whose pass sparked a slick backline movement that ended with Solo Wane’s second try. It was tough to pick the best of Wane’s tries. He finished off a superb moment in the 14th minute when milestone man Ase Boas placed a clearing kick that was set to roll over the sideline for a 40-20 ruling. Capras’ fullback Cooper Marshall desperately batted the ball back into the field of play only to find Wane, who toed ahead and regathered in the in-goal area for a classic Hunters try that sparked plenty of noise from the PNG fans at Browne Park. The Hunters led 18-12 at halftime, converting only one of their four tries to enable the Capras to remain closer than the momentum of the game suggested. The Hunters threatened to break the game open early in the second half with Waine proving extremely difficult for the Capras to handle. He made another barrelling run down the field which almost led to a try, only for his pass to find the Capras’ hands and end with a penalty. That led the Capras on a movement downfield which led to minutes of sustained assaults on the Hunters’ line. But the vistors’ defence was up to the task, overcoming some late sixagain calls that favoured the Capras to prevent any points. Their reward came in the 64th minute when Charlie Simon’s show-and-go found a short ball for Judah Rimbu to dive over for a deserved try. The Capras kept coming at the Hunters throughout the match, bubbling along with PNG players Nixon Putt, McKenzie Yei and Jedidiah Simbiken aiming up against their countrymen. Simbiken scored in the 19th and 32nd minutes as the Capras overcame the Hunters’ early dominance to bring the margin back to two points. SP PNG HUNTERS 22 (Solo Wane 2, Junior Rau, Edwin Ipape, Judah Rimbu tries, Charlie Simon goal) bt CENTRAL QUEENSLAND CAPRAS 20 (Jedidiah Simbiken 2 tries, Lachlan Hubner, Caleb Tull tries, Trey Browne, Tull goals) at Browne Park.

As part of their efforts to kick start their Community Service program, the boys from the Stagajah Band took the initiative to donate 3 acoustic guitars and K500 cash from the proceeds of their recent concert to the Cheshire Disability Services PNG in Port Moresby on Wednesday this week. Stagajah Band Songwriter and Rapper Gaiix said this initiative came about when the group decided to come together to give back to the community. He said the group has been in the music industry for over seven years now and it was only fitting that they did some donations for a worthy cause. “Our donations will not necessarily be cash but we will also be donating food, basic goods and instruments like guitars,” Gaiix said. Gaiix added on that their recent donation to Cheshire Disability Services PNG is the start to many more donations to come from the band and they are hoping for the next donations to be bigger and better. “We would like to thank our major sponsor Dataco and our loyal and faithful fans who bought tickets to our recent concert show which made this donation possible,” said Gaiix. “We are looking at the Children’s Ward, the Orphanage Centers and probably Churches to target for our next donations,” Gaiix added. The Stagajah Band is looking at doing more donations in future and will have to confirm their shows before they carry on in the community service program as it will also help them to decide on which charity organization they will be donating to next.