CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
REPUBLIC
OF NAURU
Government
Information Office
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
by
His
Excellency President Lionel Aingimea
Wednesday,
27 May 2020
President Lionel Aingimea confirms all
residents that were in quarantine accommodation at Menen Hotel and
Canstruct's Anibare Village have been tested for coronavirus with
negative results. They were all cleared early this week and allowed
to go home.
Samples were taken from each
individual on Sunday and Monday and results were available within
24 hours.
Two machines are now working
simultaneously to test samples on island which is a huge advantage
for Nauru as it reduces time spent in quarantine. The reduced time
in quarantine means the pressure on services such as security,
police, health and food provider Canstruct who has provided free
meals every day for every resident in quarantine, is
alleviated.
The President sincerely thanks
volunteers that have given time to assist while quarantine was
ongoing; in particular to Canstruct and IHMS. The President was
also heartened to know that families who visited those in
quarantine brought food for their family members as well as for
everyone else in quarantine.
Lab testing enables the early
detection of the virus if a person is infected; thus enables health
to move swiftly to keep the virus away from the
community.
The hospital has in stock 1000 test
kits with another 4000 due to arrive in Brisbane from suppliers
this week.
Shop shelves are filling up with the
arrival of the cargo ship as well as freighters this week. The two
freighter planes that have arrived so far are government
subsidised.
President Aingimea says the government
will try and maintain food pricing especially in the Nauruan stores
to enable affordability for the average Nauruan.
Meanwhile in other air travel news,
the Fiji government has announced it can no longer operate the
repatriation charter flight for Nauru due to the termination of 50
per cent - widely reported by Fiji media as 758 - of its airline
staff.
The President said the staff are
mainly Fiji nationals and it is sad because that is how the
economic impact is of this pandemic.
Given this reason, the President said
Nauru will once again pursue the request with Fiji to allow Nauru
Airlines into Fiji to operate the repatriation flight.
However, President Aingimea says what
is clear is that Fiji has allowed Solomon Airlines to land in Fiji
today but is unclear of the arrangements.
"It could be under the Melanesia
Spearhead Group (MSG)... I'm not sure."
The MSG is a different grouping to the
Pacific Islands Forum and therefore may have different
arrangements.
The government endeavours to pursue
all avenues to bring home Nauruans stranded in Fiji.
The President urges prayer and says
while Nauru has been blessed to be free of coronavirus, and so far
managed the shocks felt in the aviation industry; the economic
hardships will get tougher, as seen elsewhere and closer to home,
in Fiji where its national airline is now in strife.
ENDS///