| COVID-19 pandemic in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville | |
|---|---|
.svg) Location of theAutonomous Region of Bougainville withinPapua New Guinea | |
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | Autonomous Region of Bougainville |
| Arrival date | August 7, 2020 (5 years, 3 months, 1 week and 1 day) |
| Confirmed cases | 1,202[1] |
| Recovered | 1,186 |
Deaths | 19 |
| Government website | |
| Autonomous Region of Bougainville State of Emergency (SOE) COVID-19 | |
TheCOVID-19 pandemic in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville is part of the ongoingworldwide pandemic ofcoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused bysevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). TheAutonomous Region of Bougainville's confirmed its first case of theCOVID-19 pandemic on Friday, August 7, 2020, inArawa, Bougainville.[2] The first documented arrival of COVID-19 in Bougainville occurred just before the start of theBougainvillean general and presidential elections, which took place over the course of three weeks beginning on August 12, 2020, and ending on September 1, 2020.[2][3]
On January 12, 2020, theWorld Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that anovel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people inWuhan,Hubei province, China, which was reported to the WHO on December 31, 2019.[4][5]
On August 1, 2020, theAutonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) began restricting flights from the rest ofPapua New Guinea after a new surge of coronavirus casesCOVID-19 pandemic in Papua New Guinea.[6] While a COVID-19 state of emergency was already in place, passengers had been able to fly intoBuka Airport andAropa Airport from Papua New Guinea since early June 2020.[6] Beginning August 1, 2020, flights into Bougainville could only beMEDEVAC or an approvedcharter flight.[6] The government also then needed to grant permission to anyone seeking to fly out of Bougainville.[6] Just one freight flight was allowed to land in Bougainville each week.[6]
The Autonomous Bougainville Government confirmed its first positive case of COVID-19 on Friday, August 7, 2020.[2] The first patient was identified as a 22-year college student.[2] The student returned toBuka, Bougainville, passing throughBuka Airport, fromPort Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.[2] He then traveled toCentral Bougainville District before testing positive for COVID-19.[2] Once identified, the patient was quarantined in the town ofArawa.[2] Contact tracing was set up to find individuals that the man may have come in contact with.[2]
In August 2020, the government began requiring the operators and drivers of public motor vehicles (PMVs) to keep daily recorded logs of all passengers in an effort to aid contact tracing.[7] Public motor vehicles are the main form ofpublic transportation in Bougainville.[7] The Autonomous Bougainville Government also banned travel between different localities and constituencies for four days, beginning on August 12, 2020, in an effort to stop any potential spread of COVID-19.[7]
The confirmed arrival of COVID-19 in Autonomous Region of Bougainville occurred just before the beginning of the 2020Bougainvillean general andpresidential elections, which began on August 12, 2020.[2][3] Commissioner Ignatius Nauru of the Office of the Bougainville Electoral Commissioner said efforts were in place to educate voters about COVID-19 during the three week election.[2] Personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks and gloves, were mandatory for all poll workers, while voters were required to sanitize their hands at the polling station.[2][3] Voters were also asked to bring their own pens to fill out their ballots.[2]
In March 2021, Speaker of theBougainville House of RepresentativesSimon Pentanu confirmed he had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and had begun 14 days of self-quarantine.[8]
On April 20, 2021, Bougainville confirmed its first death from COVID-19. In addition, health authorities confirmed that there had been a total of 284 cases in the autonomous region with 254 cases having since recovered.[9]