Papua New Guinea is headed towards a coronavirus catastrophe, according to experts, amid a dramatic rise in infections among the country’s barely vaccinated population.
The morgue at Port Moresby General Hospital in the capital is filled beyond capacity, Radio New Zealand reported on Tuesday, with about 300 corpses piled up in a space designed for only 60 bodies.
The state’s pandemic response chief, David Manning, has authorized a mass burial of 200 bodies to ease the situation.
According to the broadcaster, the burial is to due to take place this week.
The local authorities in the Pacific state do not yet want to impose a lockdown, they are relying instead on a medical response and a vaccination drive.
Less than one per cent of Papua New Guinea’s 9 million inhabitants are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
The International Federation of Red Cross has warned that the country’s weak health system is overwhelmed by the crisis.
The organization recently said in a statement that vaccine take-up has been low, partly due to misinformation, public apprehension, and logistical challenges.
Cases has risen dramatically in recent weeks, fuelled by the highly infections Delta variant, in the state that lies 160 kilometres north of Australia.
Observers believe the number of unreported cases is much higher still.
The Burnet Institute, a medical research organisation, wrote last week that there is little testing but what exists paints a truly terrible picture.
The institute said of the 1,848 tests conducted across the country between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3, 82 per cent have tested positive.
It said that seven out of 10 people presented at Port Moresby’s largest hospital with symptoms are now testing positive.
Experts warn against Covid-19 catastrophe in Papua New Guinea
