PNG loosens some of the rules around Covid

From today Papua New Guinea is easing many of the restrictions it has had in place to try to curtail the spread of Covid-19.

There have not been recent public revelations of the numbers of Covid cases and deaths, but at least 639 fatalities have been recorded.

From today the need for booster shots to reach fully vaccinated status are dropped - two doses will suffice.

People arriving by boat, including cruise ships, will no longer require tests within 72 hours of boarding, but they have to be fully vaccinated and will be tested on arrival.

People arriving by air, internationally or domestically, must be fully vaccinated unless they are PNG citizens or permanent residents.

All people flying in also need a negative test 72 hours before departure.

Pre-departure assessments need to be conducted using PCR tests, while the testing on arrival will be undertaken with Rapid Antigen Tests, or RATs.