Officials in Papua New Guinea are urging the public to take health measures more seriously as Covid-19 surges in the capital.
After recording the highest number of cases in a single day, 23, the country's total number of confirmed covid cases shot to 62 - an increase of 49 in the space of ten days.
Government officials are urging the public to stay at home as much as possible, to wash hands frequently, and if in public to wear masks and maintain social ditancing,
Meanwhile, A PNG academic warns that if these measures are not being enforced properly, they will not be successful in defeating the spread of Covid-19
Henry Ivarature, who is a Pacific Lecturer from the Australia Pacific Security College at the Australian National University, spoke to Johnny Blades about the government's response to the health crisis.
He said when the pandemic began and the government introduced a State of Emergency in March, it adopted the same sort of defensive strategy that many other countries did.
ANU's Henry Ivarature Photo: ANU