12 Oct 2021

Hospitals swamped in PNG as Covid-19 crisis deepens

From , 6:03 am on 12 October 2021

The Covid-19 crisis in Papua New Guinea is deepening, as the country's main hospitals are increasingly swamped by cases.

Having decided several months ago that citizens must learn to live with the virus, the government has scaled back its testing and reporting on cases.

As Johnny Blades finds out, the result is a silent health disaster unfolding in a series of hotspots including the heavily populated Highlands region.

A health worker takes a swab from a man to test for Covid-19 at a makeshift clinic in Port Moresby on 1 April, 2021.

Photo: AFP