Port Moresby (AFP)
The disinformation and lies spread on Facebook are the government's "biggest challenge" in tackling the outbreak of coronavirus cases, the Papua New Guinea health minister said on Thursday.
Jelta Wong lamented that "dangerous" social media posts and anti-vaccine conspiracy theories are hampering efforts to convince people to get tested or treated, as the number of cases of infection skyrockets. .
"With Facebook, everyone in Papua New Guinea has become an expert," Wong said at an online conference hosted by the Lowy Institute in Sydney.
“Everyone has a doctorate, even while sitting under a coconut tree, they have become doctors,” he quipped, denouncing the spread of false information on the coronavirus on Facebook.
In the first year of the pandemic, Papua New Guinea, with a population of eight million, had reported 1,000 cases.
She announced 5,000 more in March alone.
And Mr Wong admitted that these numbers were totally lower than reality given the low level of screening.
Undeveloped, the national health system is under strain, especially as many members of the medical staff have themselves been infected.
To improve the situation, Port Moresby has set up a specialized clinic in a stadium in the capital.
Australia sent emergency aid of 8,000 doses of vaccine last week with a small team of specialists to immunize frontline health workers.
About 40% of the 1,600 employees at Port Moresby General Hospital have agreed to be vaccinated, health officials say, and doses have also been sent to other towns.
© 2021 AFP