The Solomon Islands has reported its first case of Covid-19, prime minister Manasseh Sogavare confirmed on Saturday. The infected patient is a student who came on repatriation from the Philippines recently but had tested negative before his departure.
“Disappointing’
“It pains me to say that we have lost our Covid-19-free status despite our collective efforts to prevent the pandemic from entering our country,” said Manasseh Sogavare.
“This is disappointing, setback to the extraordinary efforts of all officials, personnel, and community stakeholders that have been actively involved in working to prevent Covid-19 from entering Solomon Islands,” he added.
Quarantine
The Solomon Island prime minister explained that the student was quarantined and tested negative three times in Manilla before boarding the plane back to Honiara.
He added that two students that were in contact with the the positive case were tested as well and that the results turned out to be “inconclusive.” They both are currently under quarantine.
Manasseh Sogavare assured that response measures were activated and in full operation.
