Zibe told the Post-Courier that the number of deaths reported so far was too much and was totally unacceptable, and that he did not want any more people dying from the outbreak.
Zibe said it was now a national issue and he had had an emergency meeting with his departmental heads and the Papua New Guinea Defense Force in Port Moresby, and that they would be providing all the assistance necessary to combat the outbreak in Menyamya district.
He also has redirected the Deputy Secretary for Health, Dr Paison Dakulala, to go to Menyamya to assess the situation and report directly to him.
Dakulala was originally sent to assess the countryโs first cholera outbreak at Wasu also in Morobe province, and is supposed to return to Port Moresby, but the minister has ordered him to stay in Lae and fly to Menyamya to assess the situation.
The health minister said the 80 plus deaths in Menyamya was unacceptable, and there should be no excuses, and that his department should just press the button in emergencies like the this outbreak, โWe should already have learnt from bird flu and swine flu situations and I am very frustrated,โ he said.
