CONSTRUCTION work to heighten quarantine and isolation facilities for Western and Choiseul Provinces have commenced this week, thanks to Community Access and Urban Services Enhancement (CAUSE).
National Disaster Council in a statement announced that CAUSE has been awarded the contracts to fast-track the readiness of the quarantine buildings for border communities under special arrangements by government through Ministry of Finance and Treasury, Ministry of Infrastructure Development, World Bank and Honiara City Council.
“The upgrade work is mainly to repurpose those identified existing infrastructures at Nusatupe, Noro Lodge and Taro station as directed by government infrastructure architect teams and World Health Organization (WHO) to a liveable standard.
“The heightening construction is expected to be completed in the next three weeks,” the statement said.
The Government is currently stepping up its multi-sectoral agency response and preparedness activities in Shortland Islands, Choiseul and the Malaita Outer Islands.
The surge of positive cases in neighbouring Papua New Guinea and community transmission into Bougainville calls for a greater step-up- extension of the Western boundary emergency zone to cover northern most of Choiseul and Malaita’s Ontong Java Atolls.
Members of the COVID-19 Oversight Committee are currently in Western Province to meet with the Provincial Disaster Operation Committees (P-DOC) discussing ways to help strengthen the border preparation and response activities.
