A POSITIVE COVID-19 case has been picked up by the Molecular Laboratory at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) during a pre-departure test recently.
AN inside source told paper the required pre-departure test was conducted in late November, towards the first week of December.
This was during the height of the rioting, looting and burning in Honiara.
The expatriate who is believed to be an Asian national initially traveled into the country and was planning to return.
It was during the pre-departure test that the positive case was picked up.
“There is a pre-departure case which tested positive from COVID-19 and that person is an expatriate,” the source said.
When asked if the person has been isolated, the source said, they don’t know.
“We do not know at the moment if the person is isolated or not. But he is out there waiting for his flight,” the source said.
However, the source said it is likely the positive case is contracted with the normal Covid-19 variant, but not Delta or Omicron.
The source added after the lab picked up the positive case they have advised the health responsible team to do contact tracing and find out who the person came in contact with during his stay in the country.
“But to my understanding nothing has been done,” the source said.
The source believes its likely the case is similar to the one which happened to a local Philippine student who tested positive while in Malaita after he was released from quarantine centre.
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) was contacted yesterday on the matter and told the paper they are aware of it.
However, they were unable to respond.
A spokesperson for the ministry said a formal response is likely to be made today.
By Esther Nuria
Newsroom, Honiara
