Saturday 6  August 2022

No person, except citizens or permanent residents, are permitted to board an aircraft, vessel or vehicle bound for Papua New Guinea or otherwise enter Papua New Guinea, unless they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

They will now all be required to be vaccinated using one of the ten COVID-19 vaccines as listed in the schedule below, unless they are under the age of 18.

Commissioner of Police and Controller of the PNG National Pandemic Response David Manning issued this new Measure No. 2 on international travel under the National Pandemic Act 2020 on Price Controls which came into effect on August 4, 2022.

Under the new Measure No 2, a person is considered fully vaccinated if they have received:

· a single dose vaccine as listed in Schedule 1;

· a second dose of an accepted 2-dose vaccination as listed in Schedule 1; and

· received 2 doses of any “mix-and-match” combination of accepted COVID-19 vaccines as listed in Schedule 1.

Travel operators or private organisations – as relevant – bringing persons into PNG will at check-in or before departure, check all persons Proof of Vaccination – Vaccination Certificate, a person must not be allowed to board an aircraft, vessel or vehicle bound for PNG without these documents, except for Citizens, Permanent Residents or persons under the age of 18.

According to the new measure:

· No incoming arrival shall be quarantined, except at the written direction of the Controller.

· For the purpose of these Measures, a person arriving into PNG on any aircraft is taken not to arrive in PNG if the person does not leave the aircraft or the immediate vicinity of the aircraft for the purposes of conducting pre-flight inspections and refueling.

· For the purpose of these Measures, a person arriving into PNG on any vessel is taken not to arrive in PNG if the person does not leave the vessel.

· The Controller may exempt a person from some or all of the International Travel Measures, at his sole discretion and subject to conditions he imposes.

· A person or organisation that allows a person to board an aircraft bound for PNG in breach of these Measures shall be deemed to have committed an offence under the National Pandemic Act 2020.

· A person that attempts to or does enter PNG in breach of these Measures shall be returned to their original port of departure at the cost of individual if they did not take reasonable steps to ensure compliance with these Measures.

· These measures are in compliance with the COVID-19 measures issued by the International Civil Aviation Authority.

· Authorised Officers shall ensure appropriate levels of surveillance and border monitoring systems are in place throughout the country for international travel and in particular at the traditional border crossing areas.

· These Measures come into effect on 05 August 2022 and shall apply until the end of the Declaration of a Pandemic under the Act, or as varied or revoked by the Controller.

Schedule 1 – Approved Vaccines

Vaccine Name                              No. of Doses to be fully vaccinated

Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine                     2

AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine (COVISHIELD/SII)  2

Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine                         2

Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine                                      2

Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine                    1

Sinopharm-BBIBP                                                       2

CoronaVac Sinovac                                                    2

Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine                                      2

Covaxin (Bharat Biotech)\                                           2

Covovax (SIINVX-CoV2373)                                      2

(Please Note: the new Measures can be viewed in details on www. ict.gov.pg, while the official covid19 website is being reconstructed).

NO. 1 REVOCATION OF PREVIOUS MEASURE 2

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