BY ALEX DADAMU
Common corona viruses should not be confused with COVID-19.
This was according to Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in his nationwide address on Tuesday 7th September.
The PM’s statement comes after rumours on social media and the streets of the country recording a new COVID-19 case in the community.
But Prime Minister Sogavare said no new COVID-19 case has been recorded in the country.
“Let me reassure you all, we do not have any new COVID-19 case in the country.
“The rumours may have been attributed to one positive case of Corona-virus 229E that was picked up by our molecular laboratory in one of our babies in the hospital.
“This Corona virus is not COVID-19, it is an influenza-type infection and the baby had since recovered and had since been discharged from hospital,” Prime Minister Sogavare.
He said health experts advised there are many different types of corona-viruses that cause many of the common influenza symptoms many of us have or can experience.
He further said our molecular laboratory now has the capacity to diagnose these other types of corona viruses. However, these common corona viruses should not be confused with COVID-19.
“COVID-19 is another corona virus that is more specific and more serious, and I confirm again we do not have any new COVID-19 case in the country right now,” Prime Minister Sogavare.
