Perth in Australia was plunged into a three-day lockdown after community transmission was linked to a returnee from India.

Fiji finds itself in similar situation due to a returnee, also from India.

Australian officials say overseas travel is allowed only for “the most profound humanitarian or compassionate reasons, under strictest of circumstances”.

• READ MORE: 12 new covid-19 cases in Fiji
• Stopping the virus spread – Stanley Simpson
• Australia suspends travel from India

What about Fiji? Under what circumstances is overseas travel allowed? Under what circumstances was the India returnee allowed to travel in the first place – do citizens have a right to know?

Australia has recognised the risks and effectively banned international travel, even though thousands of Australians will be unable to return home for now.

What is the Fiji response to international travel in light of the latest infections from abroad with 12 new cases yesterday? Are we tightening things up or not? The citizens need to know what the government is doing.

Reports indicate Australia adopted varying responses with regards to high-risk countries, including North America and Europe.

Tightening up
Given the crisis in India, Australia has taken steps to further tighten departures after it was found people were travelling for weddings, funerals and sports.

Critics have condemned the Australian government for what they see as its laxity, and for risking lives and dealing a potential blow to the economy.

What about Fiji? On what grounds are people travelling? Were people allowed to travel for weddings, religious reasons and for funerals? We need answers.

How big a risk is it to us as a nation to allow return travel from hot spots like India and the US?

In light of the new cases, have the international travel guidelines been changed or are they still the same?

Dr Shailendra Singh is senior lecturer and coordinator of the journalism programme at the University of the South Pacific. This comment is from Dr Singh’s social media posts and is republished with permission.

It is illegal for any Papua New Guinean police officer to demand spot fines from people not wearing face masks in public, says Police Minister Bryan Kramer.

“There is no fine that I am aware of. However there are orders. There shouldn’t be any spot fines.”

He said he would discuss the matter with Police Commissioner David Manning.

• READ MORE: PNG pandemic controller warns against complacency

Kramer said some officers had been “abusing” the public health safety orders regarding the covid-19 coronavirus pandemic such as on the wearing of face masks in public transport and in public places.

“There is a concern about these orders on the pandemic which certain officers have abused,” he said.

“I would encourage [people told by police to pay a fine] to file a complaint when they feel something is wrong. If officers are asked to be paid, or there is a need for clarification, just write a letter to my office and the Commissioner of Police David Manning.”

Kramer told The National that anyone ordered to pay a spot fine or threatened of arrest for not wearing a mask in a private vehicle should report the matter to the nearest police station and write a formal complaint to his office.

He said offending police officers would be dealt with.

Rebuilding ‘internal investigations’
“We are rebuilding and strengthening the Internal Investigations Unit (for this purpose),” he said.

“We want to start aggressively dealing with this issue of police officers charging those who do not adhere to the laws.

“Applying common sense is something everyone should be adhering to, and wearing face masks.”

Meanwhile, police pulled off the road about 50 buses last Friday for breaching public health safety rules such as the requirement that passengers wear face masks.

National Capital District Metropolitan Superintendent Perou N’dranou said the bus drivers and checkers had been ignoring the covid-19 protocols such as the maximum of 15 passengers.

“On Friday, buses were removed from the roads after they were given ample time to adhere to the new measures set by controller David Manning,” he said.

Warning against complacency
RNZ Pacific reports Pandemic Response Controller David Manning has warned against complacency after reporting no new cases of covid-19 in the past day.

PNG’s total number of confirmed cases remains at 459, with five related deaths reported so far, although less than 16,000 tests have been conducted to date.

Manning said that just because PNG had not reported any new cases today it did not mean that the virus was not spreading.

The Pacific Media Centre republishes articles from The National newspaper with permission.