Results of the 4 suspected Coronavirus cases on board MV Expert berthing at Rennell Bellona is received late Thursday 06th Feb 2020 at 5:47pm by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS), after a 72hours waiting period.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health Mrs. Pauline McNeil says,” The public can now be rest assured that the results of the 4 suspected cases have all been negative with no detection of coronavirus.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services received the results of the 4 suspected cases from our collaborating partner, the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) based in Melbourne, Australia. The VIDRL is a leading Australian infectious diseases reference laboratory. It is now part of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (the Doherty).

Mrs. McNeil, on behalf of the MHMS would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of the members of the NDOC-Health Committee, National Referral Hospital, our Collaborating partners World Health Organization (WHO) and Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) and the Prime Minister’s Office.

While this is a very pleasing results, the MHMS would again call on the public to remain vigilant and practice good hygiene such as cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing, wash your hands with clean water and soap at all times or use hand sanitizer, eat more fruits and vegetables, avoid crowded gatherings and avoid non-essential travelling to coronavirus affected countries.

The MHMS will continues to work together with other Government Ministries, Partners and Stakeholders to ensure our country is protected from Coronavirus.

Source: Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS)