The health team would like to make contact with two groups of people as a matter of urgency.

This plea was made by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare during his special nationwide address on Wednesday 19 January, 2022.

The first group of people are all passengers travelling from Pelau and Luaniua on board the vessel MV Akwa that arrived in Honiara on the 10th January, 2022.

The second group is all people that have come into contact with any person that travelled from Ontong Java on MV Akwa that arrived on 10th January and this includes all family members or members of any house where these passengers stayed between10th January to date.

Mr Sogavare urged all passengers on the vessel or contacts of passengers of the vessel to remain where they are and to urgently call 115 or 25256 to inform the health team of where they are.

“If you are a relative or a neighbor of a person that arrived from Ontong Java on MV Akwa on 10th January or of the person or family that the passenger stayed with since arriving, please call 155 or 25256 to inform the health team,” the PM said.

The PM urges those concerned to call the numbers and to provide the health team with their names, whether they are a passenger on MV Akwa or a contact of a passenger that travelled on MV Akwa that arrived in Honiara on 10th January, 2022.

He also stresses that people concerned must provide their addresses and locations and names and contacts of any other person that they know had travelled on the vessel or is a contact of a person that travelled on the vessel.

“If you are a passenger of the vessel or contacts of a passenger please stay where you are and call the two numbers – 155 or 25256.

“Do not move from your location because if you move and if you are infected, you will expose other people so remain where you are – remember the virus will only move if you are infected and you move – so do not move, we’ll come to you.

“The health team will come and locate you, assess you and take you to a testing site if necessary,” the PM said.