A quarantine site in Gizo has been identified and now awaits final inspection.

Nusatupe Island has been identified as a quarantine site in the Western province.

Western Province Health Director Dr Dickson Boara said the Gizo Quarantine site would be complete anytime from now.

He said a final analysis of the site will be done as soon as the work is complete.

He said a six-bedroom unit has been established while other quarantine sites in the province will need to be refurbished.

“We have identified four sites in the western province for quarantine sites. Only Gizo is now ready for inspection before it is confirmed as a quarantine site. Currently MID is yet to give us feedback especially for the site in Nusatupe."

Dr. Boara said at the moment only a few small additional works need to be done.

“But Gizo is ready to be a quarantine site,” he said.

Western Provincial Secretary, Mr. Jeffery Wickham says site assessment should be done as soon as possible so that they can move on to other matters of concern.

The Solomon Islands government is working hard to prevent the entry of Covid-19, failing that a potential disaster awaits. Public health measures have been implemented to achieve this goal, this includes establishing quarantine sites. 

Authorities in Solomon Islands have also beefed up their security presence along the country's maritime border with Papua New Guinea.

Police said long range patrols had been carried out along the border from the Shortland Islands to Choiseul and the Malaita Outer Islands.

The Solomon Islands border with Papua New Guinea (PNG) is regarded as a potential high-risk area for possible covid-19 importation into the country.