Before he left for Tabubil, I met him at the airport and we yarned for a while before he went for his 10 days quarantine in a Port Moresby hotel.

I asked him if he was vaccinated and he said no and I insisted he should get vaxxed. (I’ve had my two shots.)

He said he was hearing a lot of negative stories and would wait a little while.

Unfortunately he died a healthy man - Covid 19 Delta got him. His death was unnecessary.

The workplace had the ability demand all its employees be vaccinated before going to work.

Instead it dillydallied with only quarantine and testing, and Covid 19 Delta crept under the fence to get in at Tabubil.

They still have not shut down the mine or demanded compulsory vaxx for people employed there.

Papua New Guinea has invested a lot in educating its professionals. And they are just a few compared with our population.

The formal to informal equation is about 10% to 90 % of our people.

If sickness and death falls on any of these 10% professionals, PNG loses out big time on the knowledge and skills of the educated. It is a huge price to pay. 

The government should mandate (make compulsory) that all professionals be vaccinated. 

When these professionals are safe, they can then take care of the nation and its people.

Right now the rest of the population is waiting for disaster to happen and this is on the watch of the anti-vaxxers assisted by many churches and pastors giving alternative views and remedies. 

They should desist. Eight million people is not a big number. 

Every person who dies means one less person and we need people to populate this nation.

If they are professionals the more we should strive to keep them alive and get the best out of them before they pass on - in old age.