Gov’t will foot pre-flight COVID-19 tests for Vanuatu students

The government has refuted reports that students in Vanuatu will be paying for their pre-flight testing describing it as a classic example of unsubstantiated claims.

There were some reports that the government had told the students to pay for their own COVID-19 tests in Port Vila which really disappointed the students. Pre-testing for COVID-19 is a requirement by the government by all incoming passengers.

However, speaking exclusively to SBMOnline, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Education, Dr Franco Roddie said this is not true because the government will foot the bill.

When asked if he was aware of the report that the students would pay for their tests, Dr Roddie said: “That is news to me and is a classical example of an unsubstantiated claim only known to the initiator of the story.

“My ministry in close cooperation with MHMS (Ministry of Health and Medical Service) and OSC (Oversight Committee) have a definitive strategy for the preflight testings that students and nationals must go through and we have continued to implement this consistently.  The Government is footing the testing bill for students,” he said.

The flight to Vanuatu will happen this weekend on December 7^th and will bring back mostly students studying at Emalus Campus.

News@SBMOnline2020