Papua New Guinea could be on the "verge of collapse", NGOs are warning, as its health system struggles with a surging coronavirus outbreak.
At the end of February, the country had only reported 1,275 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.
But over the past month, cases have more than tripled. PNG has now reported at least 4,660 COVID-19 cases and 39 related deaths.
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On Friday, the country reported 560 new infections - its highest for a single day - with Prime Minister James Marape admitting there is "rampant community transmission."
While those figures might not seem high compared to other countries, they pose a major issue in PNG, where the government says there are only about 500 doctors for an estimated population of nine million people.
Low testing rates also mean PNG's case load is likely much higher - something authorities acknowledge.
Meanwhile, rampant misinformation in the country means some people are still not taking the threat seriously.
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Onlookers warn the crisis could worsen next week as people in the predominantly Christian nation travel home for Easter - and are calling on neighboring Australia and New Zealand to do more to help.
Papua New Guinea will start administering coronavirus vaccines to front line health workers this week after Australia donated thousands of doses.
"Papua New Guinea's health crisis has now reached the level we feared it would a year ago with a surge in cases," Amnesty International's Pacific researcher Kate Schuetze said earlier this month.
"A combination of an ailing health system and inadequate living conditions has created a perfect storm for COVID-19 to thrive in the country's overcrowded informal settlements."
PNG has one of the lowest ratios of doctors per 1,000 people in the world.
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According to 2018 World Bank figures, the country had 0.07 physicians per 1000 people - well below the 2017 average among small Pacific Islands (0.5), the 2017 world average (1.6), or the 2017 level in the United States (2.6).
For a while, PNG's measures appeared to work.
It took until February this year for the country to reach 1,000 cases. But Covid-19 was likely circulating under the radar, says Justine McMahon, PNG country director for CARE.
"It's been here for months," Ms McMahon said.
She added that up until a month ago, people were quite ambivalent about the COVID-19 pandemic, but "there's a growing sense of trepidation everywhere."
With CNN
