A NUMBER of passengers have been denied boarding to travel back to Honiara from Western Province onboard MV Fair Glory after their swab tests returned positive.
Swabbing tests were conducted for all passengers on Thursday at Gizo, Noro and Seghe in Marovo prior to boarding the vessel.
Passengers who are fully vaccinated can board the return trip but prior to boarding they must undergo a snap swabbing test before they can be allowed to board and travel.
At Gizo, several passengers were denied boarding after their results from swabbing returned positive.
As a result they have to return to their villages.
The vessel was expected to arrive in Honiara last night.
MV Fair Glory travelled to the Western Province on Tuesday night making it the first successful passenger repatriation trip under strict COVID-19 protocols imposed by the Western Provincial Government and the National Government.
It managed to take 400 passengers from the Western Province who have been stranded for over two months since the first COVID outbreak in Honiara back to their province.
Given the decreasing cases in the capital, the National Oversight Committee is looking at easing travel restrictions under strict conditions between Honiara and the provinces to ensure economic activities can continue and at the same control the spread of the virus.
