COVID-19 pandemic in the Marshall Islands

The COVID-19 pandemic in the Marshall Islands is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached the Marshall Islands on 28 October 2020. It is the first country in the Pacific to start its COVID-19 vaccinations in December 2020.

COVID-19 pandemic in the Marshall Islands
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationMarshall Islands
Index caseKwajalein
Arrival date29 October 2020
(3 months, 1 week and 4 days ago)
Confirmed cases4
Recovered4[1]
Deaths
0

Background

On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[2][3]

The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003,[4][5] but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[6][4]

Timeline

The first cases in the country were reported on 28 October 2020, among two members of the US Army Garrison, who were among a group of 300 Marshall Islanders abroad being repatriated.[7]

The two cases, a man and woman who arrived at a US airfield in Kwajalein tested negative for the virus in Hawaii a week before their arrival.[8] The disaster committee of the Marshall Islands has said "there was no threat of community transmission" and that no lockdown would be implemented until further notice.[9]

On 29 December 2020, the Marshall Islands became the first country in the Pacific to start its COVID-19 vaccinations. A group of high ranking leaders joined with Ministry of Health's doctors and nurses were the first to receive the United States government provided vaccines.[10]

References
  1. "Marshall Islands free of Covid again". RNZ. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  2. Elsevier. "Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier Connect. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  3. Reynolds, Matt (4 March 2020). "What is coronavirus and how close is it to becoming a pandemic?". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  4. "Crunching the numbers for coronavirus". Imperial News. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  5. "High consequence infectious diseases (HCID); Guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases and their management in England". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  6. "World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus". www.wfsahq.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  7. "First Covid-19 cases in quarantine at US Army base in Marshall Islands". RNZ. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  8. "Virus arrives in once-clear Marshall Islands". Coronavirus. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  9. Doherty, Ben (29 October 2020). "Remote Marshall Islands records its first coronavirus cases". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  10. "Marshalls first independent Pacific nation to launch Covid vaccines". RNZ. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
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