The President of the Federated States of Micronesia said that the country’s first case of Covid-19 – detected in a sailor aboard a ship detained in an island lagoon – does not pose a threat to the wider community.
David Panuelo’s government announced last week that a lone sailor aboard the government ship, Chief MV Mailo, tested positive for coronavirus after returning from the Philippines.
In a nationally televised address broadcast this week, Panuelo said the crew was allowed to return to the country after being tested for the virus and fearing piracy.
“The crew was rightly afraid of a growing number of pirates in the region, who contributed to their fears. So I could abandon the ship the government is using to serve Chuuk State and leave the crew and the 12-year-old boy from Poluwat out of our care, or I could bring them home. ”
Panuelo said the only case was successfully quarantined, with the ship detained in the Pohnpei lagoon under guard.
“Citizens across the nation should remain calm … don’t panic because the situation is complicated.
“The person with Covid-19 on Mailo Chief has no immediate risk of spreading the virus to the wider Pohnpei community,” he said.
The Federated States of Micronesia registered zero cases of Covid-19 before this case.
Schools, churches and businesses remain open and there is no mandatory requirement to wear masks in the archipelago, although it is encouraged along with social distancing.
Already, the WSF has received 9,000 doses of Moderna coronavirus vaccine from the United States, with which it has a free combination compact. An inoculation program for the 100,000-population population has already begun.
Pacific island nations have been among the most successful in the world in avoiding the virus after closing their borders early in response to the threat, despite the huge costs to tourism-dependent economies.
Several virus-free island nations have recently lost this status, and the Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, Samoa and Vanuatu have fallen into the world-wide coronavirus pandemic.
However, several other island countries, including Tonga, Palau, Nauru and Kiribati, are believed to remain virus-free.