The president of the Federated States of Micronesia said the country’s first case of Covid-19 – detected in a sailor on board a ship detained in a lagoon on an island – does not pose a threat to the wider community.
David Panuelo’s government announced last week that a lone sailor aboard the government ship, MV Chief Mailo, had tested positive for coronavirus after returning from the Philippines.
In a televised speech this week, Panuelo said the crew was allowed to return to the country after testing for the virus and because he feared piracy
“The crew rightly feared an increase in the number of pirates in the region, which contributed to their fears. So I could either abandon the ship that the government uses to attend Chuuk State and leave its crew and Poluwat’s 12-year-old boy out of our care or I could bring them home. “
Panuelo said the only case was successfully quarantined, with the ship kept under guard at Pohnpei Lagoon.
“Citizens across the country must remain calm … don’t panic because the situation is contained.
“The individual with Covid-19 at Chief Mailo has no immediate risk of the virus spreading to the wider community in Pohnpei,” he said.
The Federated States of Micronesia registered zero cases of Covid-19 before this case.
Schools, churches and companies remain open and there is no obligation to use masks in the archipelago, although it is encouraged, along with social distance.
FSM has already received 9,000 doses of the Modern coronavirus vaccine from the United States, with which it maintains a free association pact. An inoculation program for the population of 100,000 people has already started.
Pacific island nations are among the most successful in the world in preventing the virus from entering after closing their borders early in response to the threat, despite the enormous cost to tourism-dependent economies.
Several island nations that were free of the virus have recently lost that status with the Solomon Islands, the Marshall Islands, Samoa and Vanuatu falling due to the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the world.
However, several other island countries, including Tonga, Palau, Nauru and Kiribati, appear to remain free of the virus.