Box A1. COVID-19 comes to the Pacific

Box A1. COVID-19 comes to the Pacific

The Pacific Island countries (PICs) managed to largely avoid domestic COVID-19 outbreaks up until 2022. On 11 March 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Later in the month, fiji and Papua new Guinea reported their first CoViD-19 cases. These outbreaks were brought under control through international border closures and domestic lockdowns. All other PICs managed to avoid domestic outbreaks throughout 2020 and 2021 due to strict border closures to foreign travelers.11

In 2022, the Omicron variant spread rapidly through the region, with many PICs seeing their first domestic outbreaks. on 26 november 2021, the WHo classified the B.1.1.529 variant of the sARs-CoV-2 virus as ‘omicron’ and flagged it as a variant of concern with the potential to spread faster than previous variants. subsequently, cases have increased exponentially in the region, with domestic outbreaks of the Omicron variant in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Palau, Solomon Islands, and Tonga. In 2022, the latter four countries reported community transmission for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. Low testing capacity means that case and death numbers are most likely understated.

PIC governments have been quick to put in place domestic lockdowns to prevent overburdening their weak public health systems. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the PICs have largely avoided domestic lockdowns as international border closures and quarantine requirements on overseas arrivals allowed countries in the region to remain COVID-free. However, following the rise in Omicron cases, several countries, including Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Tonga, implemented domestic lockdowns to prevent overburdening weak public health systems, which have limited resources and have to serve very remote regions. In Tonga, the recent volcanic eruption led to further complications, with the country having to rely on international aid which further exposes them to the virus. Additionally, lack of internet and communication services in the aftermath of the volcano, which severed the fiber-optic cable to the country, has made it difficult for people to work from home.

There is wide heterogeneity in vaccination rates across the region. As of February 2022, Palau has double vaccinated virtually their entire population, while Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands have double vaccination rates as low as 2.6 and 11.7 percent respectively. others such as nauru, the federated states of Micronesia (fsM), samoa, and Tonga have managed to vaccinate 60 percent of their populations, the remaining countries have vaccination rates between 20 and 40 percent. Vaccination of the entire Pacific population is likely to take many years, increasing the risk of severe health and economic consequences in the region, as well as increased risk of the emergence of new variants, with potential for global repercussions.

Despite rising vaccination rates, the PICs continue to have strict public health measures: most countries continue to keep borders shut and restrict domestic activities. Recent outbreaks in Kiribati, Tonga, and Solomon Islands resulted in these countries keeping their international borders closed and introducing strict domestic lockdowns despite rising vaccination rates. In PNG, borders remain shut while internal mobility restrictions

11 Marshall islands reported its first CoViD-19 case in november 2020, but cases only reached a total of seven. samoa reported its first CoViD-19 case in november 2020, but cases only reached a total of three. Vanuatu reported its first CoViD-19 case in february 2021, but only six cases were reported throughout the year. Tonga reported its only CoViD case in october 2021 when a traveler from new Zealand tested positive. Kiribati, Palau, and solomon islands did not report any cases until 2022. fsM, nauru, and Tuvalu have not reported any COVID cases.

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