Kiribati: Coronavirus detected two years after the start of the pandemic

Enlarge image

The South Seas state of Kiribati from above: 36 infected people arrived by plane

Photo: Raimon Kataotao/EyeEm/Getty Images

For two years, the South Seas state of Kiribati managed to keep Corona almost completely away from its islands - now the first plane that was allowed to land brought 36 infected people to the archipelago. The plane, coming from Fiji, had 54 fully vaccinated people on board, who each had three Covid tests before departure, all of which were negative, the government said. After arriving in Kiribati on Friday, 36 of the passengers tested positive for the virus. They were taken to a quarantine center. An employee of the center is now also infected.

Because the virus could have spread outside of the isolation ward, the authorities immediately imposed night-time exit restrictions on citizens and introduced a mask requirement.

Meetings of more than ten people were banned, and the sale of alcohol was restricted.

Two infections detected on fishing boats

The Republic of Kiribati is a coral atoll and island country with a population of around 120,000.

The archipelago is located near the equator in the middle of the Pacific.

The government closed the borders in March 2020 for fear of the pandemic spreading.

Up until the flight from Fiji, only two infections had been recorded, but both on fishing boats and not on land.

Kiribati, with its capital South Tarawa, is one of the poorest countries in the world. According to the Federal Foreign Office, medical care options are limited.

Emergencies often have to be flown thousands of miles to New Zealand or Australia.

Kiribati isn't the only country resorting to lockdown during the pandemic.

Bhutan also made it difficult for tourists to enter the country.

Anyone who wants to visit the small kingdom in the Himalayas must first be in quarantine for three weeks.

So far, only one tourist has come: the American Fran Bak (read more about this here).

bam/dpa