COVID-19 pandemic in the Pitcairn Islands | |
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Disease | COVID-19 |
Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
Location | Pitcairn Islands |
First outbreak | Wuhan, Hubei, China |
Confirmed cases | 4[1] |
Active cases | 0 |
Recovered | 4 |
Deaths | 0 |
Government website | |
Government of Pitcairn Island Travel and Quarantine Policy |
Part of a series on the |
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies |
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(Part of the global COVID-19 pandemic) |
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Pitcairn Islands - a British territory - 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 islands on 16 July 2022.[2]
The Pitcairn Islands are a remote island chain in the Pacific consisting of the islands Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno. They are the last British Overseas Territory in the Pacific.[3] The islands have approximately 35 inhabitants (2023).[4]
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.[5][6]
The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003,[7][8] but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[9][7]
As a precautionary measure, the Pitcairn Islands Government closed the territories' borders. As a result, all passenger services to the Islands were suspended in mid-March 2020.[10]
The territory's entire population was vaccinated in May 2021, with vaccines that arrived via ship from New Zealand.[11][12][13] As of 28 February, 2022, 106 vaccines have been administered.[14]
In March 2022, the Pitcairn Islands reopened its border to international travel. Regular shipping with French Polynesia resumed on 5 July 2022.[15]
On 16 July, the Pitcairn Islands reported its first case.[2]
On 20 July, the Pitcairn Islands reported 3 cases, bringing the total number of cases to 4.[16]