Two-thirds of passengers on first flight to Covid-free Kiribati diagnosed with virus – The Guardian

After remaining Covid-free for the entirety of the pandemic, Kiribati has reopened its borders only for two thirds of the passengers on the first international flight to arrive in ten months to test positive for the virus.

The island nation is now set to impose a four-day lockdown from Monday after the virus was found to have spread into the community.

All 54 passengers, 36 of whom were diagnosed with Covid after arriving from Fiji last Friday, have now been quarantined and are recovering well, according to authorities.

But after a security guard at the quarantine centre also tested positive on Tuesday, the island nation introduced a two-week curfew and other public health measures such as mandatory mask-wearing, social distancing and vaccine passes for travel outside of the capital, Tarawa.

The security guard and two of his close contacts were also quarantined while his home village was placed under a two-week lockdown.

A further two positive cases were detected in the community on Thursday, prompting the government to announce that a full lockdown would begin on Monday, with schools closed and people only allowed to leave their homes for essential services.

News of the Covid-positive arrivals and the security guard caused locals to panic, especially as it was leaked to the public rather than being officially announced.

As parents, we are worried about our children because unlike us, they are unvaccinated and have no access to one [a vaccine] on the island, said Kareaua Nawaia, a 32-year-old schoolteacher and father of three.

The arrival of Covid-19 was inevitable, he noted, but added that the timing was avoidable considering Fiji is battling a third wave of the coronavirus.

Others expressed concern about the delay in imposing the lockdown. Dr Tabutoa Eria, the first person to receive the Covid vaccine when it arrived in Kiribati in May 2021, wrote on Facebook that it might [be] too late if you [the lockdown] come next week. Our beloved n beautiful pple pliz avoid unnecessary movements. Virus wont move if we dont.

Questions have also been asked about how the passengers contracted the virus. All had been in pre-departure quarantine for two weeks before the flight and had undergone regular testing. They were only allowed on the flight after returning negative tests.

Last month the Kiribati government said that 93.4% of the population aged 18 and over has had their first dose of Covid vaccine but only 53.1% had had a second dose.

See more here:

Two-thirds of passengers on first flight to Covid-free Kiribati diagnosed with virus - The Guardian