In the middle of the Pacific, the Marshall Islands in turn affected by Covid

The Marshall Islands have declared a state of health disaster after the contamination in a week of more than a tenth of the population of the capital Majuro by the variant of Covid-19 Omicron.

“We are preparing for the most difficult phase of the epidemic now in Majuro,” Health Minister Jack Niedenthal warned on Monday.

After some local cases were confirmed on August 8, the number of infections soared to 2,800 in a city of 22,500 people.

One of the last countries safe

And the epidemic continues “gaining strength,” warned the Minister of Health, as the number of cases doubled between Saturday and Sunday. “Nearly 75% of those tested are positive, which is an incredibly high rate,” he added.

Thanks to strict quarantine rules, the Marshall Islands were one of the last countries in the world to be saved from Covid.

“The good thing about having all these other countries that have had it before us is that we really understand how, from an epidemiological standpoint, this variant of the virus spreads: like wildfire,” added Jack Niedenthal.

Suspended flights and ships

Marshall Islands President David Kabua signed a “state of health disaster” on Friday to allow the government access to emergency funds.

In total, the country has registered 3,000 positive cases and three deaths for a population of 42,000 inhabitants spread over islands and atolls.

Domestic Air Marshall Islands flights and public boat transportation to remote islands have been suspended since Tuesday in an effort to contain the outbreak. A special flight that was supposed to take a medical team to certain islands was unable to take off because all Air Marshall pilots had tested positive.

To explain this epidemic, suspicions point to the recent relaxation of quarantine rules and the unprecedented number of arrivals. The government had planned to open its borders and remove mandatory quarantine on arrival from October 1.

Several agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States, will send help this week, along with medical professionals.