COVID-19 pandemic in the Pitcairn Islands

COVID-19 pandemic in the Pitcairn Islands
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

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]

Background

The Pitcairn Islands are a remote island chain in the Pacific consisting of the islands Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno. They are the only British Overseas Territory in the Pacific. ^[3] Only the first island is inhabited, and it has 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]}

Timeline

2020

As a precautionary measure, the Pitcairn Islands Government closed the territory's borders. As a result, all passenger services to the island were suspended in mid-March 2020. ^[10]

2021

The territory's entire population was vaccinated in May 2021, with vaccines that arrived by ship from New Zealand. ^{[11] [12] [13]} As of 28 February, 2022, 106 vaccines had been administered. ^[14]

2022

In March 2022, the Pitcairn Islands reopened its border to international travel. Regular shipping with French Polynesia resumed on 5 July 2022. ^[15]

In July 2022, the Pitcairn Islands reported its first cases after two returning residents tested positive on arrival. Two close contacts were also infected. ^[16] No hospitalizations were required, and no deaths were recorded.

2023

In April 2023, following visits from multiple cruise ships and yachts, a second COVID-19 outbreak was confirmed on the island. Following identification of an initial case and voluntary community testing, approximately half of the island’s population tested positive, with 16 confirmed cases. ^[16]

2024

As of June 2024, Pitcairn was one of the only jurisdictions in the world not to have recorded a hospitalization or death related to COVID-19. ^[16]

See also

• COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania

References

1. "Covid-19 Level - Pitcairn Islands".
2. Vance, Andrea (16 July 2022). "Covid-19 finally arrives on remote Pitcairn Island". Stuff . Archived from the original on 18 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
3. Clegg P (2022). "Pitcairn". The Contemporary Pacific. 34 (1): 207–216. doi:10.1353/cp.2022.0012. ISSN   1527-9464. S2CID   258102833.
4. "Pitcairn Islands Revise Shipping Service for 2021". The Pitkern Blog. Pitcairn Islands Tourism. 15 December 2020. Archived from the original on 4 April 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
5. Elsevier. "Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier Connect. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
6. Reynolds, Matt (4 March 2020). "What is coronavirus and how close is it to becoming a pandemic?". Wired UK. ISSN   1357-0978. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
7. "Crunching the numbers for coronavirus". Imperial News. 13 March 2020. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
8. "High consequence infectious diseases (HCID); Guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases and their management in England". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
9. "World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus". www.wfsahq.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
10. "Pitcairn Islands Tourism". Pitcairn Islands Tourism. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
11. Hockaday, James (28 May 2021). "All 47 residents of tiny island in middle of Pacific get Covid vaccines". Metro. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
12. "Remote Pitcairn Island to receive COVID-19 vaccines for entire population". The Pitkern Blog. 22 May 2021. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
13. Gay N, van Gemert C, Merilles OE, Georgel P (January 2022). "Pacific island nations face an urgent need for actions and future research on COVID-19". The Lancet Regional Health. Western Pacific. 18: 100326. doi:10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100326. PMC   8665973 . PMID   34927109.
14. "As COVID-19 gains a foothold in the Pacific, countries, WHO and partners work together to save lives - Cook Islands | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
15. "Pitcairn Island's Regular Passenger Service Resumes after two year hiatus". The Pitkern Blog. Pitcairn Islands Tourism. 30 June 2022. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
16. Griffiths, Darralyn; Walters, Kevin; Casey, Sean T. (27 June 2024). "COVID-19 preparedness and response in the Pitcairn Islands: keeping one of the world's smallest and most isolated populations safe in a pandemic". Western Pacific Surveillance and Response Journal. 15 (2): 1–7. doi:10.5365/wpsar.2024.15.2.1068. PMC   11215652 . PMID   38953003 . Retrieved 18 February 2025.