Coronavirus Even island states that have long been away from the coronavirus are now opening their borders – China alone

There are still corners in the world where the coronavirus has been kept out, but the omicron variant is changing the situation, epidemiologists in New Zealand and Taiwan tell HS.

First for ten months, a passenger plane landed in Kiribati, an island nation that remained closed during a coronary pandemic, in January.

Despite months of preparation, hygiene training, two weeks of pre-quarantine and a test requirement, 36 out of 54 passengers were diagnosed with coronavirus infection. Passengers were diverted to new quarantine, but a few days later the Kiribati administration reported more than 400 infections in the islands.

Flights to Kiribati were decided to stop again, but the milk had already spilled: the coronavirus arrived in Kiribati at once.

“The virus came with the plane of the citizens returning home, and now it has started to spread rapidly. It was surprising how many infections there were on one flight, ”describes an epidemiologist at the University of Auckland, epidemiologist. Collin Tukuitonga To HS.

A week later, the virus swept into the island nation of Tonga when the government released an aircraft carrying emergency aid after a volcanic eruption.

“Even in Tonga, everything possible was done to minimize the risk, but the virus got in nonetheless.”

Suppression there are still a handful of countries in the world that have chosen the road. In the early days of the pandemic, the option was natural for island states, which find it easier to control and limit their contacts with the rest of the world.

When experts knocked out isolation in Europe, the situation in Asia was different, says Tukuitonga, who is monitoring the situation in the Pacific island nations.

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“Many island nations have closed their borders virtually completely, and those who held them have remained corona-free,” he says.

“These countries are typically inhabited by large families and their health care systems are not designed to treat extensive and serious illnesses. Therefore, they initially opted for a repression strategy. But it has meant that international flights have been stopped and the country has been placed in a strictly closed state. ”

Suppression strategy the problem is that it cannot go on indefinitely. The virus is not dying out, but is circulating, multiplying and mutating around the world in the dozens of countries where it can no longer be eliminated. Before long, it will also jump to the land of the zero line.

This has already been seen in the larger states that have tried to suppress it.

Australia and Japan kept infections to a minimum for a long time, but now the micron transformation is spreading rapidly in them. Similarly, statistics on omicron peaks have been seen in South Korea and Hong Kong.

New Zealand has still escaped a widespread ominous wave, but the situation may change in the coming weeks as the country opens its borders first to its citizens living in Australia and then to others.

Tukuitonga believes the omicron variant will break the remaining coronavirus-free bubbles even in the most isolated corners of the world. Partly because the transformation is easily propagated and milder than its predecessors. Partly because island states are also fundamentally dependent on the rest of the world. In the Cook Islands and Fiji, for example, tourism accounts for about 80 percent of the economy, and the islands do not produce nearly all of the goods themselves.

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“They have to open up because they have to trade with the rest of the world. They simply have to bring in food. ”

In a way, the zero line has been profitable so far, Tukuitonga says, but it is simply impossible to continue indefinitely.

Politically the decision to open is still difficult. As the virus has not previously spread widely in the population, removing the restrictions at once would probably send it to spread like wildfire.

There are already indications of this. Some of the islands have tried to open their borders cautiously to vaccinated visitors, and the virus has invariably entered.

“We believe that the self-transformation will become the main variant in the islands. It’s probably spreading fast because people live in small houses with big families, ”Tukuitonga says.

The hope for island states is in very good vaccine coverage. In almost all islands, more than 90 percent of the population has received two doses and rounds of effects are underway.

“In that sense, the situation is excellent,” Tukuitonga says.

In his home country of New Zealand, vaccination coverage is over 97 percent. As long as the effects and vaccinations for children are completed, Tukuitonga believes the country is as well prepared as possible.

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“That’s why the government dares to start opening borders. At the same time, of course, is understoodthat the number of infections may well increase. This was also the case in Australia, where a huge spike in infection has been seen. ”

Also Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology Planning Coronation in Taiwan Hsiu-Hsi Chen estimates that the omicron variant will change the situation in repressive countries.

According to Chen, the difference between the West and Asia has been clear from the outset in the fight against pandemics: one emphasizes individual freedoms and the other the collective interest. The emphasis has led to very different strategies, each with its own sides.

Now, however, a bridge needs to be built between strategies, as the coronavirus knows no policy or borders between countries. According to Chen, the leadership of almost all countries has already set out to change their strategy.

“Only one big country has a real zero line anymore, and that is China,” he says.

According to Chen, Asia is moving from a zero line to a “zero serious case” line with its own micron transformation. In Taiwan, this means that the country is opening up but is still holding back the spread of the virus.

“We are trying to keep infections below 500 so that we can still control the spread and ensure that healthcare capacity is not exceeded.”

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