Coronavirus Kiribati survived the pandemic without a single infection, until the first international flight in almost a year brought them at once 36

In Oceania Kiribati, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, is one of the most remote island nations in the world. With a population of just under 120,000, the distance to the nearest continent is several thousand kilometers.

With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Kiribati became even more marginalized in March 2020 as it closed its borders to protect its citizens from the disease. The measure helped, as by last week, no covid infections had been detected in Kiribati.

However, the situation quickly changed when the first international flight in ten months arrived in the country from Fiji last Friday. According to The Guardian 36 of the 54 passengers on the flight have been diagnosed with corona infection.

The According to the Guardian, the high number of infections on the flight has caused surprise. Flight passengers were required to have a two-week quarantine period and a negative covid test result in advance.

In addition to the passengers on the flight, three other infections had already been identified in Kiribati by Friday, one of which was guarded by a quarantine center. As a result, the land was placed in a closed state for the time being.

“We assume that covid-19 is now spreading in our community,” said the president of Kiribati Taneti Maamau according to the news agency AFP.

According to WHO statistics, just over a third of Kiribati residents have been vaccinated twice. According to the Kiribati administration, 93.4 percent of people over the age of 18 have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Last Kiribati has often been in the public eye over climate change over the years.

The UN has estimated that it may be the first state to be completely swallowed up by the sea as a result of climate change. Kiribati, with a total of 33 islands and atolls, could become non-viable as early as the 2050s.