Covid infections triple in Marshall Islands after 2 years

After dodging the Covid 19 flu for two years, the Marshall Islands are struggling to control the spread of infections, which have tripled since the first community transmissions were detected a week ago.

More than 3,000 cases of Covid-linked deaths and seven hospital admissions have been reported in the north Pacific nation, which has a population of about 60,000 people.

On Sunday, more than a thousand cases were reported in the capital, Majuro, a double increase from the previous day, according to the health secretary, Jack Niethendal.

Niedenthal said that about 75% of Covid tests are positive, which is an incredibly high positivity rate. The Marshall Islands has a vaccination rate of 70% of people aged six months and above. The remote nation was able to stay Covid-free until October 2020, when two travellers from the US tested positive for Covid. There had been no community transmission until this month.

The ministry has been forced to recall Covid-positive healthcare workers back to work to keep facilities operating because of mounting numbers that have put further strain on the Marshall Islands limited health care system.

Niedenthal said more heath care workers tested positive on Sunday in an update on his Facebook page.

He said there were a number of negative complaints on social media regarding the idea that we are asking our healthcare workers to return to work if they are only experiencing mild symptoms. He said that the public health agency was left with no other option. On March 8th, 2020, the Marshall Islands was one of the first countries to close its borders to international travel, banning flights on March 8th, 2020, a few days before the World Health Organization declared a global epidemic.

Niedenthal said in an email to the Guardian that "we spent many urgent and stressful hours convincing other government officials that this was the best thing to do."

The Covid 19 pandemic was preceded by dengue. Niedenthal said that we were not capable of fighting two very contagious diseases at the same time.

He said that the prompt closure of the borders delayed the arrival of Covid- 19 giving time to organise and prepare. He said that it was a total community effort.

The Marshall Islands did not have a single case of Covid for the entire calendar year 2021. We gained the scientific know-how needed to protect our people by delaying the onset of the disease longer than almost every country in the world. He said it was smart.

The health secretary said his agency would send test kits and supplies to remote villages including Aur, Maloelap, Jalui, Mili and Ailinglaplap, along with a nurse practitioner, with the hope that they could soon be recording high numbers of cases.

Niedenthal wrote that we are trying to prioritise those atolls and islands where there have been travellers from Majuro from the previous week and are potentially infected.