Micronesia(Washington Insider Magazine)- Micronesia is one of the last nations to experience a COVID-19 outbreak. The number of infected continues to grow by the day, affecting one of the last populations to go unaffected by the Coronavirus in years prior.
Context: Where Is Micronesia?
Micronesia is a tropical island chain 1000+ miles from the Equator, consisting of over 600 islands and more than 100,000 people in its population. The group of islands is part of the Caroline Islands Archipelago, located in the Pacific Ocean.
Because of the remote geographical location, strict quarantine precautions
were implemented at the start of the global COVID-19 outbreak two years ago. These precautions stopped the spread of the virus in the more remote locations of the region, giving the country of Micronesia a rate of zero cases over multiple years. Borders had remained closed over the past two years, requiring travelers to be vaccinated against the virus, and to quarantine for 5 days upon arrival.
Precautions proved to be successful enough to consider reopening the boarder on August 1, 2022.
Will Micronesia Re-Open Its Boarder?
The decision to open the border came after many other countries showed declining rates of illness worldwide. However, due to an unexpected recent
an outbreak due to the Omicron variant on the island chain, the opening of the border may be delayed further.
It seems even the strictest precautions can’t keep the Omicron virus from squeezing past the lines of protection, especially in tourist-laden areas. This week David Panuelo, the President of the Federated States of Micronesia, reported that
several communities had seen cases of the virus be confirmed in two of the four major states. Both Kosrae State and the state of Pohnpei have continued to report several new cases, and numbers are on the rise at the time of this article’s publication.
