APRIL 20 A MAN’S BODY WASHED ASHORE ON A BEACH IN THE PACIFIC ISLAND NATION OF VANUATU ON APRIL 11 AND TESTED POSITIVE FOR THE CORONAVIRUS, CNN AND RADIO NEW ZEALAND REPORTED. Vanuatu has since imposed a three-day travel ban on departures from the country’s main island.
On the day of the incident, a British-flagged oil tanker was reported to have found a crew member missing as it sailed out of Port Vila, Efat. The port of Vanuatu ordered the tanker to return to the port and launched a search-and-rescue operation. Finally, port police found the Philippine crew member’s body on the beach and seized the tanker. After the deceased was taken to the morgue, he tested positive for the new coronavirus.
Public Radio New Zealand said it was unclear whether the man had died of Coronavirus pandemic and how he was washed ashore. Vanuatu’s prime minister, Bob Loughman, said the travel ban coincided with close contact tracking. Six or so 16 people have been quarantined, most of them police officers who rushed to the scene when the bodies were found. Vanuatu Health Commissioner Russell Tamata said the public was urged to undergo new coronavirus nucleic acid testing, despite the low risk of community transmission.
Remote island countries in the South Pacific have reported fewer cases of Coronavirus, including Vanuatu, which has a population of about 300,000. Only three new cases of pneumonia have been reported in the country, according to Johns Hopkins University in the United States. The first case was reported in November 2020 and two more in March 2021.
