COVID-19 pandemic in the Cook Islands
| COVID-19 pandemic in the Cook Islands | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | Cook Islands |
| Confirmed cases | 0[1] |
| Active cases | 0 |
| Recovered | 0 |
Deaths | 0 |
| Government website | |
| https://www.health.gov.ck/covid19/ | |
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Cook Islands is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of 14 June 2021, the Cook Island has not detected any active cases of SARS-CoV-2.
Background[edit]
On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[2][3]
The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003,[4][5] but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[6][4]
Timeline[edit]
As a precautionary measure, flights from destinations other than New Zealand were cancelled in mid-March 2020,[7] and non-essential surgeries cancelled.[8][9] On 26 March, Prime Minister Henry Puna announced that 'Code Yellow' measures would be in place in the islands, by which public gatherings are restricted.[10] On 15 August, the Government has temporarily closed its air borders to any travellers in response to the re-emerging of COVID-19 cases in Auckland, New Zealand.[11]
In early May 2021, the New Zealand and Cook Island governments agreed to establish a travel bubble between the two territories from 17 May. Travelers have to be present for at least 14 days in either NZ or the Cook Islands in order to participate in the travel bubble.[12]
On 5 June 2021, the first positive PCR test result in the Cook Islands was obtained, but it was determined to be a non-infectious historical case.[13][14]
On 13 June, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown and Cook Islands Tourism chief executive Halatoa Fua confirmed that the Cook Islands government and tourism industry were exploring the possibility of opening a travel bubble with Australia.[15]
On 18 June 2021, Radio New Zealand and Stuff reported that Cook Islands businesses were experiencing a boom as a result of the relaxation of travel restrictions but that the islands were still experiencing a labour shortage. [16]
References[edit]
- ^ "COVID-19 - Te Marae Ira Cook Islands Ministry of Health". Cook Islands Ministry of Health. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ Elsevier. "Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier Connect. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ Reynolds, Matt (4 March 2020). "What is coronavirus and how close is it to becoming a pandemic?". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Crunching the numbers for coronavirus". Imperial News. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ "High consequence infectious diseases (HCID); Guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases and their management in England". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus". www.wfsahq.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ "Coronavirus: Stricter measures introduced in Guam, Cook Islands". 17 March 2020. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ "Cook Islands ramps up Covid-19 prevention and mitigation". 18 March 2020. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ "Coronavirus: A look at cases and restrictions in the Pacific". 20 March 2020. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ "Covid-19: Cook Islands to move to Code Yellow". 25 March 2020. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- ^ "Cook Islands closes border over re-emergence of Covid-19 in NZ". RNZ. 15 August 2020. Archived from the original on 16 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ Cheng, Derek (3 May 2021). "Covid 19 coronavirus: Cook Islands travel bubble to begin on May 17 - PM Jacinda Ardern". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ "Cook Islands detects first positive Covid-19 case". Cook Islands News. 6 June 2021. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ "Cook Islands detects historical Covid-19 case". Radio New Zealand. 7 June 2021. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ Samoglou, Emmanuel (14 June 2021). "Cook Islands tourism focus turns to Australia". Stuff. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ Jacobson, Adam (18 June 2021). "The Cook Islands is booming since the travel bubble opened but challenges remain". Stuff. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
