Covirus 19 coronavirus: how a Kiwi / Rapa Nui family is coping in one of the most isolated places in the world: Easter Island

There is self-isolation, and then there is self-isolation in one of the most remote places on the planet, Rapa Nui.

And that’s exactly what ex-West Auckland man Marc Shields is doing with his Rapa Nui wife Tuhiira Tucki and their three children.

A blockade there that bans all flights to the popular tourist destination has seen a massive reduction in the island’s population, and with deserted streets, beaches, and parks, and limited supermarkets, indigenous people have resorted to traditional ways of dealing with the crisis: living off land and sea.

“It is super peaceful,” Shields told the Herald.

“In the mornings we go fishing and fishing. We have planted sweet potatoes and yams. I don’t think we can always live like this, but it’s good to go back to the old ways.”

The couple typically conducts a tourism operation on the Chilean-ruled island, also known as Easter Island, which, like New Zealand, has been locked up for the past few weeks with a curfew in place from 2pm to 5am each day.

The island is as isolated as it is, located 3,500 km from the Chilean coast, and a five-hour flight from the capital, Santiago.

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The 7,750-person island, about half of the indigenous descendants of Rapa Nui and the other half of mainland Chile, is famous for its giant humanoid monoliths called moai, which were sculpted from basalt more than 1,000 years ago.

But there are real fears of an outbreak at the tourist hotspot, which receives around 100,000 visitors a year.

So far, five cases have been recorded, all from the same home, and with limited health care options, local authorities are desperately working to contain the outbreak.

Tourists have been banned from entering the island during the closure period, which started on March 19, and authorities in Rapa Nui this week rejected the central government’s decision to discontinue the island’s Covid-19 quarantine.

“It is a difficult situation,” Shields said.

“Many here live off tourism, but the locals still don’t want tourists to come in and potentially bring the disease on. You can feel a little bit of tension.”

Similar to Maori culture, Tucki said that Polynesian descendants had strong concerns for their elders.

“Our elders are very important to us in our culture, but they are very vulnerable. Therefore, we are all trying to do our best to stay home and away from any source of infection.”

The island had a hospital and two ventilators, he said, and anyone who became ill would really need to be sent to the mainland.

“We just don’t have the facilities here to deal with an outbreak.”

Also similar to Maori culture, the island had enacted a “tapu” way of dealing with the blockade.

Mayor Pedro Edmunds told AFP that the inhabitants had returned to their old tapu tradition, based on self-care.

“To accompany this concept of self-care, we are applying the Rapa Nui tradition, an ancient rule based on sustainability and respect.”

It meant that the blockade had been widely respected, preventing the virus from spreading everywhere.

Similarly, in New Zealand, Maori have started their own checkpoints to enforce blocking regulations and share messages about the virus, recognizing the disproportionate impact such diseases can have on their people.

But for the young Shields family, who lived in the countryside far from the main city, the period of confinement had also given them a chance to return to the island lifestyle they dreamed of.

Much like many around the world, much of his confinement has been spent in quality time with his children: Tucki’s son Heki’i, 15, his 7-year-old daughter Heikura, and his son from 2 years, Ihaka.

The children are being homeschooled, many movies are watched, despite the “terrible” internet connection, and Tucki said he had been learning to make clothes the traditional way with bark cloth.

Shields, a professional photographer, said the lack of tourists had also provided a unique opportunity to capture the island’s desolate beauty.

“One of my favorite things now is going out to the shore early in the morning and taking photos.

“It sounds very selfish. There are people fighting here, and maybe I should be worried, but I really feel amazing and it makes you realize how simple you can live.”

“Living off the land and the sea, collecting rainwater, chopping wood, cooking outside under the stars, that’s why we came here 12 years ago.”

Shields met Tucki, who grew up in Rapa Nui, when they were both studying at Waikato University in 2007. She was there on a scholarship and always planned to return home to the island.

The following year they got engaged and moved to the island soon after, they soon started their tourism company Green Island Tours and Travel.

They take a wide range of tours of the island ranging from volcanic walks to visits to the moai, various cruise options and even stargazing.

With a strongly tourism-based economy, Shields said there was a lot of uncertainty about the future.

“Everyone is worried about the next few months. Some of the inhabitants of the island could probably last a month with the borders closed.”

“I am sorry to those who do not have much money and who depend on tourists. People will use their credit cards to buy food.”

“There is no way of knowing when the industry will start to recover, but we don’t expect it for at least a few months.”

In the meantime, they would make the most of their laid-back island lifestyle.

“I’d rather be here than in an apartment. The weather is nice here and we have a lot of the island to explore.”