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Rising Covid-19 cases in Guam threaten to overwhelm the island’s health system, while the rapid spread of infections across Papua New Guinea and new clusters in French Polynesia following the resumption of tourism have sparked fears of uncontrolled outbreaks in the Pacific.
The Pacific region remains the least infected in the world (several countries remain Covid-19 free), but worrying waves are taking place in countries with fragile health systems and ill-equipped for large numbers of infections.
An early trend of ‘vaccine diplomacy’ is also emerging, with regional powers seeking to exert political influence through promises to help Pacific nations, who are otherwise likely at the end of the line, to ensure access to a vaccine when one is available.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper made an air visit across the Pacific this week, condemning China’s “evil activities” in the region and seeking to shore up US influence.
But Esper’s swift visit to the Pacific has also exposed the serious risk of inbound travel after a member of his advance team to the unincorporated territory of Guam in the United States tested positive for Covid-19.
Guam has now recorded 1,287 infections and 10 deaths, with dozens of infections dating back to US military personnel who served on the island, as deployments continued during the pandemic.
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt docked in Guam in March, unloading sailors amid a massive Covid-19 outbreak on board. The 1,156 infections from the ship are not counted in Guam’s national total, but Guam officials have publicly detailed nearly 200 military cases on the island, including 35 airmen who went to local restaurants, raising concerns about military personnel as a vector. of the virus.
“We are in a very desperate situation. We are in very desperate times. Our island is sick at the moment, ”said Guam Governor Lou León Guerrero, extending the public health emergency for Guam until the end of next month.
“As we operate in Guam with our fragile healthcare system, this is being stressed to the limit,” said Dr. Felix Cabrera, a member of the governor’s medical advisory group. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
Esper had previously told the president of Palau, a country with which the US is renegotiating its free association pact, that the US would help obtain Covid-19 vaccines, when one becomes available.
“I am sure that we will have a vaccine by the end of the year: of course, we will share it with our friends and partners and with you, that will make a difference,” said Esper.
Australia and New Zealand have also committed money to secure vaccines for the Pacific region. China has offered priority access to five Southeast Asian countries if its vaccine is available, and has reportedly already tested a vaccine on its citizens leaving China to work in the Pacific region.
With its tourism industry essentially closed, Palau’s economy has been devastated by border closures. Palau President Tommy Remengesau Jr said US troops could fill the tourism gap.
“We love having you in Palau … please tell your friends and families that Palau is the best place for R-and-R and that the US Army always receives our warmest welcome.”
In PNG, the largest country in the Pacific, the number of infections has risen from a single number two months ago to 453, with five deaths.
The cases have spread from the capital, Port Moresby, to half of the country’s 22 provinces. But fewer than 16,000 tests have been conducted across the country since the pandemic began, a tiny fraction of the country’s nine million people, and the virus is almost certainly much more widespread and unidentified in communities.
The closure of Port Moresby was lifted after fifteen days and domestic travel resumed. Papua New Guineans have been urged to embrace the ‘Niupela Pasin’, the new normal, of living with Covid: practicing social distancing, wearing face masks and washing hands.
Prime Minister James Marape said PNG would not be blocked again, despite the growing number of cases.
“Covid-19 not only affects our health but also the economy,” he said.
“That is why we will not have another blockade. We must adapt to living with Covid-19 … we will not close our country again ”.
The French territory of French Polynesia was reopened to tourists on July 15. At that time there had been no new infections since the end of June, and only 62 for the entire pandemic.
The territory now has 397 confirmed cases. There have been no deaths, but several Covid-19 patients have been hospitalized and a small number are in intensive care. A cluster of infections has emerged from a dinner held at a Papeete restaurant late last month.
And 51 of the 71 members of a mobile French police squad, some of whom were at the party, tested positive for Covid-19 upon their return to France.
Some in French Polynesia have called for the reintroduction of mandatory quarantine for international arrivals, but this has been rejected by the territory’s government and the French High Commission, which said long-term isolation was not feasible for the territory.
