Cases of the coronavirus in the Marshall Islands have soared, just days after the tiny Pacific country reported its first local spread of the virus. The total number of cases in the capital Majuro has almost doubled since last Friday, the BBC reports.
Authorities said about 75 percent of tests across the country, which is 5,300 kilometers east of Australia, were returning positive results.
The tiny Marshall Islands in the Pacific have seen an explosion of COVID-19 cases. (AP)
The Marshall Islands were among the Pacific countries that remained largely free of coronavirus cases in the early period of the global pandemic.
It recorded its first cases in October 2020, among two travelers returning from the United States.
Earlier this month, the Marshall Islands, which has a population of 59,000, had no community transmission of COVID-19. Seventy percent of people have been vaccinated.
But early last week, the government declared a “state of health disaster” after the first person-to-person spread was confirmed. The response included closing schools and introducing new public health rules, but no lockdown.
The latest figures from the Marshall Islands showed a cumulative 3,036 cases since October 2020.
Red Cross volunteers at a coronavirus clinic in the Marshall Islands. (Marshall Islands Ministry of Health) (Supplied/Facebook)
Health Secretary Jack Niedenthal, who tested positive, urged anyone who feels seriously ill to report their case as a hospital emergency.
The Marshall Islands are made up of 29 widely spread atolls. Local media have reported cases of COVID-19 that have spread from Majuro over the past week to other towns.
The government said it has received medical supplies from countries including the US and more are on the way.
The Australian government has urged travelers to the Marshall Islands to “exercise a high degree of caution”.
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