The COVID-19 pandemic in Kiribati is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by

severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a No ...

(). The virus was confirmed to have reached

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

on 18 May 2021.

Background

On 12 January 2020, the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

(WHO) confirmed that a

novel coronavirus Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a provisional name given to coronaviruses of medical significance before a permanent name is decided upon. Although coronaviruses are endemic in humans and infections normally mild, such as the common cold (caused by ...

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. The

case fatality ratio In epidemiology, case fatality rate (CFR) – or sometimes more accurately case-fatality risk – is the proportion of people diagnosed with a certain disease, who end up dying of it. Unlike a disease's mortality rate, the CFR does not take int ...

for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...

has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.

Timeline

February 2020

On 1 February 2020, the

government of Kiribati Politics of Kiribati takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the ''Beretitenti'', President of Kiribati, is both the head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive po ...

put all visas from China on hold and required new arrivals to fill in a health form and travellers from countries with the coronavirus to go through a self-quarantine period. Despite not having any cases, on 28 March President

Taneti Maamau Taneti Maamau (modern spelling: Taaneti Mwamwau, born 16 September 1960) is an I-Kiribati politician who has served as the 5th President of Kiribati since 11 March 2016. Political career A member of Tobwaan Kiribati Party, he began his career ...

declared a state of emergency.

September 2020

On 10 September, the government announced it will keep the borders closed until the end of the year to keep the country free of the virus. Some exceptions will be made, including repatriations, humanitarian flights and the transport of essential supplies into the country. A group of 20

I-Kiribati The Micronesians or Micronesian peoples are various closely related ethnic groups native to Micronesia, a region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They are a part of the Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, which has an Urheimat in Taiwan. Ethno ...

people in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

are the first set to be repatriated.

November 2020

On 19 November, the government repatriated 62 citizens, who had been stranded abroad since February, on a chartered

Fiji Airways Fiji Airways (trading as and formerly known as Air Pacific) is the flag carrier airline of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, K ...

flight. Upon arrival, residents must go through a 14-day mandatory quarantine at

Bikenibeu Bikenibeu is a settlement in Kiribati. It is located close to the southeastern corner of the Tarawa atoll, part of the island country of Kiribati. It is part of a nearly continuous chain of settlements along the islands of South Tarawa, which a ...

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

I-Kiribati president

announced the first positive case, a local seafarer returning from

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

on a ship quarantined in

Betio Betio is the largest township of Kiribati's capital city, South Tarawa, and the country's main port. The settlement is located on a separate islet at the extreme southwest of the atoll. Betio Post Office opened on 5 April 1957 and closed in 1964. ...

port. Two days later, a second positive case was detected on the same ship. The same day, a curfew was imposed. On 25 May, the repatriation program was suspended to deal with positive cases. Minister of Health, Dr Tinte Itinteang, reported that a second I-Kiribati fisherman has been identified and has recovered.

January 2022

Kiribati re-opened its border to international travelers on January 10, 2022. The border had been closed since March 2020. All international arrivals would be processed through a single entry point on

South Tarawa South Tarawa ( gil, Tarawa Teinainano) is the capital and hub of the Republic of Kiribati and home to more than half of Kiribati's population. The South Tarawa population centre consists of all the small islets from Betio in the west to Bonriki ...

. Days later, the first international commercial flight in almost two years - a

charter flight Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights r ...

run by the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

from

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

- landed in Kiribati. 36 of the 54 passengers on the plane tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival. A local I-Kiribati security guard at the quarantine center in

also tested positive after contact with the plane's passengers. The country had only recorded two previous COVID cases prior to the plane's arrival. In response to the larger number of COVID cases from the flight, the government announced a nationwide curfew beginning January 19, 2022, and made

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...

wearing compulsory under its "alert level 2 tier in its Covid-19 alert level system." On 22 January, the country went into lockdown due to confirmed community transmission of the virus. The four-day lockdown which is under its alert level 3 became effective from 3:00 p.m. A 24-hour curfew is also in effect with all non-essential services closed. Exceptions will be made for those who are going to buy essential foods. On 28 January, the government extended its lockdown for another week as cases rose rapidly in the community. Government officials have also tested positive for the virus and are working remotely. On 31 January, Kiribati reported a total of 364 cases (324 in the community 42 imported cases). In response, the Kiribati Government extended its state of disaster by another month and also extended the curfew in

, and

Buota Buota is an islet and a settlement on the island of Tarawa, Kiribati. There are 1,756 inhabitants (2015). The islet is the southernmost part of North Tarawa even if there is a bridge connecting it to Bonriki and South Tarawa South Tarawa ( gi ...

for another seven days in order to contain the spread of COVID-19.

February 2022

On 1 February 2022, Kiribati reported 169 new cases, bringing the total number to 629.

June 2022

As on 23 June 2022, total number of Covid cases in Kiribati was 3215, including 564 active cases, 2638 recoveries and 13 deaths.

Vaccination

As of 21 May 2021, Kiribati is one of last countries to have not started a

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

campaign. Support from Australia is under discussions for access to vaccines. Kiribati is an eligible country for

COVAX COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, is a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines directed by the GAVI vaccine alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the World Hea ...

program, and is expected to receive 48,000 doses of

AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includin ...

vaccine. On 25 May 2021, Kiribati received its first 24,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine via COVAX.

Statistics

New cases per day

Cases by Islands

Notes

References

{{COVID-19 pandemic