The COVID-19 pandemic in Montserrat is part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of

coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

(COVID-19), which was confirmed to have reached the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...

on 17 March 2020. The first death occurred on 24 April 2020. By 15 May, all patients had recovered. On 10 July, a new case was discovered. On 7 August, there were no more active cases.

Background

On 12 January, 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, who had initially come to the attention of the WHO on 31 December 2019. Unlike SARS of 2003, the case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower, 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. The island had a population of 4,649 people in 2018. Testing for COVID-19 was being performed by the

Caribbean Public Health Agency The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is a regional public health agency headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago which was established by CARICOM leaders in July 2011 and began operation in 2013. CARPHA combines the functions of five pre-exi ...

. until 13 May when the island received their own testing machine. There is one small hospital (Glendon Hospital) which has no

ICU ICU commonly refers to: * Intensive care unit, a special department of a hospital ICU may also refer to: Organisations Universities * Information and Communications University, South Korea *Istanbul Commerce University, Istanbul, Turkey * Intern ...

capacity. Specialised health care has to be performed on

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

Timeline

March 2020

On 18 March, the first case in Montserrat was confirmed. The patient had travelled from London to

before arriving in Montserrat. On the 13 March the authorities had notified that a COVID-19 patient had been discovered on that flight and subsequently all passengers were quarantined and tested. On 23 March, the second case was confirmed. The patient had no travel history and was the first case of

community spread In medicine, public health, and biology, transmission is the passing of a pathogen causing communicable disease from an infected host individual or group to a particular individual or group, regardless of whether the other individual was previous ...

. On 26 March, three more cases were confirmed to be positive bringing the total to five cases of COVID-19 on the island of Montserrat. ''Government of Montserrat''

April 2020

On 7 April, the number of cases had increased to eight. On 24 April, the first death related to COVID-19 on Montserrat, that of a 92-year female, was sadly announced. On 25 April, Montserrat had been without new infections for its second week.

May 2020

On 6 May, Premier Joseph E. Farrell announced that the testing machines for COVID-19 will arrive shortly and that island will soon be able to test. On 12 May, a business impact assessment was released. COVID-19 caused US$3.6 million in economic disruption. On 15 May, it was reported that there are no more active cases on Montserrat.

July 2020

On 10 July, a new case had been discovered. The person had been on the island since March. Contact tracing is under way.

August 2020

On 7 August, the last two cases recovered, and the island once again has no more active cases.

February 2021

The island began its vaccination campaign on 8 February 2021; by 11 May 1321 people in Montserrat (28.4%) had received at least one dose of the vaccine and 976 (21.0%) had received their second dose.

October 2022

End of measures.

Preventive measures

* 24 February: Travel restriction for China (including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan), Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Republic of Korea, Thailand, and Iran. * 26 February: Travel restriction extended to Northern Italy. * 14 March: Schools are closed and gatherings over 50 people are prohibited. Visits of hospitals and senior citizens' homes are prohibited. * 21 March: Gatherings over 25 are prohibited. Mandatory 14 day quarantine for travellers. * 25 March: Gatherings over 4 are prohibited. Curfew instituted between 19:00 and 05:00. Non-essential travel is prohibited. Non-residents are banned from entering by plane or ship. * 28 March: 24 hour curfew from 28 March until 14 April. * 9 April: 7 day complete shutdown came into effect and the curfew was extended to 30 April. On 11 and 12 April, people were allowed to shop for essential goods in four groups based on their last name. * 17 April: Shutdown extended to 1 May. Between 20 and 22 April people will be allowed to shop for essential goods based on their last name. * 29 April: Limited opening for essential business from 1 May until 7 May. People allowed to leave their house for essential business and limited exercise outside. * 6 May: People allowed in public on Monday to Friday between 05:00 and 19:00 for essential business. People allowed to engage in an activity alone or with no more than 4 members of the same household between 05:00 and 08:00 and 16:00 to 18:30. * 22 May: Curfew modified to 20:00 to 05:00, with no weekend lock-down. All retail stores can reopen. Restaurants can reopen as takeaway only. Construction work can resume. Visits to retirement homes are possible for family only. Barbers, churches, buses, and taxis are allowed to reopen with strict conditions. Bars, night clubs, gyms, and schools remain closed.

Statistics

Chronology of the number of active cases

Notes

References

{{COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories coronavirus pandemic

Disease outbreaks in Montserrat