The COVID-19 pandemic in the North Mariana Islands is part of the ongoing worldwide 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 ...

() 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 COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in March 2020.

Background

On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan, Hubei,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019. The case fatality ratio 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

On 28 March, the islands confirmed their first two COVID-19 cases. The first death from coronavirus in the CNMI occurred on March 30 at Kanoa Resort. A second death was reported on April 7 at the Commonwealth Health Care Corporation (CHCC). On 13 April, the CNMI received 20,000 test kits from South Korea; this shipment is expected to be the first of three, totaling 60,000, to arrive.

Estadísticas

Flights from China and Hong Kong were cancelled in early February, leading to a drawdown in tourists to the island of

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

and subsequently an economic crisis which triggered an

austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...

. By March 12, a task force was in place to manage the austerity measures put into place.COVID-19 Task Force to address community concerns
Marianas Variety As a precautionary measure on March 17, Governor Torres shut schools and government offices. The continuation of daily United Airlines' nonstop flights from Guam 120 miles away led to all arriving individuals suspected of coronavirus symptoms to be placed in quarantine at the Kanoa Resort. Circa 16 March, governor Ralph Torres temporarily closed all schools and government offices. A government task force has also been set up to monitor the situation.

References

External links

CHCC Coronavirus page
Northern Mariana Islands COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania Disasters in the Northern Mariana Islands Health in the Northern Mariana Islands 2020 in the Northern Mariana Islands 2021 in the Northern Mariana Islands {{NorthernMarianas-stub