The COVID-19 pandemic in the Marshall 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 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached 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 ...

on 28 October 2020, but remained confined to quarantined arrivals (no domestic

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 ...

) until August 2022. The first known

community transmission 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 ...

cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Majuro on August 8, 2022, ending the country's COVID-free status. The first confirmed death from COVID-19 in the Marshall Islands occurred on August 11, 2022. The Marshall Islands were the first country in the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

to start its COVID-19 vaccination program, which commenced in December 2020. __TOC__

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 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

The first cases in the country were reported on 28 October 2020, among two members of the US Army Garrison, who were among a group of 300 Marshall Islanders abroad being repatriated. The two cases, a man and woman who arrived at a US airfield in

Kwajalein Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civilia ...

tested negative for the virus in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

a week before their arrival. The disaster committee of the Marshall Islands has said "there was no threat of community transmission" and that no lockdown would be implemented until further notice. On 29 December 2020, the Marshall Islands became the first country in the Pacific to start its COVID-19 vaccinations. A group of high ranking leaders joined with Ministry of Health's doctors and nurses were the first to receive the United States government provided vaccines. By 13 April 2021, the Marshall Islands reached an adult population vaccination rate of nearly 75% in the "main towns" with their first dose. After completing the urban areas, the Ministry of Health and Human Services planned to distribute

Moderna Moderna, Inc. ( ) is an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts that focuses on RNA therapeutics, primarily mRNA vaccines. These vaccines use a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produ ...

and

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

vaccines to the most remote islands of the country to vaccinate the rest of the population. The 20,000 vaccine doses were provided as a donation by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and were deemed sufficient to cover every island's populations. August 2022 saw the first outbreak of the virus in the Marshall Islands.

Statistics

New cases per day

Cases by islands

Notes

References

{{COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania 2020 in the Marshall Islands 2021 in the Marshall Islands