Health Situation reports provide an update on the epidemiological situation and actions taken by the Ministry of Health and partners. These are issued regularly, and may be more frequent when there are rapid changes in the situation.
Health Update – 18 January 2021
HIGHLIGHTS
- The first confirmed case of COVID-19 detected on 10 November 2020 received health clearance and was discharged from isolation at Vila Central Hospital on 01 December.
- Vanuatu was therefore considered again to be COVID-19 free as of the date of clearance and discharge
- There have been no subsequent suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Vanuatu
- Phase 3 of repatriation of Vanuatu citizens and residents commenced on 14th January 2021 with strict mandatory quarantine measures applied for 14 days and tests conducted prior to health clearance.
- As per the COVID-19 Health Sector Preparedness and Response Plan, Vanuatu is in Scenario 1 (no active cases)
- New COVID-19 variants that are potentially more infectious have been identified in several countries; the Vanuatu Ministry of Health is closely monitoring developments. Current protocols for prevention of COVID-19 in place in Vanuatu remain appropriate with these new variants; the situation will be monitored on an on-going basis.
- Probable transmission of COVID-19 during a flight to New Zealand has been noted with reports indicating that some involved passengers did not wear masks during the flight. The Vanuatu public health directive requires for mandatory in-flight wearing of masks by both crew and passengers; Air Vanuatu crew have been directed to strictly enforce this on all flights.
- People are urged not to spread misinformation/rumours.
Previous Health Updates
Global Situation Reports are issued daily by the World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports