Coronavirus in the Pacific: weekly briefing
Covid-19-related developments throughout the Pacific Islands
There have only been five new cases of coronavirus confirmed in the Pacific this week - all of which were in Guam - bringing the regional total to 264. This figure excludes cases among US sailors infected on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is currently docked in Guam, and cases in West Papua, which has been excluded due to our lack of confidence in the data.
With infection rates slowing throughout the Pacific islands as well as in Australia and New Zealand, talk has begun to turn to exit strategies. Public health officials and politicians are keeping a close watch on Papua New Guinea, fearing a widespread outbreak there, but elsewhere the talk is about how to begin restarting economies and opening borders.
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