COVID-19: Pacific Community Updates

This page will be regularly updated as new information is received

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pacific Community (SPC) Public Health Division is closely monitoring the global and regional situation through its epidemic intelligence system and produces regular epidemiological reports on COVID-19 cases reported in the Pacific.

The COVID-19 (COrona VIrus Disease 2019) outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020. Globally, nations are taking actions to reduce and control the spread of the virus.

For information on global efforts to manage this outbreak, visit the WHO website for current situation reports on COVID 19.

Current Status in the Pacific

21 countries (American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (CNMI), Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Pitcarin Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna) in the PICTs have reported cases and deaths.

For more details and data, please consult the below map and charts.

(*) This includes all cases reported (imported/border cases and locally acquired cases) with a reporting date. Source PDH.stat.

You can print or download the map in PNG, JPEG and PDF format by clicking on the hamburger menu ☰ on the top right corner

Pacific Island Countries and territories		2022-08	2022-09	2022-10	2022-11	2022-12	2023-01	2023-02	2023-03	2023-04	2023-05	2023-06	2023-07	2023-08
AS	American Samoa	8168	8247	8260	8265	8302	8320	8320	8327	8331	8332	8341	8344	8344
CK	Cook Islands	6265	6389	6405	6475	6533	6999	7025	7042	7062	7120	7144	7151	7152
FJ	Fiji	68171	68242	68264	68375	68750	68820	68889	68914	68921	68921	69117	69117	69117
FM	Micronesia (Federated States of)	7475	13953	22203	22035	22247	23775	24195	25703	26080	26458	26460	31778	31801
GU	Guam	57947	58577	58835	59379	60053	60778	60989	61160	61442	61855	62219	62408	62596
KI	Kiribati	4856	4866	4872	4884	4916	5011	5014	5020	5025	5037	5081	5084	5085
MH	Marshall Islands	15042	15305	15382	15541	15554	15584	15649	16013	16095	16098	16098	16098	16125
MP	Northern Mariana Islands	13120	13171	13212	13227	13358	13567	13648	13785	13871	13947	14040	14148	14237
NC	New Caledonia	73934	74288	74406	76187	79577	79981	80017	80048	80058	80064	80064	80064	80064
NR	Nauru	4610	4610	4610	4625	4625	4777	5247	5445	5459	5459	5481	5485	5485
NU	Niue	71	80	85	147	439	747	790	797	801	817	820	822	884
PF	French Polynesia	76745	76846	76911	77284	78104	78249	78277	78519	78700	78779	78796	78802	78811
PG	Papua New Guinea	44887	45010	45465	46182	46663	46663	46663	46835	46842	46842	46842	46842	46842
PN	Pitcairn	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
PW	Palau	5348	5460	5513	5785	5971	5986	5989	5997	5999	6009	6018	6160	6228
SB	Solomon Islands	24004	24009	24027	25719	25877	25878	25878	25880	25926	25943	25945	25945	25945
TK	Tokelau	n/c	n/c	n/c	n/c	5	5	5	5	5	14	23	80	90
TO	Tonga	16182	16182	16182	16222	16487	16795	16810	16814	16816	16817	16819	16821	16821
TV	Tuvalu	20	20	20	2779	3079	3079	3079	3079	3079	3179	3211	3211	3211
VU	Vanuatu	11825	11928	11964	11968	12011	12011	12026	12026	12026	12027	12027	12029	12029
WF	Wallis and Futuna	3218	3411	3415	3416	3431	3450	3455	3456	3486	3597	3637	3637	3637
WS	Samoa	15839	15941	15946	15946	15975	16594	16607	16737	16743	16743	16771	16777	16778
Total		457731	466539	475981	484445	491961	497073	498576	501606	502771	504062	504958	510807	511286

Note: SPC population estimates of eligible people was used in the computation of vaccination coverage to maximize comparability between countries. The percentage coverage numbers may differ from country reported numbers due to variation in population denominator that was used.

Disclaimer: All data are subject to change, as more information become available.

For further information on specific countries in the Pacific contact the respective government authorities.

Regional Challenges

COVID-19 represents a significant challenge for the region. The Pacific Community (SPC), as the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific (CROP) lead in public health, has taken all necessary measures to help address the spread of COVID-19. This includes the adoption of a response framework aimed at supporting staff well-being and business continuity while supporting an efficient regional response to the pandemic.

Which are the main risk areas for PICTs?

In most of the PICTs, access to quality health services is limited, due to a lack of infrastructure, equipment, and qualified personnel. In the current situation, this can pose a problem of access to care if the number of infected people increases.
Most PICTs do not have the needed laboratory equipment to analyse the tests on site, which creates difficulties in identifying cases. The test samples have to be sent to other countries for analysis.
Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) are frequented by tourists. This represents a risk due to the movement of people to and from PICTs (although restrictive measures have been put in place); and also a risk for the local economies.

Country support:

Our Public Health Division is supporting Pacific Island countries and territories preparedness and response to COVID-19 through public health surveillance, laboratory, infection prevention and control, risk communication and clinical services.

Partnership:

SPC is part of the World Health Organization (WHO)-led multi-agency Incident Management Team (IMT) and therefore provides support to PICTs in close collaboration with regional partners.