COVID-19: Pacific Community Updates

This page is regularly updated as new information is received

The COVID-19 (COrona VIrus Disease 2019) outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020.

On 5 May 2023, the WHO Director-General declared that “COVID-19 is now an established and ongoing health issue which no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)”.

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

22 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), Pitcairn Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna) in the PICTs have reported cases and deaths.

Due to the evolving nature of COVID-19 testing, vaccination and reporting strategies across the pacific region, the data reported might not reflect the true situation in a number of countries.

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

COVID-19 Recent Cases (table)

Pacific Island Countries and territories		Cumulated number of cases of COVID-19	Cumulated number of deaths due to COVID-19
AS	American Samoa	8,431	34
CK	Cook Islands	7,326	2
FJ	Fiji	69,117	885
FM	Micronesia (Federated States of)	31,764	62
GU	Guam	64,253	419
KI	Kiribati	5,085	24
MH	Marshall Islands	16,247	17
MP	Northern Mariana Islands	14,594	48
NC	New Caledonia	80,421	314
NR	Nauru	5,485	1
NU	Niue	1,074	0
PF	French Polynesia	79,630	652
PG	Papua New Guinea	46,842	670
PN	Pitcairn	4	0
PW	Palau	6,372	10
SB	Solomon Islands	25,945	199
TK	Tokelau	242	0
TO	Tonga	16,966	12
TV	Tuvalu	3,234	0
VU	Vanuatu	12,029	14
WF	Wallis and Futuna	3,831	10
WS	Samoa	17,006	31
Total		515,898	3,404

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.