TheCOVID-19 pandemic in Kiribati was part of theworldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused bysevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reachedKiribati on 18 May 2021.^[1]

On 12 January 2020, theWorld Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that anovel 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.^[3][4]

Thecase fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower thanSARS of 2003,^[5][6] but thetransmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.^[7][5]

Cases

Deaths

On 1 February 2020, thegovernment of Kiribati put all visas from China on hold and required new arrivals to fill in a health form and travellers from countries with the COVID-19 outbreaks to go through a self-quarantine period.^[8] Despite not having any cases, on 28 March, PresidentTaneti Maamau declared a state of emergency.^[9]

On 10 September, the government announced it woul keep the borders closed until the end of the year to keep the country free of the virus. Some exceptions would be made, including repatriations, humanitarian flights and the transport of essential supplies into the country. A group of 20I-Kiribati people in theMarshall Islands were the first set to be repatriated.^[10]

On 19 November, the government repatriated 62 citizens, who had been stranded abroad since February, on a charteredFiji Airways flight. Upon arrival, residents underwent a mandatory 14-day quarantine atBikenibeu,Tarawa.^[11]

By 15 May 2021, Kiribati had repatriated 1,400 I-Kiribati stranded abroad without importing any positive cases.^[12] The pandemic led to the loss of I-Kiribati seafarers' jobs because of the requirement to present a negative PCR test to return to work, and a lack of a machine to perform tests in Kiribati.^[13] On 18 May 2021, President Taneti Maamau announced the first positive case, a local seafarer returning fromPapua New Guinea on a ship quarantined inBetio port.^[1] Two days later, a second positive case was detected on the same ship.^[14][15] The same day, a curfew was imposed.^[16] On 25 May, the repatriation program was suspended to deal with positive cases.^[17] Minister of Health, Dr. Tinte Itinteang, reported that a second I-Kiribati fisherman had been identified and had recovered.^[17]

Kiribati re-opened its border to international travelers on January 10, 2022.^[18][19] The border had been closed since March 2020.^[19] All international arrivals would be processed through a single entry point onSouth Tarawa.^[18][19][20] Days later, the first international commercial flight in almost two years - acharter flight run by theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fromFiji - landed in Kiribati.^[19] 36 of the 54 passengers on the plane tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival.^[20] A local I-Kiribati security guard at the quarantine center in Bikenibeu also tested positive after contact with the plane's passengers.^[19] The country had only recorded two COVID-19 cases prior to the plane's arrival.^[19] In response to the larger number of cases from the flight, the government announced a nationwide curfew beginning on January 19, 2022, and mademask-wearing compulsory under its "alert level 2 tier in its COVID-19 alert level system."^[20]

On 22 January, the country went into lockdown due to confirmed community transmission of the virus. The four-day lockdown which was under its alert level 3 became effective from 3:00 p.m. A 24-hour curfew was also in effect with all non-essential services closed. Exceptions were made for those who were going to buy essential foods.^[21] On 28 January, the government extended its lockdown for another week as cases rose rapidly in the community. Government officials also tested positive for the virus and worked remotely.^[22] On 31 January, Kiribati reported a total of 364 cases (324 in the community, 42 imported cases). In response, the Kiribati Government extended its state of disaster by another month and also extended the curfew inBetio,South Tarawa, andBuota for another seven days in order to contain the spread of COVID-19.^[23]

On 1 February, Kiribati reported 169 new cases, bringing the total number to 629.^[24] By 22 July, total number of cases in Kiribati was 3,430, with 2,730 recoveries and 13 deaths.^[25]

Having been closed again because of this outbreak, the border re-opened and restricted flights resumed into Tarawa in June 2022. Scheduled commercial flights were resumed a few weeks later.

As of 21 May 2021, Kiribati was one of last countries to have not started avaccination campaign. Support from Australia was under discussions for access to vaccines.^[26] Kiribati was an eligible country forCOVAX program, and was expected to receive 48,000 doses ofAstraZeneca vaccine.^[27] On 25 May 2021, Kiribati received its first 24,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine via COVAX.^[28]

This graph was using thelegacy Graph extension, which is no longer supported. It needs to be converted to thenew Chart extension.

• COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania

• COVID-19 pandemic by country
• Disasters in Kiribati
• Health in Kiribati
• COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
• 2020 in Kiribati
• 2021 in Kiribati
• 2022 in Kiribati

• Pages using the Graph extension
• Pages with disabled graphs
• Articles with short description
• Short description with empty Wikidata description