The body of a Filipino fisherman was discovered on April 11 on a Vanuatu beach, a short drive from the capital’s headquarters, Port Vila, on the island of Efate.
The day a UK-flagged tanker found that one crew member was not on board as it sailed from Port Vila last week, New Zealand public broadcaster RNZ reported last week. Vanuatu port authorities have told the tanker to return to the port and a search and rescue operation is underway.
After the body of the crew member was found on the beach, the authorities detained the tanker. According to RNZ, the body was taken to a morgue and later tested positive for Covid-19.
In the RNZ report it is not clear whether the man died of Covid-19 and whether he came ashore on the island. CNN has the Department of Infrastructure and Public Assistance contacting the Department of Ports and Marine Overseas for more information.
Most of the remote islands in the South Pacific have reported very few cases of coronavirus, and Vanuatu – home to some 300,000 people – is no exception. According to Johns Hopkins University, the country has reported only three cases of Covid-19. It reported its first case in November last year and two more infections in March.
According to Prime Minister Bob Loughman, the travel ban applies while authorities conduct contact detection, reports RNZ.
As part of these efforts, 16 people were quarantined – most of them police officers who were found at the scene, according to the report. The director general of health, Russell Tamata, is appealing to the public to be tested, although he said according to RNZ that the risk of transmission by the community is low.
The leader of the opposition, Ralph Regenvanu, said on Twitter that although Vanuatu “imposed wonderful strict quarantine protocols on all ports of entry into the country”, they did not foresee that a corpse with Covid-19 could be washed ashore and in ‘the only morgue in the country where people gather around every day to mourn. ‘
CNN has asked the Vanuatu authorities for comment.