COVID-19 pandemic in the British Indian Ocean Territory
The COVID-19 pandemic in the British Indian Ocean Territory is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached Diego Garcia of the British Indian Ocean Territory in November 2020.[1][2]
| COVID-19 pandemic in the British Indian Ocean Territory | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | British Indian Ocean Territory |
| First outbreak | Wuhan, Hubei, China |
| Arrival date | November 2020 |
| Confirmed cases | 5[1][2] |
| Suspected cases‡ | 0 |
| Recovered | 2 |
Deaths | 0 |
| ‡Suspected cases have not been confirmed by laboratory tests as being due to this strain, although some other strains may have been ruled out. | |
Background
editOn 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel 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]
The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003,[5][6] but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[7][5] From 19 March 2020, Public Health England no longer classified COVID-19 as a "High consequence infectious disease".[6]
Timeline
editNovember 2020
editIn November 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed at Diego Garcia.[1]
December 2020
editIn December 2020, the second case, a close contact of the first case, was confirmed.[1]
May 2021
editIn May 2021, three more cases were confirmed from a flight. The personnel arrived at the island in April.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "In the Studio with Capt. Blizzard". www.facebook.com. AFN Diego Garcia. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ a b c "In the Studio with Capt. Blizzard". www.facebook.com. AFN Diego Garcia. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Elsevier. "Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier Connect. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ Reynolds, Matt (4 March 2020). "What is coronavirus and how close is it to becoming a pandemic?". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Crunching the numbers for coronavirus". Imperial News. 13 March 2020. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ a b "High consequence infectious diseases (HCID); Guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases and their management in England". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus". www.wfsahq.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.