After nearly two years of almost complete isolation from the world, COVID-19 has finally reached the distant shores of Pitcairn Island.
The remote islandhalfway between New Zealand and Chile, had so far managed to remain infection-free by closing off completely to visitors.
But border restrictions, imposed in March 2020, began to relax from April. And stuff understands that a resident who left for medical treatment has now tested positive for the virus upon returning home. The patient isolates – along with those they traveled with.
Only about 40 people live in the South Pacific outpost, a British Overseas Territory administered from New Zealand.
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The supply ship Silver Supporter takes two weeks to sail between Adamstown and Tauranga, allowing quarantine at sea.
But islanders can now take a shorter trip to Mangareva, where a weekly flight takes them to Papaeete. In recent weeks, the island has also received its first visitors on yachts. This year it has also welcomed a doctor and a teacher.
Iain McGregor / Stuff
Adamstown, the capital of Pitcairn Island.
Islanders escaped the lockdowns, but shutting out visitors decimated their economy, which relies heavily on cruise ship tourism, homestays and souvenirs, and sells locally grown produce such as honey and coffee to tourists
The first cruise ship to call in more than two years – the Aranui 5 – will arrive in the coming weeks.
Vaccines were delivered earlier this year aboard HMS Spey, a British naval vessel. A dentist and nurse also landed to provide dental treatment. It was the first ship to be visited since the start of the pandemic.
Masks are not required on Pitcairn, but visitors are encouraged to use them and observe social distancing.
They must be vaccinated, undergo a Covid test on departure and seven days of quarantine on the supply ship. Upon landing, they must undergo a rapid antigen test as soon as they enter the island’s harbor.
Iain McGregor / Stuff
The Silver Supporter is the island’s freighter and sails regularly between Tauranga and Adamstown.
The volcanic rock was settled in the late 1700s by Fletcher Christian, his fellow HMS Bounty mutineers, and their Polynesian wives. Their descendants now make up the bulk of the population.
The British High Commission in Wellington has been approached for comment.