[ti:COVID Arrives in One of the Last Places Without It] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:02.12]When the coronavirus began spreading around the world, [00:05.84]the island nation of Kiribati closed its borders. [00:09.76]That meant the disease did not reach the remote country [00:13.52]in the Pacific for nearly two years. [00:17.64]Kiribati finally began reopening this month, [00:21.20]letting a plane carrying 54 of its citizens to return. [00:27.96]Many of those on the plane [00:29.60]were religious workers from the Mormon Church. [00:33.52]They had left Kiribati before the border closure [00:36.88]to spread the church's teachings in other countries. [00:42.08]Officials tested each returning passenger three times in nearby Fiji. [00:48.76]They were required to be vaccinated and stay in quarantine [00:53.56]with additional testing when they arrived home. [00:57.64]The measures were not enough. [00:59.80]More than half the passengers tested positive for the virus, [01:05.16]which has now spread into the community. [01:09.48]The government has declared a state of disaster. [01:13.04]And what began as 36 positive cases from the flight [01:18.60]increased to 181 cases by Friday. [01:23.64]Kiribati and several other small Pacific nations [01:27.48]were among the last places on the planet [01:30.32]to have avoided any virus outbreaks. [01:34.88]They have little contact because of their remote locations [01:38.80]and strict border controls. [01:41.56]But their defenses appear to be ineffective [01:44.56]against the highly contagious Omicron variant. [01:49.36]Before this month's outbreak, [01:51.44]Kiribati had reported just two virus cases. [01:56.44]They were crew members on a ship [01:58.68]that officials did not permit to dock. [02:02.80]Helen Petousis-Harris is a vaccine expert [02:06.36]at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. [02:10.48]She said the spread of the virus could not be avoided. [02:14.92]"It's a matter of buying enough time to prepare [02:18.96]and getting as many people vaccinated as possible," she added. [02:24.68]Only 33 percent of Kiribati's 113,000 people are fully vaccinated. [02:33.16]A scientific publication, Our World in Data, [02:37.00]reports that 59 percent have had at least one shot of the vaccine. [02:42.16]And like many other Pacific nations, [02:45.52]Kiribati offers only basic health services. [02:50.28]Dr. Api Talemaitoga leads a network of Indigenous [02:55.16]Pacific Island doctors in New Zealand. [02:59.16]He said Kiribati had only two intensive care beds in the entire nation. [03:05.76]In the past, the nation would send its sickest [03:08.80]patients to Fiji or New Zealand for treatment. [03:13.12]He said he is concerned about how Kiribati's health system [03:16.96]will handle the outbreak. [03:19.96]Kiribati has now opened several quarantine areas, [03:23.76]declared a curfew, and restricted movement. [03:28.68]President Taneti Maamau said on social media [03:32.96]that the government is using all its resources [03:36.44]to deal with the situation and urged people to get vaccinated. [03:42.28]In October, another religious worker [03:45.04]also brought the first and only case, so far, [03:48.40]of COVID-19 to Tonga, an island nation [03:52.64]over 2,000 kilometers southwest of Kiribati. [03:58.32]He was vaccinated and quarantined [04:01.08]following his return from Africa and New Zealand. [04:05.68]As Tonga is trying to prevent an outbreak, [04:08.84]a strong volcanic explosion and tsunami [04:12.32]destroyed the country earlier this month. [04:16.84]The nation of 105,000 people [04:19.96]has since received aid from around the world. [04:24.56]Crews from incoming military ships and planes [04:28.40]must drop their supplies and leave [04:30.96]without having any contact with those on the ground. [04:35.96]Petousis-Harris, the vaccine expert, said, [04:39.48]"Anything they can do to keep it out is going to be important." [04:44.64]COVID would just make that disaster worse, she added. [04:49.32]In the long term, however, [04:51.24]it is going to be impossible to stop the virus [04:54.32]from entering Tonga or any other community, Petousis-Harris said. [05:01.36]Nearby Samoa, with a population of 205,000, [05:05.96]is also trying to prevent its first outbreak. [05:10.40]It restricted movement after 15 passengers [05:13.80]on a plane from Australia last week tested positive. [05:18.84]By Thursday, that number had grown to 27, [05:22.48]including five front-line nurses who had treated the passengers. [05:28.64]While the appearance of the virus has caused restrictions, [05:32.28]there were signs that not all traditional qualities of island life [05:36.88]would be lost for long. [05:39.92]Kiribati declared on Thursday people could return to fishing. [05:44.88]But only four people will be permitted "to be on a boat [05:48.60]or part of a group fishing near shore." [05:52.80]I'm Jill Robbins. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM