COVID-19 | PIHOA:

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Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic

Overview

The COVID-19 virus is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Most people infected with the virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness. The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to be well informed about the COVID-19 virus, the disease it causes and how it spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by washing your hands or using an alcohol-based rub frequently and not touching your face. The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow). At this time, there are no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19. However, there are many ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential treatments.

COVID-19 Cases in the USAPIs (as of 07/17/2020 at 11:00AM HST)

Jurisdiction	Confirmed Cases	Recovered	Deaths

American Samoa	0	0	0
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)	37	N/A	2
Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)	0	0	0
Guam	314	222	5
Republic of Palau	0	0	0
Republic of the Marshall Islands	0	0	0

Regional Challenges

In the USAPI access to quality health services is limited, due to a lack of infrastructure, equipment, and qualified personnel. In the current situation, this can pose a problem of access to care if the number of infected people increases.
Majority of the USAPIs do not have laboratory equipment needed to analyze the tests on site, which creates difficulties in identifying cases. The test samples have to be sent to other countries for analysis.
The USAPIs and other Pacific Island nations are frequently visited by tourists. This represents a risk due to the movement of people to and from the respective jurisdiction (although restrictive measures have been put in place); and also a risk for the local economies.

USAPIs DOH/MOH Websites/Facebook Pages

American Samoa

CNMI

FSM

Guam

Palau

RMI

For information on global efforts to manage this outbreak, visit the WHO website for current situation reports on COVID-19 HERE

Prevention

To prevent infection and to slow transmission of COVID-19, do the following:

Symptoms

The COVID-19 virus affects different people in different ways. COVID-19 is a respiratory disease and most infected people will develop mild to moderate symptoms and recover without requiring special treatment. People who have underlying medical conditions and those over 60 years old have a higher risk of developing severe disease and death.