The president of the Federated States of Micronesia has said the country’s first case of Covid-19 – detected in a sailor on board a ship held in an island lagoon – does not pose a threat to the wider community.
David Panuelo’s government announced last week that a lone sailor on board the government ship, MV Chief Mailo, had tested positive to the coronavirus after returning from the Philippines.
In a nationally televised address broadcast this week, Panuelo said the crew was permitted to return to the country after being tested for the virus, and because they feared piracy
“The crew was rightly fearful of increasing numbers of pirates in the region which contributed to their fears. So I could either abandon the ship that the government uses to service the state of Chuuk and leave its crew and the 12 year-old boy from Poluwat outside of our care or I could bring them home.”
Panuelo said the single case had been successfully quarantined, with the ship held in Pohnpei lagoon…