COVID-19 pandemic in New Caledonia

The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the French overseas collectivity of New Caledonia on 18 March 2020.[2] All cases are on the main island of Grand Terre and are related to travel abroad.[3] On 7 May, all cases had recovered.[1]

COVID-19 pandemic in New Caledonia
Disease	COVID-19
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
Location	New Caledonia
Index case	Nouméa
Arrival date	18 March 2020 (4 months and 4 weeks ago)
Confirmed cases	22[1]
Recovered	21[1]
Deaths	0

Background

On 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.[4][5]

The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003,[6][7] but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[8][6]

Timeline

COVID-19 cases in New Caledonia  ()      Deaths        Recoveries        Active cases
Date			# of cases
2020-03-18		​	2(n.a.)
2020-03-21		​	4(+100%)
2020-03-22		​	5(+25%)
2020-03-23		​	7(+40%)
2020-03-24		​	9(+29%)
2020-03-25		​	14(+56%)
2020-03-27		​	15(+7.1%)
2020-03-31		​	16(+6.7%)
2020-04-03		​	18(+12%)
2020-04-14		​ ​	18(=)
2020-04-17		​ ​	18(=)
2020-04-21		​ ​	18(=)
2020-05-07		​	18(=)
Sources: Nouveaux Cas Coronavirus Nouvelle Caledonie Radio New Zealand (RNZ) Espace presse du Gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Calédonie

March 2020

On 17 March, President Thierry Santa announced plans to suspend all flights into the territory as a precautionary measure, with all visitors to self-quarantine, with non-compliance to be punished with a fine.[9]

On 18 March, the first two cases in New Caledonia were confirmed.[2]

Out of forty tests carried out on 21 March, two cases were confirmed, bringing the total number to 4.[10]

On 25 March, four new cases were reported, bringing the total to fourteen.[11]

On 27 March, one new case was reported. The case was imported and brought the collectivity's total to fifteen.[12]

May 2020

On 7 May, all 18 patients had recovered. At the time there were no active cases.[1]

July 2020

On 15 July, one new COVID-19 case was reported bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 22.[13]

References

1. "POINT DE SITUATION SANITAIRE INTERMÉDIAIRE" (PDF) (in French). Retrieved 7 May 2020.
2. "Coronavirus Update (Live) – Worldometer". www.worldometers.info.
3. "President of New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands wants bans lifted". Radio New Zealand. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
4. Elsevier. "Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier Connect. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
5. 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.
6. "Crunching the numbers for coronavirus". Imperial News. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
7. "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.
8. "World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus". www.wfsahq.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
9. "Coronavirus: Sweeping restrictions introduced across the Pacific". RNZ. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
10. "Deux nouveaux cas de coronavirus en Nouvelle-Calédonie". Nouvelle-Calédonie la 1ère (in French). Retrieved 21 March 2020.
11. "COVID-19: Ninth case in New Caledonia confirmed". Radio New Zealand. 24 March 2020. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
12. "New Caledonia's Covid-19 tally rises to 15". RNZ. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
13. "French soldier tests positive for Covid-19 in New Caledonia". RNZ. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.