According to the report, the body of a Filipino fisherman was discovered on April 11 on a beach in Vanuatu, a short drive from the capital’s main wharf, Port Vila, on the island of Efate.
That day, a British-flagged tanker discovered that a crew member was not on board when it departed Port Vila, New Zealand public broadcaster RNZ reported last week. Vanuatu port authorities told the tanker to return to port and a search and rescue operation was initiated.
After the crew member’s body was found on the beach, authorities detained the tanker. The body was taken to a morgue and later tested positive for Covid-19, RNZ said.
It is not clear from the RNZ report whether the man died of Covid-19 or how he ended up on the island. CNN has contacted the Department of Infrastructure and Public Utilities, which has the Department of Ports and Marine overseas, for more information.
Most remote island nations in the South Pacific have reported very few cases of coronavirus, and Vanuatu – home to about 300,000 people – is no exception. According to Johns Hopkins University, the country has only reported three cases of Covid-19. It reported its first case in November last year and two more infections in March.
According to Prime Minister Bob Loughman, the travel ban is in effect while authorities are conducting contact tracing, RNZ reported.
As part of those efforts, 16 people have been quarantined, according to the report – most of them police officers who came to the scene when the body was found. The director general of health, Russell Tamata, is urging the public to get tested, although he said the risk of community transmission was low, according to RNZ.
The leader of the opposition, Ralph Regenvanu, said on Twitter that while Vanuatu had “ admirably imposed strict quarantine protocols on all ports of entry into the country, ” they did not envision that a corpse could be washed ashore with Covid-19 and in “ the only mortuary in the country where people congregate ” to day to mourn. “
CNN has contacted Vanuatu authorities for comment.
