Last week the Pacific island nation is understood to have become the last nation in the world with a population of more than 100,000 to suffer an outbreak of the disease – after avoiding it for two and a half years thanks to its geographical isolation and border controls. Health officials said cases were rising rapidly, and the country reported 140 new cases on Monday, bringing the total to 1,261. Eight people have been hospitalized and an elderly man has died, officials said. Several top politicians and senior officials have contracted the disease, including Vice President Yosiwo George, who has been admitted to hospital. Officials said his condition is improving. The initial outbreak came less than two weeks before Micronesia plans to end quarantine restrictions and reopen its borders to the world on August 1. Micronesia is an island country made up of four states stretching across the western Pacific Ocean, about 2,900 kilometers (1,802 mi) north of eastern Australia. Last year, it became one of the few countries to impose a broad mandate requiring all eligible citizens to get vaccinated against COVID. The government threatened to withhold federal funds from individuals or business owners who did not follow the rules. This week health officials said 75% of people aged five and over were fully vaccinated. Read more: Hair loss and sexual dysfunction join list of long-term symptoms of COVID Alcohol pandemic could cause thousands of extra deaths and hospital admissions in next 20 years, NHS says Scientists identify how coronavirus protein causes heart damage Image: Aerial view of Pohnpei International Airport in Kolonia, Federated States of Micronesia. Photo: AP Almost every nation in the world has now experienced cases of COVID-19, with Turkmenistan being the only country of more than 100,000 people that has not reported any cases. But experts believe there was a major outbreak that the authoritarian leadership there chose to ignore. Elsewhere in the Pacific, the Omicron variant has spread the virus to several small countries for the first time this year, including Kiribati, Tonga, Samoa and Nauru.
