No less than 18,000 doses of vaccines will be sent next week to the Wallis and Futuna Islands, where 67 first cases of Covid-19 have been detected in five days.

-

CHRISTOPHE SAND / AFP

Overseas Minister Sébastien Lecornu said Thursday on Wallis and Futuna La 1ère television that “no less than 18,000 doses of vaccines” would be sent next week to the two islands.

Wallis and Futuna have recorded 67 first cases of Covid-19 in five days.

"A sufficient quantity to vaccinate all adults who so wish in Wallis-and-Futuna", a Polynesian archipelago of approximately 11,500 inhabitants.

"It is a mass action: we will be able to vaccinate the whole territory to stop the spread of the virus as soon as possible," he also said.

Until then free from the disease, the archipelago, which had established a 14-day sanitary lock for any arriving passenger, recorded its very first case last Saturday.

Four hospitalizations

Since then, a vast screening campaign has identified 66 other cases of Covid-19, 4 of which are hospitalized.

In serious condition, the first patient was evacuated to New Caledonia and is in intensive care.

"The health survey is underway and its conclusions will be made public, I have given instructions to be as transparent as possible," said the minister while the population wonders about the conditions in which the virus was introduced .

On Wednesday, the government had already announced the sending of health reinforcements, including 50 caregivers, and 16,000 tests to help the archipelago with limited hospital resources.

To stop the epidemic, first measures were taken on Sunday March 7, and a strict and controlled containment of two weeks was decreed on Tuesday.

Nine first cases in New Caledonia

After Wallis and Futuna, the first nine cases of Covid-19 outside of the fortnight were detected on Sunday in New Caledonia, while a health bubble existed between the two territories so that travelers circulate freely.

On Thursday, the total number of people who tested positive for the coronavirus in New Caledonia stood at 16, including one case of the British variant.

Health

Coronavirus: The archipelago of Wallis and Futuna records a first local case of Covid-19

People

Miss France 2021: Wallis-and-Futuna will be represented for the first time since 2004

  • Vaccine

  • Overseas

  • Isle

  • Coronavirus

  • Health

  • Covid 19