Micronesia last of bigger nations to have COVID-19 outbreak

By NICK PERRY
Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Micronesia has likely become the final nation in the world with a population of more than 100,000 to experience an outbreak of COVID-19. For more than two-and-a-half years, the Pacific archipelago managed to avoid any outbreaks thanks to its geographic isolation and border controls. Those people who flew into the country with the disease didn’t spread it because all new arrivals were required to quarantine. But as has been the case in several other Pacific nations this year, those defenses couldn’t keep out the more transmissible omicron variant forever. The government has announced it has become aware of multiple cases across two of the nation’s four states.