{"id":8374,"date":"2020-09-10T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-10T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/?p=8374"},"modified":"2020-10-19T14:19:26","modified_gmt":"2020-10-19T21:19:26","slug":"vanuatu-a-country-with-no-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/vanuatu\/vanuatu-vanuatu\/vanuatu-a-country-with-no-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Vanuatu, a Country with no COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I haven’t lived in Vanuatu since 1993. Most of my friends have also moved away. But now and then, I do like to check in on the country and see how things are going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good news! As of September 7<\/a>, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in all of Vanuatu. The country has a natural advantage. It’s protected by its remoteness. So all they had to do was close its doors. And that’s exactly what they did. On March 26, the government called a state of emergency, stopping all flights and ships from entering the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
ni-Vanuatu children playing in the surf<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The shutdown has been painful. Tourism is a huge industry. And yet, people seemed to accept that it had to be done. Vanuatu is a poor country with inadequate health infrastructure<\/a>. There’s a shortage of nurses and experienced doctors. There are only two ventilators in the entire country and no ICU units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All was going relatively well until April 6 when Cyclone Harold slammed into the northern islands. In the South Pacific, hurricanes (aka typhoons) are called cyclones, and this one was a category 5 with winds of 130 mph. According to Dr. Christopher Bartlett<\/a> as quoted in The Diplomat<\/span>, in Luganville, Vanuatu’s second city, up to 80-90% of the structures were blown away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even after the cyclone, they kept the lockdown in place. They accepted relief supplies from abroad, but foreign aid workers were not allowed in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew Vanuatu was a vulnerable country. After all, it’s located atop the Pacific Ring of Fire. During the three years we lived there, we experienced a couple of large earthquakes and a cyclone. We visited a bubbling volcano, Yasur Volcano on Tanna Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I didn’t realize until recently that Vanuatu was the country most at risk for natural disasters. The UN University for Environmental and Human Security<\/a> rated 171 countries for risks from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, storms, floods, droughts, and sea level rise, and Vanuatu came out on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I loved living there, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I haven’t lived in Vanuatu since 1993. Most of my friends have also moved away. But now and then, I do like to check in on the country and see how things are going. Good news! As of September 7, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in all of Vanuatu. The country has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I haven't lived in Vanuatu since 1993. Most of my friends have also moved away. But now and then, I do like to check in on the country and see how things are going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good news! As of September 7<\/a>, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in all of Vanuatu. The country has a natural advantage. It's protected by its remoteness. So all they had to do was close its doors. And that's exactly what they did. On March 26, the government called a state of emergency, stopping all flights and ships from entering the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
ni-Vanuatu children playing in the surf<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The shutdown has been painful. Tourism is a huge industry. And yet, people seemed to accept that it had to be done. Vanuatu is a poor country with inadequate health infrastructure<\/a>. There's a shortage of nurses and experienced doctors. There are only two ventilators in the entire country and no ICU units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All was going relatively well until April 6 when Cyclone Harold slammed into the northern islands. In the South Pacific, hurricanes (aka typhoons) are called cyclones, and this one was a category 5 with winds of 130 mph. According to Dr. Christopher Bartlett<\/a> as quoted in The Diplomat<\/span>, in Luganville, Vanuatu's second city, up to 80-90% of the structures were blown away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even after the cyclone, they kept the lockdown in place. They accepted relief supplies from abroad, but foreign aid workers were not allowed in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew Vanuatu was a vulnerable country. After all, it's located atop the Pacific Ring of Fire. During the three years we lived there, we experienced a couple of large earthquakes and a cyclone. We visited a bubbling volcano, Yasur Volcano on Tanna Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I didn't realize until recently that Vanuatu was the country most at risk for natural disasters. The UN University for Environmental and Human Security<\/a> rated 171 countries for risks from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, storms, floods, droughts, and sea level rise, and Vanuatu came out on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I loved living there, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2046,1],"tags":[1995,2055,334,2054,1866,730],"class_list":["post-8374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-covid-19","category-vanuatu-vanuatu","tag-covid-19","tag-cyclone-harold","tag-pacific-ring-of-fire","tag-shutdown","tag-south-pacific","tag-vanuatu"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Kn1e-2b4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9326,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/vanuatu\/vanuatu-vanuatu\/vanuatus-first-covid-19-case\/","url_meta":{"origin":8374,"position":0},"title":"Vanuatu’s First COVID-19 Case","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"November 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"He was Vanuatu's first COVID-19 case, a 23-year-old ni-Vanuatu man who tested negative when he left the United States. He must have thought he was home free. But on November 4th, the fifth day of his quarantine in Vanuatu, he tested positive. Although the man was Vanuatu's first case, thanks\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "COVID-19"","block_context":{"text":"COVID-19","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/covid-19\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"These ni-Vanuatu children speak Bislama.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Vanuatu-kids-001-e1605734651596.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9421,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/vanuatu\/vanuatu-vanuatu\/waiting-what-are-you-waiting-for\/","url_meta":{"origin":8374,"position":1},"title":"Waiting … What Are You Waiting for?","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"February 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Waiting for spring. Waiting for a vaccination ... or two And waiting for my novel, When in Vanuatu, to be published. I don't know what winter is like where you live, but here in the Pacific Northwest, by the time February rolls around, especially late February, we're a little bit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "books"","block_context":{"text":"books","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_2785-rotated-e1614457426483.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11027,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/vanuatu\/when-something-new-comes-into-my-life-i-look-for-a-book\/","url_meta":{"origin":8374,"position":2},"title":"When Something New Comes into My Life, I Look for a Book","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"September 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The something new I\u2019m talking about is something that's more than a simple fact I can google. No. It's something really big \u2026 like marrying a guy from China. I figured I needed a book for that. I suppose there could have been other ways to respond to my lack\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "books"","block_context":{"text":"books","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Eugene-me-and-C-001-e1485383915206.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11825,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/vanuatu\/a-story-of-hope-south-pacific-students-and-a-global-climate-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":8374,"position":3},"title":"A Story of Hope: South Pacific Students and a Global Climate Law","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"October 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Photo by Vincent Gerbouin on Pexels.com The story in The New York Times Magazine caught my attention because it was about students from the University of the South Pacific. My alma mater. (Okay, I\u2019m not sure I can call it my alma mater after taking only one class there.) The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Climate change"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/climate-change\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"coconut tree shadow on seashore","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pexels-photo-2765869.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pexels-photo-2765869.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pexels-photo-2765869.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pexels-photo-2765869.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3397,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/vanuatu\/3397\/","url_meta":{"origin":8374,"position":4},"title":"Vanuatu before Cyclone Pam, Part 2","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"March 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"VANUATU, SOUTH PACIFIC PARADISE These smiling, fun-loving ni-Vanuatu children were typical of the people my husband and I met when we lived in Vanuatu in the early 1990s. Vanuatu then was the land of everyone's dreams. A South Pacific paradise. Then on March 13, 2015, Cyclone Pam hit. With wind\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Vanuatu"","block_context":{"text":"Vanuatu","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/vanuatu\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ni-Vanuatu children playing in the surf","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Vanuatu13-001-e1426630875350.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11970,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/vanuatu\/vanuatu-vanuatu\/the-invention-of-a-language-from-pidgin-to-creole\/","url_meta":{"origin":8374,"position":5},"title":"The Invention of a Language, from Pidgin to Creole","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"November 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Our house was near the Univ. of the S. Pacific where we studied Bislama Last week in my post about the brave students at the University of the South Pacific, I mentioned that my husband and I had taken a couple of classes there to study Bislama, the national language\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bislama"","block_context":{"text":"Bislama","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/bislama\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Vanuatu-on-the-veranda-001-e1480299204342.bmp","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Vanuatu-on-the-veranda-001-e1480299204342.bmp 1x, https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Vanuatu-on-the-veranda-001-e1480299204342.bmp 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8374"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8588,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8374\/revisions\/8588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}