SUVA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu is free from COVID-19 again after the country's first such case tested negative.
According to the island nation's English newspaper the Daily Post on Wednesday, Vanuatu's Prime Minister Bob Loughman said the nation has contained its first COVID-19 case after test results from the first COVID-19 patient sent to Australia for further examination came back negative.
The man is expected to return home on Wednesday.
The prime minister praised the health authorities for their efforts to successfully detect and contain the virus in the nation.
On November 10, Vanuatu reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case, who is a 23-year-old man. He arrived in the nation on November 4 from the United States, via Sydney and Auckland. He was confirmed with COVID-19 on November 10 during routine day 5 testing while in quarantine in Port Vila, capital of Vanuatu.
After acting swiftly by imposing domestic and international travel restrictions, the Vanuatu government also decided to extend the 14-day quarantine to 28 days. The prime minister stressed that it has been revised to the initial 14 days period, but people from countries deemed as "high-risk" are still not allowed to enter the nation until further notice.
In March this year, Vanuatu closed its borders to prevent the virus from entering the nation but it allowed in strictly controlled repatriation flights in recent months. Enditem
