COVID-19 pandemic in Montserrat facts for kids
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|
| Disease | COVID-19 |
|---|---|
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | Montserrat |
| Arrival date | 18 March 2020 (5 years, 9 months and 1 day) |
| Confirmed cases | 1,531 |
| Active cases | 76 |
| Recovered | 1,449 |
|
Deaths
|
6 |
| Official website | |
| COVID-19 page at gov.ms | |
The COVID-19 pandemic in Montserrat was part of a big worldwide health event. This event was caused by a new virus called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The virus was first confirmed to be in Montserrat, a British Overseas Territory, on 17 March 2020. Sadly, the first death happened on 24 April 2020. By 15 May, all people who had the virus had gotten better. Later, on 10 July, a new case was found. By 7 August, there were no more active cases on the island.
Contents
What is COVID-19?
On 12 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced something important. They said a new type of coronavirus was causing a sickness. This sickness affected people's breathing. It was first noticed in Wuhan City, China, in late 2019.
This new virus, called COVID-19, spread very easily. It caused many more infections than a similar virus from 2003 called SARS. Even though each case might not have been as severe as SARS, the huge number of people who got sick led to many deaths overall.
Montserrat is a small island. In 2018, about 4,649 people lived there. At first, tests for COVID-19 were done by the Caribbean Public Health Agency. But on 13 May, Montserrat got its own testing machine. The island has one small hospital, Glendon Hospital. It does not have a special unit for very sick patients (called an ICU). If someone needed very special care, they had to go to Antigua or Guadeloupe.
How COVID-19 Spread in Montserrat
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March 2020: First Cases
On 18 March, Montserrat confirmed its first COVID-19 case. The person had traveled from London to Antigua before reaching Montserrat. On 13 March, officials had warned that someone on that flight had COVID-19. Because of this, all passengers were asked to stay separate and were tested.
On 23 March, a second case was found. This person had not traveled anywhere. This was the first time the virus spread within the community. This means it spread from person to person on the island.
By 26 March, three more people tested positive. This brought the total number of cases in Montserrat to five.
April 2020: Cases Increase
By 7 April, the number of cases had grown to eight.
Sadly, on 24 April, Montserrat announced its first death from COVID-19. The person was a 92-year-old woman.
By 25 April, Montserrat had gone two weeks without any new infections. This was good news.
May 2020: No Active Cases
On 6 May, Premier Joseph E. Farrell announced that testing machines would arrive soon. This meant Montserrat could do its own COVID-19 tests.
On 12 May, a report came out about how COVID-19 affected businesses. It showed that the virus caused about US$3.6 million in economic problems.
On 15 May, it was reported that no one in Montserrat had an active COVID-19 infection anymore. Everyone had recovered.
July 2020: New Case Found
On 10 July, a new case was found. This person had been on the island since March. Health workers started looking for people this person might have been in contact with. This is called "contact tracing."
August 2020: All Clear Again
On 7 August, the last two people with COVID-19 recovered. This meant Montserrat had no active cases again.
February 2021: Vaccinations Begin
Montserrat started giving out vaccines on 8 February 2021. By 11 May, 1,321 people (about 28.4% of the population) had received at least one vaccine shot. Also, 976 people (about 21.0%) had received both doses.
October 2022: Measures End
By October 2022, many of the special rules and measures put in place because of COVID-19 were ended.
How Montserrat Stayed Safe
Montserrat put many rules in place to stop the virus from spreading.
- 24 February: People from certain countries like China, Japan, and others could not travel to Montserrat.
- 26 February: This travel rule was also put in place for Northern Italy.
- 14 March: Schools were closed. Large groups of more than 50 people were not allowed. Visiting hospitals and homes for older people was also stopped.
- 21 March: Groups of more than 25 people were not allowed. Anyone traveling to Montserrat had to stay separate for 14 days. This is called quarantine.
- 25 March: Groups of more than 4 people were not allowed. A curfew was put in place from 7 PM to 5 AM. This meant people had to stay home during these hours. People were not allowed to travel unless it was very important. Visitors who were not residents were not allowed to enter by plane or ship.
- 28 March: A 24-hour curfew started. This meant everyone had to stay home all day and night until 14 April.
- 9 April: A full 7-day shutdown began. The curfew was extended until 30 April. On 11 and 12 April, people could shop for important things. They were allowed out based on the first letter of their last name.
- 17 April: The shutdown was extended until 1 May. People could shop for important things again between 20 and 22 April, also based on their last name.
- 29 April: Some important businesses were allowed to open from 1 May to 7 May. People could leave their homes for essential tasks and short exercise.
- 6 May: People could be out in public from Monday to Friday between 5 AM and 7 PM for important business. They could also exercise alone or with up to 4 family members from 5 AM to 8 AM and 4 PM to 6:30 PM.
- 22 May: The curfew time changed to 8 PM to 5 AM. There was no longer a full weekend stay-at-home rule. All stores could open again. Restaurants could offer food for people to take away. Construction work could start again. Family members could visit retirement homes. Barbers, churches, buses, and taxis were allowed to reopen with strict rules. Bars, night clubs, gyms, and schools stayed closed.
Statistics
This chart shows how many active COVID-19 cases there were over time.
See also
In Spanish: Pandemia de COVID-19 en Montserrat para niños
- Caribbean Public Health Agency
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
- COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory
