COVID-19 pandemic in the British Indian Ocean Territory explained

COVID-19 pandemic in the British Indian Ocean Territory
Map1:	British_Indian_Ocean_Territory_in_United_Kingdom.svg
Disease:	COVID-19
Virus Strain:	SARS-CoV-2
Location:	British Indian Ocean Territory
Arrival Date:	November 2020
Confirmed Cases:	5^[1] ^[2]
Suspected Cases:	0
Recovery Cases:	2
Deaths:	0

The COVID-19 pandemic in the British Indian Ocean Territory is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 . The virus was confirmed to have reached Diego Garcia of the British Indian Ocean Territory in November 2020.^{[1] [2]}

Background

On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.^{[3] [4]}

The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003,^{[5] [6]} but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.^{[7] [5]} From 19 March 2020, Public Health England no longer classified COVID-19 as a "High consequence infectious disease".

Timeline

November 2020

In November 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed at Diego Garcia.

December 2020

In December 2020, the second case, a close contact of the first case, was confirmed.

May 2021

In May 2021, three more cases were confirmed from a flight. The personnel arrived at the island in April.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2021-01-01. In the Studio with Capt. Blizzard. AFN Diego Garcia. 2021-05-19. www.facebook.com. en.
2. Web site: 2021-05-07. In the Studio with Capt. Blizzard. AFN Diego Garcia. 2021-05-19. www.facebook.com. en.
3. Web site: Novel Coronavirus Information Center . Elsevier . Elsevier Connect. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200130171622/https://www.elsevier.com/connect/coronavirus-information-center. 30 January 2020. 15 March 2020.
4. Reynolds . Matt . What is coronavirus and how close is it to becoming a pandemic? . 4 March 2020 . Wired UK. 5 March 2020 . 1357-0978. https://web.archive.org/web/20200305104806/https://www.wired.co.uk/article/china-coronavirus. 5 March 2020. live.
5. Web site: Crunching the numbers for coronavirus . Imperial News. 13 March 2020 . 15 March 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200319084913/https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/196137/crunching-numbers-coronavirus/. 19 March 2020. live.
6. Web site: High consequence infectious diseases (HCID); Guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases and their management in England . GOV.UK . en. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200303051938/https://www.gov.uk/guidance/high-consequence-infectious-diseases-hcid. 3 March 2020. 17 March 2020.
7. Web site: World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus . www.wfsahq.org. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200312233527/https://www.wfsahq.org/resources/coronavirus. 12 March 2020. 15 March 2020.