Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Reports of first death in Vanuatu

By RNZ

There are unconfirmed reports from Vanuatu that the country has recorded its first Covid-19 death.

The Daily Post, quoting a local administrator, reports a woman, who visited the Northern Provincial Hospital in South Santo last Wednesday to get tested for Covid-19, and who was released before the results came back, has now died.

The South Santo Area Two council administrator Terry Daniel told the Daily Post that the SANMA Rural Health Authority confirmed the deceased had underlying medical conditions and died on Sunday.

Daniel says the victim had spent three days at her home in Sarete village and the provincial health office should not have released her before her test results were out.

He says the village is now on lockdown and SANMA Health is carrying out contact tracing.

The Vanuatu Health Ministry says the death is still being investigated to determine if in fact it was due to Covid.

The ministry's website reports 59 new cases in the most recent 24 hour reporting period and a total of 341 cases since the beginning of 2022.