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UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS | MICRONESIA, THE REMOTE PACIFIC ISLANDS THAT HAVE FINALLY SUCCUMBED TO A COVID OUTBREAK | 21ST JULY

/ July, 2022, UPSC Daily Current Affairs

SYLLABUS SECTION: GS II (INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS)

WHY IN THE NEWS?

The Federated States of Micronesia, a small islands country in the Pacific that is home to around 110,000 people,

This is one of the latest places on Earth to experience an outbreak of Covid-19,

After two and a half years of successfully protecting itself from the virus.

MICRONESIA GEOGRAPHY PACIFIC ISLANDS

  • It is located in the Western Pacific, in the Micronesia sub-region of Oceania.
  • The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) consists of four island states,
  • Yap, Chuuk, Kosrae and Pohnpei (where the capital Palikir is located), all in the Caroline Islands.
  • Also known as the Carolines, it is a scatter archipelago of small islands that are divide between Micronesia and the Republic of Palau.
  • The Federated States of Micronesia shares its sea borders with other small island nations and territories in the Micronesia region like Guam, the Republic of Marshall Islands, Palau, Kiribati, and the Mariana Islands.

SYLLABUS SECTION: GS II (INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS) WHY IN THE NEWS? The Federated States of Micronesia, a small island country in the Pacific that is home to around 110,000 people, is one of the latest places on Earth to experience an outbreak of Covid-19, after two and a half years of successfully protecting itself from the virus. MICRONESIA’S GEOGRAPHY • It is located in the Western Pacific, in the Micronesia sub-region of Oceania. • The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) consists of four island states, Yap, Chuuk, Kosrae and Pohnpei (where the capital Palikir is located), all in the Caroline Islands. • Also known as the Carolines, it is a scattered archipelago of small islands that are divided between Micronesia and the Republic of Palau. • The Federated States of Micronesia shares its sea borders with other small island nations and territories in the Micronesia region like Guam, the Republic of Marshall Islands, Palau, Kiribati, and the Mariana Islands

  • Its larger neighbouring states — separated by large swathes of the Pacific Ocean — include the Philippines in the west, Hawaii in the east, Papua New Guinea and Australia to the south, Japan to the north.
MICRONESIA IN THE PANDEMIC
  • FSM had reported its first case in January 2021, when a crew member isolated on a ship near Pohnpei tested positive.
  • The country was thereafter successful in protecting itself from the pandemic until very recently
  • In August 2021, the country introduced a rule, only vaccinated citizens could receive federal funds such as pandemic stimulus payments and security benefits.
  • FSM also imposed strict border controls, suspended international travel, and issued quarantine orders for citizens.

These measures were deemed essential given the limited medical infrastructure of the islands, and issues of logistics given the topography.

SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS