Solomon Islands' 1st virus outbreak causes growing concern

The first community outbreak of the coronavirus in the Solomon Islands is spreading rapidly through the largely unvaccinated population

BANGKOK -- With the first community outbreak of the coronavirus in the Solomon Islands spreading rapidly through the largely unvaccinated population, the Red Cross warned Thursday that the Pacific Island nation's fragile health care system is at risk of becoming overwhelmed.

The capital Honiara has only one small hospital and authorities have already turned a sports building into a field hospital and a football stadium into a vaccination center, said Clement Manuri, secretary general of the Solomon Islands Red Cross Society.

“What's currently happening is they are trying to keep only people who are really sick with COVID-19, with difficulty breathing, in those facilities,” Manuri told The Associated Press in an interview from Honiara.

“Otherwise the advice is for people who have tested positive to self-isolate in their homes.”