Like other Pacific-island nations that this platform has reported on (like Samoa and Tonga), Tuvalu had yet to report any COVID-19 cases as of October 2020. In March, the country instituted a State of Emergency and shut its borders to all inbound flights and vessels. Tuvalu has one hospital for its approximately 11,000-person population, with limited medical personnel and equipment, resulting in fears that a domestic outbreak would overwhelm the health system.
Tuvalu has ratified the Refugee Convention, but it does not receive significant numbers of asylum seekers or refugees, and immigration measures like detention and deportation do not appear to be employed as enforcement tools.
- C. Farbotko and T. Kitara, “How is Tuvalu Securing Against COVID-19?,” DevPolicyBlog, 6 April 2020, https://devpolicy.org/how-is-tuvalu-securing-against-covid-19-20200406/
- IOM, “Migration Governance Overview: Tuvalu,” August 2018, https://migrationdataportal.org/sites/default/files/2019-04/Migration%20Governance%20Profile-Republic%20of%20Tuvalu.pdf
