Solomon Islands’ 1st virus outbreak causes growing concern

By DAVID RISING
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — The first community outbreak of the coronavirus in the Solomon Islands is 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. Authorities have already turned a sports building into a field hospital and a football stadium into a vaccination center. Clement Manuri, secretary general of the Solomon Islands Red Cross Society, said they are “trying to keep only people who are really sick with COVID-19, with difficulty breathing, in those facilities.”