'Tragic': Cook Islands Logs Its First COVID-19 Death, Prime Minster Confirms

The Cook Islands just logged its first COVID-19 death, over two years after the pandemic began. The patient had underlying health comorbidities.

The island nation's prime minister, Mark Brown announced in a statement Saturday, noting that the patient was a 63-year-old woman who had three vaccination shots but also had "several serious underlying health conditions."

"It is with great sadness that I announce that we have just recorded our first in-country death attributed to COVID-19," Prime Minister Brown said in the statement.

Evidently, the woman was sick for a few days in her home but refused to go to the hospital. The family eventually placed an emergency call to Aitukaki hospital, but she had stopped breathing while in the ambulance.

Tests confirmed that the woman had a recent COVID-19 infection. Her underlying conditions may have contributed to her death, the statement noted.

"It is tragic, but not unexpected that we might lose someone to covid," Brown said in the statement. "I, together with Te Marae Ora, am sending our condolences to the family who have just lost a loved one, our thoughts and prayers are with them at this time and the people of Aitutaki."

Secretary of Health Bob Williams noted that people "should not hesitate" to seek medical attention, calling it a "very serious illness" that has claimed millions of lives. Williams also reiterated important safety reminders.

"I want to reinforce our approach plea to people to take the precautions we've been talking about for the last two years. Sanitize, wear a mask and get tested or to quickly alert the COVID-19 Response Teams on each island should you develop symptoms," said Williams.

Cook Islands was largely free from COVID-19 throughout much of the two years of the pandemic. It logged its first positive case in late 2021 in a 10-year-old passenger on a repatriation flight, and earlier this year in an asymptomatic person. As of Saturday, April 23, Cook Islands has logged a total of 4,727 cases, 3,990 of which are already recovered while 735 were still active.

The Cook Islands has a very high rate of vaccination, with 98% of the eligible population aged 12 and older already having a second dose and 75% of the group already being boosted.