The virus was discovered in a 10-year-old child quarantining after coming with his family on a repatriation aircraft on December 2, according to Prime Minister Mark Brown.
The Cook Islands reported its first case of COVID-19 since the outbreak began on December 4, as the South Pacific nation prepares to reopen its borders to tourists.
With 96 percent of the eligible population double-dosed, the nation of about 17,000 people has one of the highest immunization rates in the world.
The virus was discovered in a 10-year-old child quarantining after coming with his family on a repatriation aircraft on December 2, according to Prime Minister Mark Brown. The boy was thought to have arrived by plane from New Zealand.
“We’ve been prepared for the day when we can reopen our borders. By catching this case at the border, our testing regimes have demonstrated the value of that preparedness “Brown remarked.
The island nation, which cut itself off from the rest of the world when the epidemic struck, has announced that quarantine-free travel with New Zealand will resume on January 14.
An outbreak of the virus in Auckland halted a short-lived travel bubble with New Zealand earlier this year.
