The difficult issue of how to safely reopen national entry points in six Pacific Islands countries, including Tonga, was discussed today in a second virtual roundtable meeting, convened by the United Nations and Asian Development Bank, as COVID-19 continues to cause wide-spread movement restrictions.

Today’s UN-ADB regional meeting with the governments of Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, focused on multisectoral considerations and assistance available for safely reopening national entry points targeting pre- border, at border, and post-border openings for both air and sea transport.

Support from the international community could include initiatives such as the training of customs, immigration, police, and health officials and the distribution of personal protective equipment for use at airports and seaports.

The UN Fiji Multi-Country Office and ADB in the Pacific stated that the establishment of clear protocols and the importance of ensuring that other actors such as airlines, seafarers associations and tour operators are included in preparing plans for reopening borders, was emphasized at the roundtable.

Similar roundtables are planned for Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands and Tokelau.

SIDS hit hard

Sanaka Samarasinha, UN Resident Coordinator for ten countries in the Pacific said, “Small island developing states, which depend largely on tourism for their economies, have been hit hard by the global slowdown following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The UN has, from the beginning of this crisis, advocated for the safe, responsible and timely reopening of national entry points, on which many small businesses and jobs depend. While the decision of when, how and with whom to open borders is a sovereign decision, safety, vigilance, responsibility and international cooperation are critical as the world slowly opens up again,” she said.

Masayuki Tachiiri, Regional Director of ADB’s Pacific Subregional Office said that collective action was needed now to support health systems and economies in the Pacific.

“ADB’s latest assessments suggest the effects of lockdowns and travel bans have been particularly severe on the region’s tourism-dependent economies, with some facing double-digit declines in gross domestic product in 2020.”

The latest issue of the Pacific Economic Monitor, reports that on average, the economies of ADB’s 14 Pacific developing members are forecast to contract by 4.3% in 2020 as COVID-19 impacts tourism and trade. The projected growth rate in 2021 of 1.6% will rely on the reopening of international borders and the subsequent resumption of tourism, labour, and trade activity.

Measures put in place by governments around the world to help contain the spread of the virus have included significant border closures, entry restrictions, and changes to visa and entry requirements. The aviation sector has been particularly hard-hit, with ICAO forecasting that globally airlines may be faced with 1.5 billion fewer international air travellers this year and a US $273 billion drop in gross operation revenue.

In the Pacific a significant proportion of the population are vulnerable because the level of non-communicable diseases is among the highest in the world, and their health systems remain weak.

Although most Pacific countries appear to have avoided direct health impacts from COVID-19, “the pandemic has highlighted a pressing need to strengthen health and social protection systems in the subregion and thereby alleviate the adverse impacts of prevailing travel restrictions on peoples' livlihoods.”

It said that urgent action is the key to addressing COVID-19 in the Pacific.

Accelerating pandemic

With the UN warning against complacency, COVID-19 continues to accelerate at breath-taking speed. The number of coronavirus cases globally has roughly doubled in the past six weeks to more than 16 million, with WHO predicting that countries may witness multiple waves of the virus at different intervals and in variable local contexts for several more years to come.