COVID-19 Containment Ship Model: A Case Study for Pacific Island Response.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau have been without any COVID-19 community transmission since the beginning of the global pandemic. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has experienced modest community transmission, and Guam has had significant COVID-19 community transmission and morbidity. Although several of these United States Affiliated Pacific Island jurisdictions made difficult strategic choices to prevent the spread of COVID-19 which have been largely successful, the built environment and the population density in the urban areas of the Pacific remain inherently conducive to rapid COVID-19 transmission.