COVID-19 pandemic in Greenland
The COVID-19 pandemic in Greenland is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, in March 2020.[1] As of 27 May 2020, there had been 13 confirmed cases, but none were in need of hospitalization. Among the first 11, the last infected person had recovered on 8 April 2020 and Greenland had no known active cases.[2] After a period of time without any new confirmed cases, one was confirmed on 24 May when a person tested positive at the entry into the territory,[3] and another (unrelated to the 24 May case) was confirmed at entry on 27 May 2020.[4]
| COVID-19 in Greenland | |
|---|---|
 Map of the COVID-19 outbreak in Greenland (as of 11 August 2021).
No confirmed cases or no data
1-9 Confirmed cases
10-24 Confirmed cases
25-49 Confirmed cases
50+ Confirmed cases | |
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | Greenland |
| Index case | Nuuk |
| Arrival date | 16 March 2020 (1 year, 9 months and 1 day) |
| Confirmed cases | 1,969 |
| Active cases | 233 |
| Hospitalized cases | 1 |
| Recovered | 1,736 |
Deaths | 0 (or 1) |
| Government website | |
| https://corona.nun.gl/da/ | |
The number of new COVID-19 cases remained very low and sporadic throughout the rest of 2020 and the first half of 2021, but rose sharply in July 2021. Whereas Greenland had only had a total of 50 known COVID-19 cases between 16 March 2020 and 1 July 2021, the number had more than doubled to 122 by 1 August 2021, and reached 1,969 on 17 December 2021.[5]
As of 15 December 2021, 67 % of the population had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.[6]
On 20 November 2021, the first COVID-19 related death was reported in Greenland.[7] It was not specified whether COVID-19 was the sole or even primary cause of death. For unknown reasons, this death had not been included in the official COVID-19 statistics as of 17 December 2021, despite being announced by an official health authority.
Background
On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan, Hubei, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[8][9]
The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003,[10][11] but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[10][12]
Timeline
On 16 March 2020, the first case in the territory was confirmed. The first infected patient lived in the capital, Nuuk, and was placed in home isolation.[1][14]
"Preparations have been initiated to cope with the new situation. It is important that citizens follow our recommendations now that the infection has reached our country," said Greenland's Prime Minister Kim Kielsen at a press conference, according to newspaper Sermitsiaq. All non-essential flights to and from Greenland, as well as domestic flights, are strongly advised against. Public gatherings of more than 100 people are discouraged and citizens returning from high-risk areas are recommended to self-isolate for two weeks.[15]
On 28 March 2020, the government prohibited the sale of alcoholic drinks until 15 April 2020 in Greenland.[16]
As of 9 April 2020, there had been 11 confirmed cases, all in Nuuk, all of whom had recovered, making Greenland the first affected territory in the world to become temporarily free of COVID-19 again without any deaths.[2]
On 24 May 2020, after a long period with no known cases, a person from Aasiaat was tested positive at entry into Greenland. It was the first known case outside Nuuk. The person had been in Denmark where he had had COVID-19 and fully recovered, and was tested negative before returning. It was presumed that the new positive test only was the result of residue from the person's earlier infection (as known from some other cases) and that there was no risk of infecting others, but as a precaution the person was placed in quarantine.[3] A similar but unrelated case was found in Ilulissat on 27 May 2020.[4] After further negative tests of these two cases and a period in quarantine, Greenland was again considered temporarily free of COVID-19 on 4 June 2020.[2]
Cases by municipalities
| Municipality | Cases | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| Avannaata[lower-alpha 1] | 270 | 0 |
| Kujalleq | 21 | 0 |
| Qeqertalik | 228 | 0 |
| Qeqqata | 264 | 0 |
| Sermersooq | 1,186 | 0 |
| Total | 1,969 | 0 |
| ||
See also
References
- Redaktionen (10 March 2020). "Corona-alarm afblæst - test var negativ". Sermitsiaq (in Danish). Archived from the original on 11 March 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- "Coronavirus-ip nutaap siaruarnera malinnaaffigiuk" (in Danish and Kalaallisut). Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- "Nyt tilfælde af corona opdaget i Aasiaat" (in Danish). Sermitsiaq. 24 May 2020. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- "Coronasmitte opdaget i Ilulissat" (in Danish). Sermitsiaq. 27 May 2020. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
- "Total Coronavirus Cases in Greenland". worldometers. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- "Vaccinationer" (in Danish). Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- "Første Coronadødsfald: Ældre mand i Upernavik afgået ved døden" (in Danish). Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- Elsevier. "Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier Connect. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- Reynolds, Matt (4 March 2020). "What is coronavirus and how close is it to becoming a pandemic?". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- "Crunching the numbers for coronavirus". Imperial News. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- "High consequence infectious diseases (HCID); Guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases and their management in England". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- "World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus". www.wfsahq.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- "Total Coronavirus Cases in Greenland". worldometers. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- "Første coronatilfælde bekræftet i Grønland". DR (in Danish). Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- "Greenland confirms first case of coronavirus". The Straits Times. 16 March 2020. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- France-Presse, Agence (29 March 2020). "Alcohol sales banned in Greenland capital during lockdown". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- "Corona" (in Danish). Retrieved 17 December 2021.
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