COVID-19 pandemic in Greenland

COVID-19 in Greenland

File:Administrative map of the municipalities and districts of Greenland.svg
Disease	COVID-19
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
First case	Nuuk
Arrival date	16 March 2020 ()
Deaths	0
Confirmed cases	28
Official website
nun.gl/emner/borgere/coronavirus_emne/foelg_smittespredningen

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. There have been 13 confirmed cases, but none were in need of hospitalization. Among the first 11, the last infected person had recovered on 8 April and Greenland had no known active cases. 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, and another (unrelated to the 24 May case) was confirmed at entry on 27 May.

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.

The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.

Timeline

COVID-19 cases in Greenland  ( )      Deaths        Recoveries        Active cases MarMarAprAprMayMayJunJunJulJulAugAugSepSepOctOctNovNovDecDec Last 15 daysLast 15 days
Date			# of cases
2020-03-16		​	1(n.a.)
⋮
2020-03-18		​	2(+100%)
⋮		​	2(=)
2020-03-22		​	4(+100%)
⋮
2020-03-24		​ ​	5(+25%)
2020-03-25		​ ​	6(+20%)
⋮
2020-03-27		​ ​	10(+66%)
2020-03-27		​ ​	10(=)
⋮		​ ​	10(=)
2020-04-03		​ ​	10(=)
2020-04-04		​ ​	11(+10%)
⋮
2020-04-06		​ ​	11(=)
2020-04-07		​ ​	11(=)
2020-04-08		​	11(=)
⋮		​	11(=)
2020-05-24		​ ​	12(+5%)
⋮		​ ​	12(=)
2020-05-27		​ ​	13(+5%)
⋮		​ ​	13(=)
2020-06-04		​	13(=)
⋮		​ ​	13(=)
2020-07-26		​	13(=)
⋮		​	13(=)
2020-07-27		​ ​	14(+7.7%)
⋮		​ ​	14(=)
2020-08-06		​	14(=)
⋮		​	14(=)
2020-10-07		​ ​	15(+7.1%)
2020-10-08		​ ​	15(=)
2020-10-09		​ ​	16(+6.7%)
⋮		​ ​	16(=)
2020-10-21		​	16(=)
2020-10-22		​ ​	17(+6.2%)
⋮		​ ​	17(=)
2020-11-05		​	17(=)
⋮
2020-11-12		​ ​	18(n.a.)
⋮
2020-11-18		​	18(n.a.)
⋮		​	18(=)
2020-12-08		​ ​	19(+5.6%)
⋮		​ ​	19(=)
2020-12-19		​	19(=)
2020-12-20		​	19(=)
2020-12-21		​ ​	25(+32%)
⋮		​ ​	25(=)
2020-12-25		​ ​	26(+4%)
⋮		​ ​	26(=)
2020-12-29		​ ​	27(+3.8%)
2020-12-30		​ ​	27(=)
Sources: Worldometers

On 16 March, the first case in the territory was confirmed. The first infected patient lived in the capital, Nuuk, and was placed in home isolation.

"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.

On 28 March, the government prohibited the sale of alcoholic drinks until 15 April in Greenland.

As of 9 April, 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 free of COVID-19 without any deaths.

On 24 May, 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. A similar but unrelated case was found in Ilulissat on 27 May. After further negative tests of these two cases and a period in quarantine, Greenland was again considered free of COVID-19 on 4 June.

See also

• COVID-19 pandemic in North America
• COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory
• COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark