By Pacific Island Times News Staff
The Federated States of Micronesia has lifted its mask mandate and eased travel restrictions as Covid-19 transmissions continued to slow down.
“The wearing of masks in public places nationwide remain encouraged, but are no longer required,” FSM President David Panuelo said.
However, the president said individual states have the option to decide whether or not to continue implementing the mask mandate in their respective jurisdictions.
The five-day restricted movement remains only for Chuuk, the nation's most populated state, which is the only jurisdiction that has not reported community transmissions of Covid-19.
Officials expect the coronavirus to hit Chuuk eventually.
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Yap is undergoing rapid community spread while Pohnpei and Kosrae have returned to relative normalcy, the FSM government said.
The FSM has logged a total of 8,54 cumulative cases, with 27 deaths and two hospital transmissions.
“Persons traveling to Chuuk, which remains Covid-19 free, can still expect to undergo state-mandated quarantine, potentially at their own expense,” Panuelo said.
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The FSM government announced that restrictions on the limit of disembarking passengers and mandates on quarantine for Chuuk are scheduled to expire on Nov. 1,” the president added.
The FSM goverment said the law mandating that all persons entering the FSM must be fully vaccinated remains in effect. “While persons must be fully vaccinated with all primary doses of their Covid-19 vaccine,” the FSM government said, “booster doses are only required for travel to the FSM if a person has exceeded five months following completion of their primary vaccine, or four months since their first booster dose.”
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