Visitor Arrivals
In Chuuk from January - March 2020: 1,318
1. January 2020 - 4162. February 2020 - 563
3. March 2020 - 339
2021 Calendar of Events
1. January 1st - New Year's Day
2. February 17th & 18th - Anniversary of Operation Hailstone
3. March 31st - FSM Cultural Day Festival
4. May 2nd - World Tuna Day
5. July - Chuuk State Trade Fair
6. October 1st - Chuuk State Constitution Day
7. November 3rd - FSM Independence Day
Images by Tim Rock
Preparations for Border Re-Opening
Chuuk's been gearing up on the re-opening of our border. Firstly, International Travel is regulated by the FSM National Government. On the State Level, we are currently preparing our local infrastructures as far as Quarantine Facility, Isolation, and PUI. On the Tourism side, we are encouraging all out tourism related businesses to be vaccinated as soon as possible as the vaccines, both the Moderna and J&J are available on island. Some of the tourism businesses are now requiring all staff to be vaccinated. At the same time we are doing some beautification around the island and some site development. We are also engaging with and NGO in Japan through an MOU where we actually established a CVB Japan Office in Tokyo. They are currently doing a lot of promotion on our behalf. With this engagement, we are anticipating more Japanese visitors to Chuuk once we open up.
Other information:
Chuuk State started taking the COVID-19 Vaccination from January 2021. There have been over 2000 chuukese that got their first dosage of the Vaccine up to today.
Member Highlight
Odyssey International, Inc. (M.V. Odyssey)
The M.V. Odyssey, live-aboard in Chuuk, FSM, has donated the use of the vessel to provide housing and logistical support to local medical personnel administering Covid vaccinations to islanders living on remote islands and villages. The medical team lives onboard the Odyssey for 7 - 10 days while setting up temporary clinics to provide vaccinations on islands without health care facilities. Each day the medical team, with support from Odyssey crew, sets up in a different village. On typical trips, Odyssey and crew bring 10-13 members from Chuuk Public Health to one of the islands. The team not only vaccinate for Covid-19 but also administer MMR vaccines to children. Each week we take the medical team to a different island. The first cycle focused on the eastern islands in the lagoon. The cycle to administer the second doses is in progress. We will next be moving on to the western islands in the lagoon. It is expected to take about four months to reach all of the islands in the lagoon with both doses. We approached the health department to volunteer use of the Odyssey and crew after learning the initial plans for getting vaccinations to the remote islands. It is expected that Odyssey’s participation will reduce the initial timeline by more than half.
Images from Captain Michael Gerken