Vanuatu island reports first case of COVID-19

PORT VILLA, Vanuatu -- Health authorities in Vanuatu have announced the first confirmed case of the coronavirus in the island country located in the South Pacific Ocean, which was of a few countries that were COVID-free until now.

The Ministry of Health said that a 23-year-old man who recently returned from the US tested positive for the virus while in quarantine.

"A case detected in quarantine is considered a border case and not an outbreak," the Ministry said in a statement, adding that health protocols were in place to contain the virus.