[5] 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 Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.
[10][8] Circa 26 March 2020, the acting governor general declared a state of emergency.
[12] On 2 November, a traveller from Tuvalu tested positive when arriving to New Zealand, suggesting possible spread of the virus in the country, but no cases had been officially reported by the local authorities of the country.
[14] On 3rd November 2022, the government of Tuvalu announced the first community outbreak.
[15] In 2023, the IMF Article IV consultation with Tuvalu concluded that a successful vaccination strategy allowed Tuvalu to lift coronavirus disease (COVID-19) containment measures[16] at the end of 2022.