COVID-19 Pandemic in Easway

The COVID-19 pandemic in Easway was a part of the broader corona virus 2019 disease, which swept the world, beginning in December 2019 and travelling globally from early 2020 onwards. The first recorded case of COVID-19 in Svalbard occurred on Bear Island in Easway on 6 October 2021. There has been 0 deaths in Easway or Svalbard related to COVID-19.

Belonging to Svalbard, an isolated northern archipelago, Easway was largely unaffected in cases by the widespread and deadly pandemic, although has suffered economically due to restrictions forced in place. In March 2020, the Easwegian Government put restrictions in place, which cancelled arctic tours and for a period prevented tourist travel to or from the country. People showing COVID-19 symptoms were advised to stay at home for a period of at least 10 days.

On 6 October 2021, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Svalbard on Easway's Bear island. A Russian fisherman had been confirmed to have contracted the disease and was sent via air ambulance to the the Svalbard mainland's Longyearbyen hospital, which had larger healthcare facilities and more equipped to handle the case.

Timeline

The COVID-19 pandemic coincided with Easway's ratification of the Directorial Federation Constitution on 14 January 2020. This heavily decentralised operations within Easway's government. In response to the pandemic and anticipated economic costs, the municipal Directorates set up Mutual Aid Teams to co-ordinate help residents and co-ordinate healthcare operations. Due to the heavy decentralisation mandated by the constitution, but with directorates under the cabinet authority of the Governors, there was conflict and lack of co-ordination between the wills of the directorates and the wills of the Governors. The head of state branch, the Easwegian Grand Chamber (commonly known as the House of Zerri), under Chief Coordinator Emizerri often acted as mediator of these disputes, and was instrumental in designing a guideline for the pandemic in March 2020. In April 2020, Chief Coordinator Emizerri contracted COVID-19 and isolated for two weeks, a period known as the Second Great Silence.

Nationalism and conspiracy played some part in the pandemic within the Governorship of Essrina, and led to the directorates alongside the House of Zerri agreeing to vote to expel Governor of Essrina Alperen from the position, with Suqeruli Bai replacing him as interim-governor. The constitution was changed to add a Regent to serve in case of incapacitation of the Chief Coordinator and Governors were renamed to Marquis and their powers over the directorates reduced.

The early COVID-19 pandemic in Easway gave the Easwegian Government immediate insight onto the levels of decentralisation needed and resulted in the establishment of the federal Council on 25 May 2020, to act as collective head of state affairs and responsible for more ministry-level decisions. The success of the Directorate Mutual Aid Teams was rewarded with large-scale autonomy from the municipal head of state representatives, with the Directorates together recognised as the collective head of government.