POPULAR Pacific Ocean tourist destination Easter Island will reopen to the world on August 1, after more than two years closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said the Chilean government yesterday.

The island, located 3,500km west of the coast of the country, is world-famous for its “moais”, huge stone statues in human form partially buried in the earth.

“It has been agreed that the opening of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) will take place on Monday, August 1, 2022,” said Chile’s Economy, Development and Tourism Ministry in a statement.

The original reopening date was February, but that plan did not materialise under the government of former president Sebastian Pinera.

Authorities drew up a new plan to reopen the island after leftist President Gabriel Boric took office in March.

The island’s main source of revenue is domestic and international tourism before flights to and from it were grounded on March 16, 2020, following the first reported cases of the coronavirus in the country.

Easter Island currently has only one weekly flight, operated by Latam airline.

Up to three flights per week will be operated by Latam to transport tourists from August 1, said the ministry.

The Chilean government has set a precondition that the local Covid-19 vaccination rate must reach 80% for tourism to reopen. The current vaccination rate among the island’s 10,000 inhabitants is 73%.

The medical centre of its only city, Hanga Roa, does not have an intensive care unit, but is equipped with respirators. An emergency flight to the mainland takes about five-and-a-half hours.

The island has had only a handful of Covid-19 cases. No hospitalisation or death has resulted from the outbreak, according to local authorities.

In October, the island’s indigenous population held a referendum on whether tourism to the Unesco world heritage site should be resumed.

The result, which was non-binding, showed more than 67% of voters were against the move.

Chile recorded 3.6 million cases and more than 57,000 deaths due to the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the World Health Organisation. – AFP, May 21, 2022.