Dengue fever has remained absent in the Cook Islands this year with the last case recorded in December.

Director of Community Health Services, Dr Tereapii Uka said there were no cases of dengue fever on the island he knew of.

“When it comes it comes, if it doesn't come it doesn't come,” Uka said.

He said Te Marae Ora staff are doing risk assessments for the last two months around the island checking mosquito prone areas.

“My team is going out to do all they have to do because we don't want to have another outbreak of dengue, we're just too busy with the Covid... one (outbreak) is enough, not two.”

Last month, Secretary of Health Bob Williams said he was concerned over a simultaneous Covid-19 and dengue outbreak.

Prime Minister Mark Brown also said in February a dengue fever outbreak “would be detrimental to the full and proper delivery of our health services at this time, when so many resources are otherwise engaged in monitoring and working to prevent any outbreak of Covid-19”.

This time last year the Cook Islands was in a dengue fever outbreak.