Tsunami-Hit Tonga Goes Into Lockdown After After Foreign Aid Brings Covid-19
Topline
Tonga entered lockdown on Wednesday after recording its first domestically unfold instances of Covid-19 amongst port staff and their households concerned in distributing humanitarian assist within the wake of the volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami that battered the island nation final month.
Tonga entered lockdown after discovering neighborhood transmission of Covid.
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Key Details
Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni stated Tonga would enter a nationwide lockdown after two port staff serving to distribute assist shipments examined optimistic for Covid-19 within the nation’s capital, Nuku’alofa.
Three extra instances have been later discovered amongst kinfolk of the employees, according to media reports.
The outbreak marks the primary time Covid-19 has unfold domestically in Tonga, which has remained Covid-free during the pandemic, barring a single case in a returning traveler final October.
The lockdown—which has no set end-point however shall be reviewed each 48 hours—will cease transport between islands, shut colleges and prohibit massive gatherings.
What We Don’t Know
The place transmission began. Tongan officers are working to pinpoint the supply of the outbreak and are what ships have visited the docks. Australian officers stated the outbreak shouldn’t be linked to a Navy ship docked in Nuku’alofa. Although dozens of instances have been recorded amongst sailors on the HMAS Adelaide, reportedly stranded attributable to an influence outage, it has unloaded assist in a “Covid-friendly” manner. Crew on flights from Japan and Australia also examined optimistic.
Key Background
An enormous undersea volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami devastated Tonga in January, killing three folks and leaving a lot of the nation reliant on international assist for necessities like ingesting water and shelter kits. Disruption is ongoing weeks after the disasters, with communications patchy attributable to a broken undersea cable and protected water provides nonetheless a difficulty. As a small island nation, Tonga is very susceptible to illness outbreaks, which might quickly overwhelm its healthcare system. Because of this, the nation has imposed strict border controls to maintain the coronavirus out because the pandemic started and locked down after recording one case amongst a returning traveler final 12 months. The strict strategy has sophisticated reduction efforts, nevertheless, and raised fears that important international help would additionally carry the virus.
Additional Studying
Tongan Volcano: ‘Alarming’ Harm Reported As Worldwide Support Efforts Are Hampered By Volcanic Ash (Forbes)
Tsunami-hit Tonga goes into lockdown after workers helping deliver aid catch Covid (Guardian)
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