This first contamination in the archipelago was detected in a person in isolation, returning from a stay in New Zealand.
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It was one of the few countries to have so far escaped the Covid-19 epidemic. The Tonga archipelago, a small kingdom in the Pacific, has discovered a first case of Covid-19 contamination, leading to a risk of containment on the main island of Tongatapu, the Prime Minister, Pohiva Tuionetoa, warned on Saturday, October 30. This first contamination was detected in a person in isolation, returning from a stay in New Zealand.
Containment on Tongatapu Island could take place next week. “The reason the lockdown will not happen as of this weekend is that I have been warned that the virus takes more than three days to develop in an infected person before it becomes contagious”, explained the Prime Minister. “We need to use this time to prepare in case we are sure that more people are infected.”, added Pohiva Tuionetoa.
Most of Tonga’s 106,000 people live on the island of Tongatapu, and less than a third have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
The infected person had received a second injection of the vaccine in mid-October, according to health officials. The return flight from New Zealand included members of the Tonga Olympic team, stranded in Christchurch since the Tokyo Olympics. The athletes had been fully vaccinated before their departure for the Olympics.
The New Zealand Ministry of Health has confirmed that the infected person tested negative before boarding Christchurch.