Tonga managed to avoid COVID-19 for more than two years. Now foreign aid has brought the virus with it
Tonga Managed to Avoid COVID for More Than Two Years. Now Foreign Aid Has Brought the Virus With ItThis handout photo, provided by the New Zealand Defense Force, shows an aerial view of heavy ash fall on Jan. 17, 2022 in Nomuka, Tonga, as seen from a P-3K2 Orion surveillance flight.BANGKOK — For more than two years, the isolation of the Pacific archipelago nation of Tonga helped keep COVID-19 at bay.
“Clearly when you’ve got countries that have already got a very stretched, and fragile health system, when you have an emergency or a disaster and then you have the potential introduction of the virus, that’s going to make an already serious situation immeasurably worse,” said John Fleming, the Asia-Pacific head of health for the Red Cross.
The nation of 105,000 had reported only one case of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic — a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints missionary returning to the island from Africa via New Zealand who tested positive in October — and authorities debated whether to let international aid in.
“The highest priority now is the close contacts of these positive cases and whom they interacted with” since Jan. 29, Health Minister Saia Piukala was quoted as saying. Experience from elsewhere in the pandemic, especially with prevalence now of the rapid-spreading omicron variant, suggests that Tonga faces an uphill battle in trying to contain the outbreak, Indonesian epidemiologist Dicky Budiman told The Associated Press.
“If we race with this virus we will not win,” he said in an interview from Australia. “So we have to move forward by protecting the most vulnerable.”
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel tests positive for Covid-19 ahead of FA Cup tieBREAKING: Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel tests positive for Covid-19 ahead of FA Cup tie.
Read more »
COVID-19: UK reports 60,578 new cases of coronavirus and further 259 deaths
Read more »
Covid symptoms start just TWO days after exposure - the first signs to watch forCOVID symptoms kick in just two days after infection, a world-first study has revealed. Until now, the World Health Organization has said it takes five to six days, on average, for the effects of C…
Read more »
Private schools 'manipulated exam system during Covid to inflate grades'Some of Britain’s top private schools have been accused of ‘manipulating the system’ by inflating their pupils’ marks during the Covid crisis.
Read more »
Shielding vulnerable people from Covid | LetterLetter: Charles Patmore suggests measures to protect those who feel abandoned after the relaxation of social distancing and mask-wearing
Read more »