Tonga, an island country in the South Pacific, reported their first case of Covid-19 on Friday. The country, which was among the few not to record a single case of the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, has now started to prepare for a lockdown.
Tonga Prime Minister Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa informed on Friday that a fully vaccinated passenger, who had traveled from New Zealand, had tested positive for Covid-19. The passenger had tested negative before boarding her flight from Christchurch, CNN reported.
Even though most of the airport staff, who came in contact with the passenger, have been quarantined, the prime minister has warned citizens of the country to prepare for a possible lockdown following the detection of the first case.
Meanwhile, after the news became public, the vaccination rate appears to have increased in Tonga with herds of people rushing to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
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“More people are coming forward because we now have around 86% coverage and a second dose of around 62%, so this is a major take-up rate today and it will increase overall coverage of patients. first vaccines and comprehensive vaccines, “Matangi Tonga quoted the country’s Health Minister Amelia Tuipulotu as saying.
Even though there had not been a single case of Covid-19, Tonga had closed its border to foreign nationals in March 2020, declaring a state of emergency. The government’s early action, as in other Pacific islands, had saved the country from the Covid epidemic.
About 100,000 people reside in Tonga, a Polynesian country of more than 170 islands in the South Pacific. The island nation is approximately 2,380 kilometers from New Zealand and 800 kilometers from Fiji.
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