NUKU’ALOFA
Australian defence chiefs on Wednesday said a warship delivering aid to Tonga was not the source of an outbreak that has plunged the previously coronavirus-free Pacific kingdom into lockdown.
Residents of the remote island nation, struggling to recover from a deadly volcanic eruption that triggered huge tsunamis, were ordered to stay at home Wednesday after two port workers tested positive in the capital Nuku’alofa.
They were the first community cases recorded in the nation of 100,000 people, with officials later confirming another three family members, including two children, also had the virus and were in isolation.
Tongans have feared losing the country’s virus-free status since foreign ships began delivering humanitarian aid in the wake of the January 15 eruption.
Australia, New Zealand, the United States, China, France, Fiji and Britain have all sent ships carrying relief supplies including drinking water, medical kits and engineering equipment.
Australia’s HMAS Adelaide docked in Nuku’alofa to unload supplies last week, despite a coronavirus outbreak among its crew.
All offshore deliveries are subject to strict “no-contact” protocols in a bid to keep the virus at bay, including leaving goods in isolation for three days before they are handled by Tongans.
The Australian Defence Force’s operations chief, Lieutenant General Greg Bilton, said the Nuku’alofa outbreak “doesn’t appear to have evolved from the Adelaide”.
