Tonga's main island locks down after 1st virus case found
- 3 years ago
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Tonga's main island will go into lockdown for a week after the South Pacific nation reported its first case of the coronavirus, the government said Monday.
The far-flung archipelago identified its first virus case last week, after a traveler arriving from New Zealand tested positive and isolated at a quarantine hotel.
Tonga’s Prime Minister Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa said the lockdown would begin just after midnight on Tuesday and apply only to the island of Tongatapu, where a majority of the population live.
The nation’s Cabinet ordered the move to “ensure the safety and health of our people,” news website Matangi Tonga reported.
The far-flung archipelago identified its first virus case last week, after a traveler arriving from New Zealand tested positive and isolated at a quarantine hotel.
Tonga’s Prime Minister Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa said the lockdown would begin just after midnight on Tuesday and apply only to the island of Tongatapu, where a majority of the population live.
The nation’s Cabinet ordered the move to “ensure the safety and health of our people,” news website Matangi Tonga reported.