Tsunami-hit Tonga stranded after workers helping deliver aid catch Covid | Tonga Volcano

Tonga will be in lockdown after registering two cases of Covid-19 among port workers helping distribute international aid following the volcanic eruption and tsunami that devastated the Pacific nation last month.

The cases appear to confirm fears among Tongan officials that the arrival of aid could cause an outbreak of the virus, which could pose a greater danger to Tonga than the tsunami.

Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said the lockdown, which begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday, will be indefinite, but will last for at least 48 hours, when it will be reviewed.

The nationwide lockdown will force people to stay at home, with only essential services allowed to operate. Since the lockdown was announced, people have been scrambling for supplies, with photographs of queues in the street outside banks and shops, as people seek out cash and food.

Tonga is still reeling from the January 15 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai submarine volcano, which sent gas 20 km into the air, caused a tsunami, with waves reaching 15 meters ( 49 feet) and covered the country with ashes.

Three people died in Tonga as a result of the tsunami and the Tongan government estimates that 84% of the country’s people were affected. In some islands and villages, every house was destroyed by the tsunami.

International aid has been arriving in Tonga since the disaster, with ships and planes arriving from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Britain and China.

The delivery of humanitarian relief supplies, including bulk water, hygiene kits and shelter, was intended to be contactless.

Tonga has remained Covid-free for much of the pandemic, reporting only one case in a returning traveler in October. Traveling to Tonga generally requires incoming travelers to spend three weeks in quarantine.

The October case, which also led to a lockdown, has caused a huge increase in vaccination rates in Tonga, with the government confirming that the number of people fully vaccinated has risen from around 35% before the first case was confirmed to 62% four days later.

More than 20 cases of Covid-19 have been reported among sailors aboard HMAS Adelaide, which departed Australia for Tonga with supplies within a week of the eruption. There have also been Covid infections among crew members of aid flights from Japan and Australia.

Tonga has turned back an aid flight from Australia due to a positive Covid case on board.

Smaller Pacific nations including Kiribati and Palau were among the last places to remain Covid-free, due to their remoteness and strict overseas travel bans. However, over the past month, outbreaks of Covid-19 have swept across many Pacific nations, including Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Palau. Only a handful of the smaller Pacific countries – Tuvalu, Nauru and the Cook Islands – are still Covid-free.

The lockdown in Tonga comes as many homes and businesses remain without internet access after the tsunami cut the only fiber optic cable that connects Tonga to the rest of the world. Officials hope repairs will be completed within a week or two.

About 61% of Tonga’s 105,000 people are fully immunized, according to Our World in Data.