Results for COVID-19

Ana Waalkens spent a week in Auckland City Hospital's intensive care unit after falling ill days after a growing Delta outbreak was discovered in Auckland in August - and before the 38-year-old was eligible to be vaccinated. Waalkens is telling her story because she wants everyone, especially fellow Pasifika - she has Tongan heritage - to get vaccinated so they don't suffer as she and her family had. Waalkens was fighting for her life. "My family and friends all thought I was going to die,” she said. By Cherie Howie, Reporter NZ Herald.

Around 31,600 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived from New Zealand last night, and started to roll out today for inoculations of 12 to 17-year-olds and pregnant women in Tonga. There is huge demand and competition for the Pfizer vaccine globally, and the Prime Minister, the Minister of Health and Tonga's CEO of Health all thanked New Zealand for making this “important gift”, which placed Tonga among the few privileged countries of the world to have it.

Fiji will reopen its border to ‘travel partner countries’ from 11 November, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama announced on Fiji Day, 10 October.

Life in Fiji is starting to return to normal as businesses re-open at 70 percent capacity starting from today but only for people who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. There are currently 12,828 active COVID-19 cases in Fiji. Since the COVID-19 outbreak that started in April 2021, there have been 51,132 cases and 631 deaths there.

The COVID-19 vaccine program will start rolling out in the Niuas on 28 September, the Ministry of Health confirmed yesterday. Meanwhile, the Health CEO Dr Siale ‘Akau'ola urged young people (18-29 years) throughout Tonga to hurry up and get their vaccinations because COVID-19 can reach Tonga. “If you get the vaccine while there is a COVID outbreak, it’s too late. There will be hundreds of lives lost,” he warned.

Another 897 Tongans received their first shots and 51 received their second doses of COVID-19 vaccine, for the week September 10-16, after the Ministry of Health urged the 16,352 unvaccinated people in the targeted age groups to hurry up and get their shots this month before the vaccines expire. Unfortunately, at this rate it would take another 55 weeks to reach the target.

In New Zealand, the University of Waikato, in support of increased Covid-19 vaccination rates among Māori and Pacific communities, will host a vaccination clinic and drive on September 16 to mark Kīngitanga day. There is concern that vaccination rates among the Māori and Pacific communities are lower when compared to the New Zealand national average, while some studies also suggest that Pacific people are three times more likely to need hospitalisation when infected with the virus than non-Pacific people.

Repatriation flights due to arrive from Australia and New Zealand this month have been deferred due to COVID-19, confirmed MEIDECC CEO Paula Ma’u today.

The Tonga Government said today it is supporting Tongan nationals who remained stranded in Fiji, after Tonga closed its borders to repatriation flights from Fiji. It was responding to complaints from the group. They are among 2,608 Tongan nationals and residents who are stranded overseas by the suspension of repatriation flights to Tonga from COVID-19 affected countries.