Results for Dr Siale 'Akau'ola

CoViD-19 tests are now being offered at Vaiola Hospital for travellers after the Health Services regulation to include CoViD-19 test fees was Gazetted yesterday afternoon.

The 25 repatriated passengers from the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu have all tested negative for CoViD-19 and are now on one week home quarantine for added safety, confirmed Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola yesterday.

Twenty-six passengers repatriated from the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu on Saturday, 5 September, tested negative for CoViD-19 confirmed Ministry of Health CEO, Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola today.

Two repatriation flights are scheduled to arrive at Fua’amotu International Airport tomorrow, Wednesday, from Fiji and Kiribati confirmed Ministry of Health CEO, Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola. Tonga Police and military will cordon off the restricted areas from noon on September 2 until midnight on September 18.

Tonga has provided an Expression of Interest to join COVAX to access CoViD-19 vaccines confirmed the Ministry of Health CEO, Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola. It will give early access to vaccinations for the most vulnerable people in member countries populations.

Several hundred Tongan nationals who are stranded in distant countries, include a small cluster of surgical patients and their carers, who became stuck in India when Tonga's border closed on March 23. The Ministry of Health wants them to be repatriated but CEO Dr Siale 'Akau'ola voiced his extreme frustration today that he can find no viable pathway home for these patients, without stronger collaboration in the region.

Tonga remains CoViD-19 free after the 57 people in quarantine tested negative today, the Minister for Health, Hon Dr 'Amelia Tu'ipulotu announced this afternoon. A second repatriation flight to bring stranded Tongans from New Zealand is being planned for August 4.

Preparations get Tonga ready to combat CoViD-19 should it reach the kingdom, are progressing slowly. The Ministry of Health reported delays in the construction of a specialised CoVid-19 testing laboratory, and they are waiting more protective gowns and overalls, and an oxygen generator. The Ministry is still working on a quarantine policy for future incoming passengers.

Case management, or the ability of Tonga’s Ministry of Health to accommodate and treat CoViD-19 patients, if the new coronavirus arrives in Tonga, remains a serious problem for the Ministry of Health to resolve, Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola said on Friday.