Results for Ministry of Health

By this morning, 1125 people had received their second dose of the Covid-19 Astra-Zeneca vaccine, since the second vaccination roll out started on June 24 in Nuku'alofa.

The ongoing COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccination roll-out program throughout Tongatapu up to 8 May will now close at 4:00pm instead of 6:00pm daily, confirmed the Ministry of Health this afternoon. The vaccination teams start their work at 6:00am. Tomorrow, Friday, vaccinations will be held at Ma'ufanga, Hala Hekoni, Pili, and Hala Bypass.

People who reside in Kolomotu‘a and Kolofo’ou districts, in Tongatapu, and are in the priority groups, can get their COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccinations at various venues next week, 19–23 April. The priority group includes those who are 45-years-old and over, those who are over 18-years-old with non-communicable diseases and / or with disabilities.

A 40-foot container full of brand new wheelchairs and walking aids was officially handed over to the Ministry of Health by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at Vaiola Hospital today. The equipment will help needy people throughout Tonga and is the fourth container-load of equipment donated by the church.

Five health teams are continuing to monitor the 57 passengers that were repatriated from Fiji to Tonga over two weeks ago, while they are self-quarantining at their homes. A repatriation flight from New Zealand is expected to be confirmed soon by Cabinet, with the list of passengers being finalized today.

A pallet of sweet smelling, vanilla infused hand sanitizers made by Heilala Vanilla in New Zealand, were donated to Vaiola Hospital today, 27 May, to assist in keeping Tonga safe from CoViD-19. Vanilla extract made by the company from Tongan grown vanilla has similar common ingredients as sanitizer—ethanol and glycerin, and they were able to make the new products.

The third CoViD-19 testing machine, GeneXpert, and testing cartridges have arrived in Tonga and were cleared last night and kept at the Ministry of Health laboratory said Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola today, 8 May.

Tonga has extended its State of Emergency for another month until May 15, due to the continuous spread of CoViD-19 globally, including Tonga's neighbouring countries the Prime Minister Hon Dr Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa announced this afternoon. Eased national restrictions also come into effect starting at 8:00pm 17 April to 8:00pm 24 April, when they will be reviewed. But the PM also indicated that international airline diversions could last into June.

Samples, taken from a suspected coronavirus COVID-19 case in Tonga this week, arrived in Australia yesterday and are on their way to a Melbourne laboratory for testing.