Results for Health

The 150 passengers repatriated from New Zealand on Tuesday have all tested negative for CoViD-19 confirmed MEIDECC CEO, Paula Ma’u today. Currently, over 2800 people are registered on the government’s repatriation list wanting to return to Tonga, The next repatriation flight is booked tentatively for 25 August.

Tonga’s second repatriation flight arrived this afternoon with 150 passengers coming from New Zealand. One very happy family was waiting beside the road at Fua'amotu village near the airport, to welcome home one of the passengers, a 70-year-old father and grandfather, whom they hoped could see them as the quarantine buses left the airport.

Some lucky Tongan citizens who have remained in New Zealand since the COVID-19 lockdown are on the way home today on a repatriation flight.

Medical supplies from China were handed over to the Ministry of Health at Vaiola Hospital on July 24.

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.

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.

The Pacific region, including Tonga, is requesting access to a vaccine currently being developed to fight COVID-19, said the Minister for Health Hon ‘Amelia Tu’ipulotu today. They are talking to the World Health Organisation and taking part in preliminary discussions with the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance. It is hoped that by the end of 2021 there will be enough vaccine to immunise 20% of the population, starting with front line workers.

Tonga remains CoViD-19 free after tests carried on 57 people who were repatriated from Fiji were negative, the Minister for Health, Hon Dr 'Amelia Tu'ipulotu announced today.

Tonga is looking at more repatriation flights to bring nationals home from low risk countries, but the cost of quarantine for repatriated passengers over a three-month period is estimated to be around $1 million pa’anga, the Ministry of Health CEO Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola conjected today. Some 2600 people have registered for repatriation to Tonga.