Results for Health

The Ministry of Health issued its third travel advisory on 15 February reminding international travellers they need to meet requirements on arrival in Tonga, due to the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. A traveller from China who was on a flight from New Zealand was denied entry at Fua'amotu International Airport last week because he failed to comply with a new condition of entry to Tonga.

The 51 Tongan athletes who were stuck in China following the outbreak of the Corona virus are expected to leave China tomorrow and on Tuesday and travel to the United Kingdom, where they will stay under medical supervision for two weeks before returning to Tonga in early March.

The Tongan Embassy in Beijing has been keeping tabs on Tongan nationals across China, including 49 students to ensure they are looked after, as new cases of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to climb.

The number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases worldwide has climbed to 40,235 in China and 909 deaths as at 10 February, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). No update has been provided by the Tonga Government on the Tongan students and sports athletes currently in China, since its travel advisory on 5 February. Meanwhile, residents in Tonga's Vava'u Group are worried that cruise ships are arriving directly from overseas at this time.

While no cases of coronavirus have been identified in Tonga, measures have been introduced at ports of entry for all international travellers. Those who have originated or travelled through China must spend at least 14-days self-quarantine in the last port free of the novel coronavirus.

Young Tongan students in China have been advised to stay at universities, by the Chinese Embassy in Tonga, as there are no flights to get them out now. They are among over 300 people from Tonga who remain in China.

Tonga's Prime Minister has asked the New Zealand and Australian Governments to assist with quarantining four Tongan sports teams and students, upon their return from China.

Alternative flights to bring home four Tongan sports teams who are stranded in China will be confirmed soon, Tonga's Ministry of Internal Affairs said today. The teams connecting flights to Hong Kong were cancelled earlier this week due to the novel corona virus epidemic in China.

All inbound passengers to Tonga must complete a Health Customs Form to assess potential signs and symptoms to coronavirus, in a first travel advisory issued by the Ministry of Health.