Long COVID-free, isolated Pacific islands hit with outbreaks
BANGKOK (AP) — For more than two years, the isolation of the Pacific archipelago nation of Tonga helped keep COVID-19 at bay.
But last month’s volcanic eruption and tsunami brought outside deliveries of desperately needed fresh water and medicine — and the virus.
Now the country is in an open-ended lockdown, which residents hope will help contain the small outbreak and will not last too long.
“We have pretty limited resources, and our hospitals are pretty small,” Tongan business owner Paula Taumoepeau said Friday. “But I’m not sure any health system can cope. We are lucky we’ve had two years to get our vax rate pretty high, and we had a pretty immediate lockdown.”
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-asia-tsunamis-volcanic-eruptions-73b2d73b2b41092898b3d92be3dabcc4