Tonga Faces Lockdown
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Roughly a third of Tonga's 106,000 people have received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
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The small Pacific nation is located approximately 1,800 kilometers northeast of New Zealand.
Tongans rushed to immunization clinics in large numbers following the discovery of the first case of Covid-19 on the major island of Tongatapu. The island administration warned that a lockdown could be possible next week.
The afflicted person was one of 215 people aboard a repatriation aircraft from Christchurch, New Zealand.
A routine test performed on Thursday, while under managed isolation, yielded a positive result the next day.
Prime Minister Pohiva Tuionetoa warned islanders to prepare for a lockdown but said there was no need to act right away because it may take "more than three days" for a person infected with the virus to become contagious.
"We should use this time to get ready in case more people are confirmed they have the virus," he added.
The tiny Pacific nation, located approximately 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) northeast of New Zealand, was one of just a few countries to avoid the virus, which has killed over five million people worldwide.
Roughly a third of Tonga's 106,000 people, the majority of whom reside on Tongatapu, have received two doses of Covid-19 vaccine.
