Tonga records first coronavirus case since start of pandemic

Tongans have been rushing to vaccinate themselves against coronavirus after the Pacific island nation confirmed its first case on Friday.

The infection was detected in a fully vaccinated person who had arrived on a repatriation flight from New Zealand.

Tonga’s Prime Minister Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa warned that residents on the main island of Tongatapu face a possible lockdown next week.

Tonga was one of the last countries not to have reported Covid infections.