An effort to get aid to Tonga as it recovers from a massive volcanic eruption may bring a new disaster: coronavirus. An Australian navy vessel on its way to Tonga has reported 24 confirmed coronavirus cases on board, Reuters reports.
The island nation of Tonga, located in an isolated portion of the Pacific Ocean, has had just one single confirmed case of coronavirus since the worldwide pandemic began in January 2020. Tongan authorities have asked aid providers to deliver cargo without human contact.
The Australian ship, the HMAS Adelaide, a helicopter docking ship, can accommodate an airlift of its cargo of medical and humanitarian supplies, but there are no guarantees about the transfer of the virus. “We will work with the Tongan authorities to keep that vessel at sea to make sure there is no threat and obviously the Tongan government is discussing that at the moment,” Australia Defense Minister Peter Dutton said on broadcaster Sky News. “Obviously they need the aid desperately but they don’t want the risk of COVID.”