Tonga is dealing with its first COVID-19 outbreak

The view of Nomuka, Tonga, after the Jan. 15 volcano eruption and tsunami.
(Image credit: New Zealand Defense Force via Getty Images)

Tonga was able to make it two years before experiencing its first COVID-19 outbreak.

About 105,000 people live in Tonga, and its isolated location in the Pacific was helpful in keeping the coronavirus away. Just one case was reported in October, when a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints missionary returned home and tested positive while at a quarantine hotel, causing the country to go into lockdown. After making it so long without any outbreaks, the Tongan government was concerned about accepting aid in the wake of the Jan. 15 volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami, which wiped out villages and contaminated drinking water.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.