The streets of tsunami-hit Tonga were empty and silent on Thursday on the first full day of a lockdown imposed in the previously coronavirus-free nation after two wharf workers were diagnosed with COVID-19.
"Normally this road would be queueing with vehicles and people, but as you can see all shops are closed, everything is closed - taxi stands, shops, supermarkets, it's closed," said local journalist Marian Kupu as she stood at a deserted crossroads in the capital, shuttered buildings behind her.Register
However, the infected waterfront workers were not employed on docks being used by foreign navies to deliver aid, said Curtis Tu'ihalangingie, Tonga's deputy head of mission in Australia. Tongans had queued outside banks and petrol stations on Wednesday ahead of the lockdown which started at 6 p.m. .