All shipments from Tongatapu to outer islands will no longer need to be quarantined upon arrival, the government said this afternoon Wednesday 2.
The decision came after Kaniva News reported Tuesday that ’Eua residents had complained after heavy rain damaged goods sent by their families in New Zealand following the January volcano eruption and tsunami.
The goods had been stored in the open at Nāfanua wharf which was completely wiped out by the tsunami.
The Minister of Internal Affairs Sangstar Saulala said in announcing the Cabinet decision the ‘Eua shipments were being quarantined for 72 hours when the incident happened.
Hon Saulala said the Cabinet agreed to remove the 72- hour quarantine requirement after it received recommendations from the Ministry of Health and the National Emergency Management Office.
“The Cabinet does not want to see any further damages to donations from our kāinga overseas to our people which were affected by the disasters”, Saulala said in Tongan.
The Minister thanked overseas kāinga and said the government appreciated their donations.
As we reported yesterday, many ‘Eua residents were concerned and asked why the government did not set up a temporary shelter to protect their cargos.
The damage to the shipments had been described as “huge”.
The government decision came after a boat with shipments got in trouble and ran aground near Tonga’s Nomuka island in the Ha’apai group last week.
The 14 meter long boat was on its way from Pangai with quarantined shipments.
The cargo was shipped from Nuku’alofa to Pangai, Ha’apai so that they could be quarantined there for 72 hours before sending them to Nomuka.
The boat was overloaded and an attempt to speed up the process of bailing seawater failed, the government said at the time.
Volcanic eruption and tsunami
The disaster killed four people and caused US$90.4m (TOP 208M) in damages to Tonga, according to the World Bank, equivalent to 18.5 percent of Tonga’s GDP.
Immediately after the eruption and the fatal tsunami, a relief committee known as Aotearoa Tongan Relief Committee (ATRC) was set up in Auckland to help ship people’s donation to the kingdom.
Reports by the ATRC said it filled more than 70 shipping containers full of drums of food and non-perishable items. More than 50 of them had already been shipped to Tonga.
