People are being warned not to collect or eat shellfish from Tongatapu, Ha’apai and ‘Eua coasts due to toxic poisoning risks.
The Ministry of Fisheries said these areas were affected by the ashfall after the volcano eruption on January 15.
It said it received reports of people getting sick after consuming shellfish from these areas. Fish in these coastal areas could also be at risk, it said.
Victims included people who suffered from diarrhoea, vomiting, and having pain in various parts of the body at the same time.
The Ministry said fish from deep sea fishing could be safe for consumption.
The news came after it was reported that 84 percent of the population of Tonga was affected by the ashfall and tsunami that hit the country on January 15.
A New Zealand government minister said at the time there were “high levels of sulphur in the air at the moment and also in the water”. They added that this was a risk to drinking water and fishing, which is vital to the Tongan people, and could lead to a rise in water temperatures.
However, the Minister of Health Saia Piukala later on said drinking water had been tested and it was safe.
Minister of Health Dr Saia Piukala. Photo/Screenshot (FM87.5 online)
Tonga has reported one new Covid-related death bringing the number of deaths to a total of three since the outbreak.
The Minister of Health Saia Piukala said “that three recent deaths were all Covid related”, a statement published on Parliament’s website said.
“Hon. Piukala made the confirmation during a Press Conference with the PM yesterday”, it said.
“The victims include an 88-year-old elderly who was not vaccinated. Others are two males in their 40s, one suffered from a cancer illness while the other one with underlying medical conditions”.
Health Chief Executive Dr. Siale ‘Akau’ola said “they all have the symptoms of Covid, and the cause of death is Covid related. Covid has prompted their deaths.”
There are 186 new cases of Omicron in Tonga today Monday 21.
There are 2082 active cases while 1327 people had been recovered.
It’s been one year after a body of a Tongan woman in Salt Lake city was found dead and authorities are still continuing to investigate.
The family of Akosita Kaufusi is raising awareness around Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. (Garna Mejia, KSL-TV)
Police have treated the suspicious death of Akosita Kaufusi, 42, in far western Salt Lake County near the Great Saltair as a homicide.
Salt Lake Investigators discovered Kaufusi had been shot on August 2020.
Her body was discovered by a jogger about a half mile east of Saltair near an I-80 frontage road. She had been deceased “at least several days,” reports said.
Last month, eighteen months after Kaufusi’s body was found, her family talked to media to raise their concerns.
“Nothing,” Makalita Ofa, her aunt, said. “Nothing at all”, reported KSL.com.
Ofa was frustrated seeing the resources dedicated to finding Gabby Petito, and the worldwide attention that was drawn for the white 22-year-old.
“It’s awful what happened to her,” Ofa said. “I just think the attention needs to be on everyone.”
Ofa has been raising awareness around Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls ever since she experienced it firsthand.
Every four out of five Indigenous women experience violence in their lifetime, according to the Urban Indian Health Institute. On top of that, Indigenous women are murdered at a rate 10 times higher than all other ethnicities, according to the National Institute of Justice.
“It’s an epidemic,” Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, said.
Romero is leading a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ task force and trying to secure $130,000 in state funding to collect updated data in the state, expand preventative education, and explore jurisdiction handlings on these cases.
“I know that the tribal lands are very skeptical of others coming into their community. There is just a lack of trust, but I think it is time to build that bridge,” Ofa said. “That is the only way we are going to solve this.”
Anyone with information that leads to an arrest in the murder of Akosita Kaufusi could receive a reward of up to $5,000.
About 3000 Tongan families will benefit from an international project to restore agriculture devastated by January’s volcanic eruption and tsunami.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation will spend US$700,000 to help households that relied on agriculture for their income before the volcanic eruption and tsunami devastated Tonga in January.
Funding for the rehabilitation project will come from Belgium and the United States.
The money will also support families to re-establish income from fishing.
The project will also investigate the long term effects of the ash that fell on the kingdom after the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano exploded.
According to initial damage assessments, 80 percent of crops were affected by the tsunami in some of the worst affected communities on Tongatapu, Ha’apai and ‘Eua.
Thousands of square kilometres of crops and farms were damaged or destroyed and livestock were drowned by the tsunami.
The recovery project will focus on
Re-starting the crop production through land clearance support and provision of agriculture inputs,
Protecting the remaining livestock with the provision of emergency veterinary treatment and farm supplies to improve livestock health and farm recovery,
Restoring small-scale fishing activities and enabling small-scale fishing for nearshore pelagic fish.
FAO’s Sub-regional Coordinator for the Pacific Islands Ms Xiangjun Yao, said the FAO was collaborating with Tonga’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forests and the Ministry of Fisheries.
Implementing the project was complicated by the arrival of Covid-19 in Tonga and the spread of the disease would be closely monitored.
The Supreme Court has sentenced a man to 33 months in prison for a shooting that stemmed from a fight in a night club.
Justice Niu, presiding, sentenced Timote ‘Aho’atu for causing grievous bodily harm to Siaosi Na’a when he shot him with a pistol, injuring his right arm and chest.
Na’a gave evidence that two months before the shooting he and ‘Aho’atu had a fight in a night club on Vuna Rd.
Na’a told the court he hit ‘Aho’atu and this was why he sought him out and shot him with a pistol.
The incident occurred at Havelu on July 5, 2021.
The court was told that ‘Aho’atu went to the home of one Kemio Sika at Havelu where Na’a was and shot him in his right arm. The bullet travelled through his chest and lodged on the left wall of the chest. The bullet is still there.
The bullet missed the heart, lungs and major blood vessels and Na’a was discharged from hospital five days later.
‘Aho’atu admitted to the offence when he was arrested.
He told the police he threw the pistol into the sea at the Faua Wharf. Police were unable to find the weapon. ‘Aho’atu had no previous conviction, but had been deported from Australia for domestic violence in 2016.
In his summing up, Justice Niu said ‘Aho’atu had apologised to his victim and given him food and TP$200. The court was told Na’a had forgiven him and asked that he not be penalised.
In sentencing ‘Aho’atu, Judge Niu said he had completely disregarded the law.
“The law required you to complain to the police if you felt that the victim had unfairly and unlawfully done you wrong,” the judge said.
“That law prohibits you from punishing, or killing the person who has wronged you. If there was no such law then there would be lawlessness. There would be no law and order and there would be no freedom.
“Your sentence must reflect the complete rejection and condemnation by society of what you have done and the upholding of the law.”
The judge said the accused must take a course in anger management to avoid any repeat of the offence.
“It is clear that you had committed domestic violence overseas and had been sent back here because of your inability to control your temper,” the judge told ‘Aho’atu.
However, the judge said his sentence would be mitigated because he had shown he remorseful. He had apologised to the victim and pleaded guilty. He had co-operated with the police and demonstrated he would rehabilitate yourself.
‘Aho’atu was sentenced for causing grievous bodily harm, to two years and nine months imprisonment, a total of 33 months.
The final 18 months were to be suspended for a period of two years from the date of his release on condition that he lived and worked where the Probation Officer directed and did not commit an offence punishable by imprisonment during the period of suspension.
The number of Covid -19 cases in Samoa has climbed to 196.
This included 15 imported cases and 85 people who tested positive on Sunday.
Eleven people are reported to be in isolation at Moto’otua Hospital.
The first case of community transmission was identified on Thursday and since then the Ministry of Health has carried 2,207 tests at six Covid-19 screening sites in addition to tests conducted in health facilities.
The screening site at the Red Cross headquarters at Tuanaimato in Apia has so far recorded 47% of the positive cases.
The prime minister has visited all district hospitals with members of Cabinet as Samoa deals with the rapid spread.
Fiame Naomi Mata’afa thanked staff urged them to reach out if they encounter any issues.
Fiame said the visit to hospitals at Lufilufi, Lalomanu, Poutasi, Sa’anapu, Faleolo and Leulumoega were to see first hand whether they are well prepared.
She said “the key word is access for the public” to local facilities so they avoid going to the national hospital in Apia “which is already congested.”
Covid’s spread in some other parts of the Pacific:
Kiribati
Kiribati recorded 19 new Covid-19 cases over the weekend, bringing the total number of people who have tested positive for the Omicron variant to 3,061.
The health ministry reports 2,510 people or 82 percent of those who were infected have fully recovered.
The Government has extended its curfew by another two weeks – ending on the first of April – to reduce the spread of community transmissions.
But it said the lockdown restrictions could be further increased “should the need arise”, as authorities are anticipating a second wave of Covid-19.
Meanwhile, there have been 13 confirmed deaths due to coronavirus in Kiribati.
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is now reporting 490 active cases of Covid-19, with 247 people having recovered.
While no one has been hospitalised to date, the Prime Minister Mark Brown said it’s vital people realise how vulnerable the country’s elderly population and the unvaccinated are.
Vanuatu
Vanuatu has confirmed 150 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 as of midday on 18 March.
There were 146 positive infections recorded on Efate Island and another four on Santo Island.
The health ministry said there are 649 active cases in the community, with two people hospitalised and needing medical treatment.
Several Auckland schools have closed and residents in Northland and Auckland are urged to take shelter as a severe thunderstorm and heavy rain travels down the North Island.
MetService has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the areas of Kaipara, Far North, Whangārei and Rodney.
A severe thunderstorm watch is already in force for Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island and the Coromandel Peninsula.
More than 4000 lightning strikes were recorded in the Auckland and lower Northland regions, with more than 700 in the space of five minutes earlier this morning.
The National Emergency Management Agency is urging people to take shelter inside, away from windows as the weather hits early this morning.
Three bodies have been found in a search and rescue operation off North Cape at the top of the North Island.
Photo: NZ Topo Map
Police say two people remain missing.
Five people have been rescued after a vessel activated its beacon at 8pm last night.
Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter trust said they were asked to join the search and rescue of a sunken vessel approximately 200 metres off North Cape.
A marine traffic website shows a fishing boat in the area.
A trust spokesperson said five people have been rescued.
They were winched off the boat to safety and are now in Kaitaia Hospital in a stable condition.
Search and Rescue said 300 square nautical miles off the North Cape is being scoured for the missing crew members.
Rescue Coordination Centre officer Nick Burt told Nine to Noon a Defence Force P3 Orion and a naval vessel are part of the search.
He said he believes the ship in distress is a charter vessel.
Burt said police have interviewed those who were rescued, and they have provided some useful information.
Bad weather is making the search dangerous but it has eased slightly.
Burt said it is unclear if the emergency locator beacon that was activated is on the vessel or with any survivors in the water.
Maritime New Zealand which is leading the operation said helicopters are assisting search vessels and police are searching on the ground near Te Pua in the Far North.
The Northland Coastguard says an Airforce P3 Orion is also on the way.
The Coastguard were also asked to respond but said conditions were too dangerous.
The Defence Force and the Whangārei rescue helicopter have been involved.
MetService has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the areas of Kaipara, Far North, Whangārei and Rodney.
A severe thunderstorm watch is already in force for Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island and the Coromandel Peninsula.
Helicopters are assisting in a major search and rescue operation in Northland. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
New Covid cases have climbed in Tonga forcing the nation to go into another lockdown for a week starting this Saturday 19 at 8pm, a government spokesperson told Kaniva News this evening.
The Prime Minister is expected to hold a press conference tomorrow through zoom in which he would release the details.
The news came after the country recorded its first community cases early last month after two port workers had tested positive.
It followed with a nationwide lockdown but that was eased on February 21. Further lifts of Covid restrictions had been announced later on including Tongatapu and Vava’u students in forms 6 and 7 returning to face-to-face learning at schools yesterday, Wednesday 16.
There are 273 new cases of Covid in Tonga today Thursday 17 brining the number of active cases to a total of 1632.
There have now been 2530 confirmed Covid cases in Tonga since the outbreak.
The number of Covid related deaths stood at two while 896 people had recovered.
Meanwhile, three cabinet ministers reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, including the Minister for Internal Affairs Sione Sangstar Saulala, Minister for Foreign Affairs Fekita ‘Utoikamanu and the Minister for Justice and Prisons Hon Sāmiu Vaipulu.
The Prime Minister Hon Hu’akavameiliku had also tested positive and entered self-isolation last week.
