Thomas Manch
STUFF NZ
Jan 19 2022
HMNZS Wellington departed Devonport Naval Base in Auckland to head to Tonga on Tuesday afternoon.
The Tongan Government has agreed to "contactless" disaster relief from New Zealand amid concern the response to a major volcanic explosion could bring with it a "tsunami" of Covid-19.
The Pacific Island nation, which has strictly maintained a Covid-free status for much of the pandemic, was rocked by a massive explosion from the nearby Hung-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano on Saturday, which coated Tonga’s islands in ash and sent a tsunami wave crashing into its shores – killing at least three people.
The New Zealand Government has in the days since offered to deliver fresh water and other emergency supplies by air and sea. But the disaster response has been hampered by downed communication lines, ash on the Nuku’alofa airport runway, and, also causing concern, was the risk of spreading Covid-19.
“Non-contact” disaster relief from New Zealand’s Defence Force, to any possible spread of Covid-19 from New Zealand soldiers to Tonga, has now been agreed to by the Tongan Government, a spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta confirmed.
NZDF/SUPPLIED
An image from a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion reconnaissance flight on Monday 17 January over Tonga to assist in an initial impact assessment of Saturday’s eruption.
READ MORE:
* Tonga races to prevent a 'tsunami of Covid' as rescue efforts begin following unprecedented disaster
* ‘There’s nothing there for them’: Extent of Tonga’s devastation emerges
* Two Navy ships heading to Tonga as communication issues hamper response effort
Mahuta, speaking to reporters in New Plymouth on Wednesday afternoon, said New Zealand and Tongan officials were discussing what could be done in the “Covid context”.
"There are some activities that don't require contact, for example, the assessment of the wharfs and the infrastructure undersea, and the seabed. That really doesn't require any contact between humans.”
Tonga was already in a state of emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and entry to the country was restricted to citizens and permanent residents. Throughout the pandemic, Tonga has recorded a single case of Covid-19 throughout the pandemic, in October 2021.
Tonga’s head of mission to New Zealand, consul Lenisiloti Sitafooti Aho, said people who entered Tonga, such as those on repatriation flights, had to spend three weeks in managed isolation.
This would remain the case unless the Tongan Government decided to change its protocol, he said.
Tongan diplomat Curtis Tu'ihalangingie, the deputy head of mission to Australia, told ABC radio on Tuesday that retaining the country’s Covid-free status amid the response was something both the Australian and New Zealand governments had agreed to.
"We will still need to follow the Covid-19 protocols to keep the people in the population safe, rather than us setting a system and there's a tsunami of Covid hitting Tonga ... We very much appreciate the understanding,” Tu'ihalangingie said.
Exactly how such non-contact deployments will be managed was unclear. Stuff has sought an interview with the Rear Admiral James Gilmour, who as commander of joint forces has been leading the Defence Force’s response.
Two naval ships, the HMNZS Aotearoa and HMNZS Wellington, have already departed for the three-day journey to Tonga and were expected to arrive on Friday. A C130 Hercules was ready to fly to Nuku’alofa airport as soon as the ashfall has been cleared.
On Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a Hercules would fly to Tonga regardless of the situation at the airport and “air drop” supplies. This did not go ahead, a Defence Force spokesman later confirmed the option was considered however it “was not the preference of the Tongan authorities”.
NZDF/SUPPLIED
An image taken from a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion reconnaissance flight on Monday 17 January over Tonga to assist in an initial impact assessment of Saturday’s eruption.
Anna Powles, a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University, said the Defence Force had protocols for providing humanitarian relief without direct contact, and it added an “additional layer of complexity”.
New Zealand had provided non-contact Covid-19 vaccine delivery to Pacific nations during the pandemic, and a C130 Hercules supply flight to Vanuatu after Cyclone Harold adhered to “serious protocols” to prevent the spread of Covid-19, then-Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.
"They obviously did it with respect to the delivery of vaccines for Niue and so forth, but that was much more targeted ... [It] is going to be obviously really interesting in the days to come. I guess it is going to include airdrops, effectively,” Powles said.
"One of the questions for me will be in terms of looking at what the Tonga National Emergency Management Office what their planning is.”
Council for International Development director Josie Pagani said there was a “no contact humanitarian protocol” in place, meaning soldiers “put stuff down, ... walk away, and locals pick it up”.
“For us in the aid sector ... It's really important to understand, we will not be doing a fly-in fly-out humanitarian response.
"That's actually a good thing, because what we're doing is we're supporting local Tongan community groups, church groups, local partners, who are on the frontline right now responding.”
HMNZS Wellington departed Devonport Naval Base in Auckland to head to Tonga on Tuesday afternoon.
The Tongan Government has agreed to "contactless" disaster relief from New Zealand amid concern the response to a major volcanic explosion could bring with it a "tsunami" of Covid-19.
The Pacific Island nation, which has strictly maintained a Covid-free status for much of the pandemic, was rocked by a massive explosion from the nearby Hung-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano on Saturday, which coated Tonga’s islands in ash and sent a tsunami wave crashing into its shores – killing at least three people.
The New Zealand Government has in the days since offered to deliver fresh water and other emergency supplies by air and sea. But the disaster response has been hampered by downed communication lines, ash on the Nuku’alofa airport runway, and, also causing concern, was the risk of spreading Covid-19.
“Non-contact” disaster relief from New Zealand’s Defence Force, to any possible spread of Covid-19 from New Zealand soldiers to Tonga, has now been agreed to by the Tongan Government, a spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta confirmed.
NZDF/SUPPLIED
An image from a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion reconnaissance flight on Monday 17 January over Tonga to assist in an initial impact assessment of Saturday’s eruption.
READ MORE:
* Tonga races to prevent a 'tsunami of Covid' as rescue efforts begin following unprecedented disaster
* ‘There’s nothing there for them’: Extent of Tonga’s devastation emerges
* Two Navy ships heading to Tonga as communication issues hamper response effort
Mahuta, speaking to reporters in New Plymouth on Wednesday afternoon, said New Zealand and Tongan officials were discussing what could be done in the “Covid context”.
"There are some activities that don't require contact, for example, the assessment of the wharfs and the infrastructure undersea, and the seabed. That really doesn't require any contact between humans.”
Tonga was already in a state of emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and entry to the country was restricted to citizens and permanent residents. Throughout the pandemic, Tonga has recorded a single case of Covid-19 throughout the pandemic, in October 2021.
Tonga’s head of mission to New Zealand, consul Lenisiloti Sitafooti Aho, said people who entered Tonga, such as those on repatriation flights, had to spend three weeks in managed isolation.
This would remain the case unless the Tongan Government decided to change its protocol, he said.
Tongan diplomat Curtis Tu'ihalangingie, the deputy head of mission to Australia, told ABC radio on Tuesday that retaining the country’s Covid-free status amid the response was something both the Australian and New Zealand governments had agreed to.
"We will still need to follow the Covid-19 protocols to keep the people in the population safe, rather than us setting a system and there's a tsunami of Covid hitting Tonga ... We very much appreciate the understanding,” Tu'ihalangingie said.
Exactly how such non-contact deployments will be managed was unclear. Stuff has sought an interview with the Rear Admiral James Gilmour, who as commander of joint forces has been leading the Defence Force’s response.
Two naval ships, the HMNZS Aotearoa and HMNZS Wellington, have already departed for the three-day journey to Tonga and were expected to arrive on Friday. A C130 Hercules was ready to fly to Nuku’alofa airport as soon as the ashfall has been cleared.
On Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a Hercules would fly to Tonga regardless of the situation at the airport and “air drop” supplies. This did not go ahead, a Defence Force spokesman later confirmed the option was considered however it “was not the preference of the Tongan authorities”.
NZDF/SUPPLIED
An image taken from a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion reconnaissance flight on Monday 17 January over Tonga to assist in an initial impact assessment of Saturday’s eruption.
Anna Powles, a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University, said the Defence Force had protocols for providing humanitarian relief without direct contact, and it added an “additional layer of complexity”.
New Zealand had provided non-contact Covid-19 vaccine delivery to Pacific nations during the pandemic, and a C130 Hercules supply flight to Vanuatu after Cyclone Harold adhered to “serious protocols” to prevent the spread of Covid-19, then-Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.
"They obviously did it with respect to the delivery of vaccines for Niue and so forth, but that was much more targeted ... [It] is going to be obviously really interesting in the days to come. I guess it is going to include airdrops, effectively,” Powles said.
"One of the questions for me will be in terms of looking at what the Tonga National Emergency Management Office what their planning is.”
Council for International Development director Josie Pagani said there was a “no contact humanitarian protocol” in place, meaning soldiers “put stuff down, ... walk away, and locals pick it up”.
“For us in the aid sector ... It's really important to understand, we will not be doing a fly-in fly-out humanitarian response.
"That's actually a good thing, because what we're doing is we're supporting local Tongan community groups, church groups, local partners, who are on the frontline right now responding.”
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