The COVID-19 stricken HMAS Adelaide, a coronavirus-hit Australian warship docked in Tonga on Wednesday, has offloaded humanitarian and medical aid for Tonga's volcano and tsunami disaster recovery.
The Tongan government allowed the ship, aboard which 23 infections were earlier confirmed, to dock and offload supplies on Wednesday.
Tongan Health Minister Saia Piukala said the crew of the HMAS Adelaide would follow drastic health protocols to ensure the remote Pacific kingdom remains one of the few places in the world still free of COVID-19.
“The ship will berth and no contacts will be made. Australians from the ship will unload their cargoes and sail from port,” he told reporters.
The warship is carrying about 80 tons of relief supplies, including water, medical kits, and engineering equipment.
Despite all crew members testing negative before departing Brisbane, officials in Canberra on Tuesday said 23 coronavirus cases had been detected on the vessel.
Piukala said that number had increased to 29 by Wednesday.
The ship’s 600-plus crew are fully vaccinated, and the Australian Defense Force said Tuesday that the initial 23 patients were asymptomatic or only mildly affected.
It said the ship has a 40-bed hospital, including operating theaters and a critical care ward.
The Adelaide was deployed as part of an international aid effort after the January 15 eruption that generated massive tsunami waves and blanketed the island nation in toxic ash. The underwater volcanic eruption which triggered a tsunami severed a fibre-optic communication cable connecting Tonga to the test of the world.
The Tongan government allowed the ship, aboard which 23 infections were earlier confirmed, to dock and offload supplies on Wednesday.
Tongan Health Minister Saia Piukala said the crew of the HMAS Adelaide would follow drastic health protocols to ensure the remote Pacific kingdom remains one of the few places in the world still free of COVID-19.
“The ship will berth and no contacts will be made. Australians from the ship will unload their cargoes and sail from port,” he told reporters.
The warship is carrying about 80 tons of relief supplies, including water, medical kits, and engineering equipment.
Despite all crew members testing negative before departing Brisbane, officials in Canberra on Tuesday said 23 coronavirus cases had been detected on the vessel.
Piukala said that number had increased to 29 by Wednesday.
The ship’s 600-plus crew are fully vaccinated, and the Australian Defense Force said Tuesday that the initial 23 patients were asymptomatic or only mildly affected.
It said the ship has a 40-bed hospital, including operating theaters and a critical care ward.
The Adelaide was deployed as part of an international aid effort after the January 15 eruption that generated massive tsunami waves and blanketed the island nation in toxic ash. The underwater volcanic eruption which triggered a tsunami severed a fibre-optic communication cable connecting Tonga to the test of the world.
