Tag Archives: oceania

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This country just found its first COVID-19 case. Now it's preparing for a potential lockdown

The South Pacific island nation of Tonga reported its first case of COVID-19 on Friday, spurring thousands of people to get vaccinated amid warnings of a national lockdown.

Tonga was one of only a few countries that had not reported a single COVID-19 case since the start of the pandemic.

But on Friday, Tonga's Prime Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa confirmed its first positive case from a passenger who had travelled from New Zealand.

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Kingdom of Tonga viewed from above

The infected traveller arrived in Tonga on Wednesday having flown from Christchurch, according to New Zealand's Health Ministry.

The passenger was fully vaccinated, had tested negative in New Zealand prior to the flight's departure, and was discovered among travellers staying at a hotel used for managed isolation and quarantine for new arrivals into the country.

Tu'i'onetoa said all airport staff who were in contact with any of the passengers on the flight have been quarantined and he warned Tongans to prepare for a potential national lockdown following the case, according to news website Matangi Tonga.

"We should use this time to get ready in case more people are confirmed they have the virus," he reportedly said.

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Following the news of the positive case, thousands of people rushed to vaccination centres to get their COVID-19 shots, Matangi Tonga reported.

Tonga's Minister of Health 'Amelia Tuʻipulotu said the high turnout over the past few days will boost the nation's vaccination coverage.

"More people are coming forward because now we have coverage of first dose of about 86 per cent and a second dose of about 62 per cent, so this is a major turnout today and will boost the overall coverage of first and fully vaccinated," Tuʻipulotu said, according to Matangi Tonga.

Tonga is a Polynesian country of more than 170 South Pacific islands and home to about 100,000 people.

The archipelago lies about 800 kilometres east of Fiji and 2,380 kilometres from New Zealand.

Though it hasn't reported a COVID-19 case until now, the island nation declared a state of emergency in March 2020 and shut its borders to foreign nationals.

Like other Pacific island nations, Tonga's early action protected it from COVID-19 outbreaks that could have devastated the country, where 22.1 per cent of the population live below the national poverty line and medical facilities and equipment are limited.

But the strict travel measures have severely impacted the economies of Pacific island nations, especially those that rely on tourism.

The Pacific nations of Tuvalu and Naura are among the only countries in the world not to have reported a COVID-19 infection.

Turkmenistan and North Korea have also not officially reported any cases, though experts say those claims are unlikely to be true.

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Police discover horror at US apartment

The mother of the three siblings who were found abandoned in a home along with the body of their brother told CNN affiliate KHOU she checked on her children "every two weeks."

Gloria Y Williams, 35, told KHOU in an exclusive interview from jail she did not know her eight-year-old son was dead.

Authorities discovered the children – seven, nine and 15-years-old – and the body of the fourth child in a Houston apartment on Sunday.

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The child's cause of death was ruled "homicidal violence with multiple blunt force injuries," according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.

He is believed to have died around Thanksgiving, sergeant Dennis Wolford, the lead investigator with the sheriff's homicide unit, said in a news conference.

When she was asked what happened, KHOU reported Williams said, "I'm sorry. I didn't do it."

Williams attempted to "alter, destroy, and conceal… a human corpse," according to a criminal complaint.

She was charged with injury to a child by omission, injury to a child causing serious bodily injury and tampering with evidence involving a human corpse, according to court documents.

The bond for those charges totals $1.2 million (US$900,000).

It is unclear whether Williams has obtained legal representation.

Her boyfriend, Brian W Coulter, was charged with murder in the death of the eight-year-old child.

Coulter, 31, committed a "felony offense of injury to a child by intentionally, knowingly and recklessly causing bodily injury" by striking the child with his hand and kicking the child with his foot, thereby causing the death, according to charging documents filed by the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Bond for Coulter has been set at $1.3 million (US$1 million).

Conditions include no contact with Williams or anyone younger than 17.

CNN has been unable to determine whether he has secured a lawyer.

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He just won a $2 million lottery – for the second time

A Maryland man just claimed his second $2.6 million (US$2 million) lottery prize, after winning the first one several years ago.

The retired utility worker from Salisbury bought two "$2,000,000 Richer" scratch-off tickets from a local Exxon gas station.

On the first ticket, he uncovered a $130 (US$100) prize. But the second ticket hit big, revealing the $2.6 million jackpot.

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A Maryland man just claimed his second US$2 million lottery prize, after winning the first one several years ago.

The lucky player discovered he won during the pandemic, but kept the ticket hidden in a safe until days before the expiration date.

"I was just a bit nervous," he told Maryland Lottery officials.

"I worried that I could have a fire (at home) that would burn it up, that the ticket's expiration date might come up and even had just a bit of doubt that it was really real."

After his first win, the man told lottery officials he planned to use the money to fund a family vacation and his retirement.

Now retired, his new winnings will be put toward another family vacation and home improvements, he said.

Of course, he's keenly aware of how lucky he is, and even offered some advice to players.

READ MORE: Melbourne couple wins $60 million Powerball jackpot after enduring 'horrible year'

"Be realistic and make sure that when you play that you aren't just playing for the big jackpot. Play for enjoyment and as long as you enjoy what you are doing, win or lose, you've already won," he said.

The game "$2,000,000 Richer" was launched February 25, 2019, and ends November 1, 2021.