Coronavirus: What’s happening in Canada and around the world on Friday – CBC

Race to send vaccines, medical aid as COVID-19 reaches Pacific islands

Feb 04, 2022

Pacific island nations that are some of the last places in the world to be hit by the coronavirus pandemic are recording a growing number of COVID-19 cases, prompting a rush to provide vaccines, medical teams and food aid.

Concern about the detection of the coronavirus in tsunami-hit Tonga, where one new case was recorded on Friday, has been heightened by thousands of infections sweeping neighbouring Pacific islands.

In the Solomon Islands, where riots, not connected to the pandemic, saw buildings in the capital, Honiara, burn in November, an outbreak of the Delta strain with 2,357 cases has overwhelmed the health system, aid agencies say.

Australia has sent four defence flights to the Solomon Islands over the past two weeks with a medical team, vaccines, and emergency food for hospital patients and tens of thousands of households.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/coronavirus-covid19-canada-world-feb4-2022-1.6339210