MUSK HELPING RESTORE TONGAN INTERNET; VIRUS OUTBREAK GROWING

Entrepreneur Elon Musk is helping reconnect Tonga to the internet after a volcanic eruption and tsunami cut off the South Pacific nation more than three weeks ago, according to officials, while repairs on an undersea cable are proving more difficult than first thought.

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The tsunami severed the sole fiber-optic cable that connects Tonga to the rest of the world and most people remain without reliable connections.

Three people were confirmed killed in the Jan. 15 eruption of the massive undersea volcano and the resulting tsunami, and several small settlements in outlying islands were wiped out and a thick layer of volcanic ash that blanketed the main island tainted much of the drinking water.

Tonga had avoided the COVID-19 pandemic for more than two years, but it is now in the midst of an outbreak with new infections growing rapidly after the virus was apparently brought in by foreign military crews aboard ships and planes delivering critical aid after the volcanic eruption.

With many displaced people in the aftermath of the eruption, an already fragile health care system and the isolation of the islands, the outbreak is a particular cause for concern, said Katie Greenwood, the head of delegation in the Pacific for the International Red Cross.

“Resourcing community health and primary health facilities, especially in remote locations, is extremely challenging,” she told The Associated Press. “COVID most certainly presents a threat to these systems and to vulnerable people who may not access the level of care required.”

Many Tongans are now in lockdown with their communications severely restricted due to the severed undersea cable.