Streets of tsunami-hit Tonga empty on first day of COVID lockdown

FILE PHOTO: A general view shows damaged buildings and landscape covered with ash following the volcanic eruption and tsunami in Kanokupolu, Tonga, January 23,2022. Tonga Red Cross Society/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) - The streets of tsunami-hit Tonga were empty and silent on Thursday on the first full day of a lockdown imposed in the previously coronavirus-free nation after two wharf workers were diagnosed with COVID-19.

"Normally this road would be queueing with vehicles and people, but as you can see all shops are closed, everything is closed - taxi stands, shops, supermarkets, it's closed," said local journalist Marian Kupu as she stood at a deserted crossroads in the capital, shuttered buildings behind her.