[2][3] Several more cases were found in January and February 2022 in a minor outbreak during the aftermath of the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami as other countries delivered aid.

[3] A novel coronavirus that caused a respiratory illness was identified in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019, and was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on 31 December 2019, which confirmed its concern on 12 January 2020. WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January, and a pandemic on 11 March.

[12] On 29 October, Tonga reported its first confirmed case, who was a seasonal worker returning from Christchurch in New Zealand.

Public gatherings except funerals were banned while most economic activities apart from banks and essential services were ordered to close down.

[16] The country's zero-COVID policy has caused complications with international aid following the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai volcano eruption in 2022.

[3] To keep the country virus-free, an Australian aid flight had to return to base after detecting a case midflight, while HMAS Adelaide made plans to stay at sea after 23 members of her crew tested positive for COVID-19.

[16] On 14 February, New Zealand eliminated Tonga from its quarantine free travel list due to rising cases.

In response to rising cases, Sovaleni announced that the Tongan Government would impose a "hard lockdown" including closing businesses for a week and limiting travel to visiting health facilities and plantations.

[16] On 5 August 2021, the Tongan government introduced legislation amending the Public Health Act to allow compulsory COVID-19 vaccination.

Following the early February outbreak, Australia and New Zealand confirmed that they would fast track shipments of vaccine doses to Tonga.