Samoa in lockdown as charter flight cases grow

SAMOA has gone into a 48-hour lockdown after 15 confirmed cases of Covid-19 were detected at the border from an Australian charter flight.

Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa made the announcement yesterday morning following an emergency cabinet meeting, the Samoa Observer reported.

The lockdown began at 6pm last night and ends at 6pm tomorrow.

The alert level 3 lockdown was activated after more Covid-19 cases were detected at the border from Wednesday’s charter flight that flew in from Brisbane.

The five new confirmed cases of Covid-19 on the flight brought the total of cases detected to 15, after 10 people had tested positive on Thursday – the youngest an 11-month-old, and the eldest a 63-year-old.

Nine people were identified as close contacts then and were put in isolation at the hospital.

‘‘This morning five more cases have tested positive, this is a significant number for Samoa,’’ Mata’afa said.

Samoa’s lockdown means only government essential services will operate and public transport, schools, all restaurants and churches will close.

Earlier in the week, Samoa’s Director-General of Health Leausa, Dr Take Naseri, said test results of positive cases would

be sent to New Zealand for genome sequencing to identify which variant of Covid-19 they were dealing with.

All the passengers on the flight eligible for vaccination were double vaccinated.

There were 73 passengers on the Qantas-chartered flight from Brisbane.

All travellers to Samoa had to present a negative test, taken 48 hours before a flight, and get a medical clearance from a doctor.

It is a requirement of entry for over 12-year-olds to have two vaccine doses, and present a valid vaccine certificate at boarding.

Travellers from Australia need to submit their medical paperwork to Samoa 24 hours before their flight, according to the latest travel advisory issued by the Ministry of Health on January 19, which included changes made in response to the threat of the Omicron variant.

Previously, Samoa had reported just two cases in quarantine, each on separate occasions. Neither of those cases resulted in any community transmission.