Samoa’s Director General of Health, Leausa Dr Take Naseri, has called for people to stop sharing fake news on social media about a purported COVID-19 suspected case in the country.
TV1Samoa reports Leausa had singled out a news item from the daily Samoa Observer newspaper published in March 2020 about a suspected case of the virus.
FaceBook readers including some from American Samoa were sharing the old story about a suspected COVID-19 case in Samoa back in March. Coronavirus tests performed in New Zealand yielded negative results for the woman.
“We do not have any COVID-19 patients nor do we have any suspected case of the virus,” said Leausa.
He said the ministry is worried that this kind of misinformation is getting out causing fear amongst the population.
He said the only official source of information is the National Emergency Operations Center or from himself at the Ministry of Health.
