Samoa Police last Sunday started enforcing limits on church attendance under the State of Emergency orders when they walked into churches to check on congregation numbers.
Samoa Observer reports some churchgoers were physically removed when numbers were more than the 100 allowed.
The recently amended SOE orders require churches to only allow 100 parishioners to attend Sunday services.
But some churches split up their usual Sunday services in order to comply.
One congregation had a separate service for adults while the young members worshipped in a separate hall.
At the Magiagi Methodist Church the pastor and a group of preachers enforced a two-meter social distancing rule between all members of their congregation before the service started on Sunday.
The orders were amended as news filtered through that some Samoans had been infected with the virus and because some of the infected were members of church congregations in Auckland.
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said on Radio 2AP last week that if churches disobey the orders then the pastor would be held responsible.
“It’ll be on the pastor’s head because he’s the one looking after the church,” said the Prime Minister.
“It’s also convenient to fine the pastor so the church members can all pay for it and so they would all have a feel of what [the Government] is trying to push. These things are all for the protection of everyone.”
