Another 300 Samoans Return Home

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The tenth special repatriation flights for Samoans from New Zealand arrived Friday afternoon carrying more than 300 passengers.

TV1 Samoa reports that most of the arrivals were returning seasonal workers who have completed their contracts.

Also on board were Samoans who had been stranded in New Zealand after normal flights were stopped as part of the COVID-19 State of Emergency orders in March 2020.

The special flights had been stopped three weeks ago after New Zealand were hit with a second wave of the virus.

Of most concern to the Samoan government, according to Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, was the fact Samoans and other Pacific islanders were now infected with the deadly virus.

Meanwhile the first repatriation flight from Australia carrying returning scholarship students including those from Japan, China and other Asian countries, has now been rescheduled for September 28, 2020.

All arriving passengers are required to go through covid testing and subject to 14-days quarantine upon arrival in Samoa.

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