Three days after Samoa dispatched swabs for confirmatory tests in New Zealand of the Samoan sailor who tested negative then positive for coronavirus last week, it is still waiting for the test results.
Director General of Health Leausa Dr Take Naseri said at a press conference in Apia last night that the specimens were only received by the ESR Lab in Wellington City, New Zealand at 430 pm yesterday, Samoa time.
He said the specimens had been sent to New Zealand via FedEx leaving Samoa on the Friday (Samoa time) cargo flight.
Leausa said he had expected a much quicker arrival in Wellington and faster testing of the batch from Samoa however the transportation service and lab have their own schedules.
He said the lab confirmed receipt of the specimens from Samoa yesterday afternoon. He expected that the tests will be carried out now and results should be known sometime today.
The Director General of Health told media that another swab of the sailor was taken Saturday and the first test produced a negative result for coronavirus but when they retested, the result was positive.
“It’s made it more uncertain,” said Leausa, adding that there are several explanations for this, and that other countries like New Zealand have experienced the same kind of results.
He said they plan to send a sample of this swab to NZ on a flight this Saturday, and a blood test will also be carried out for “antibodies.” It wasn’t clear if the blood test was to be conducted in Samoa or New Zealand.
The Samoan sailor showing the changing test results remains healthy, doesn’t show any symptoms of Coronavirus, his temperature is good and he has a healthy appetite.
He was the only passenger out of 274 who arrived on the last passenger flight from New Zealand a week ago who has tested positive for the virus.
His roommate at the quarantine center, also another sailor, also remains well. They are isolated in separate rooms at the national hospital in Motootua.
