The two COVID-19 cases currently active in Samoa have been confirmed as historical cases.
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said a few minutes ago that the sailor who tested positive last Friday had been infected before while in Italy and the man who tested positive last evening had contracted the virus in Melbourne, Australia.
‘’The problem is these two failed to let authorities know about their past infections,’’ he said.
Tuilaepa said that this has prompted the National Emergency Operations Center to advise that all intending returning residents must be checked for past historical infections.
‘’The two flights from New Zealand will still happen as well as the flight from Fiji but with some conditions,’’ he said.
For the New Zealand flights, only those Samoan citizens staying in New Zealand will be allowed to travel home and not from any other country.
‘’Only returning Samoan scholarship students from outside of New Zealand like Australia will be allowed on the two flights,’’ said Tuilaepa.
He also advised that repatriated Samoans will spend 21 days in mandatory quarantine from now on.
He again repeated what NEOC advised earlier today that Samoa is now on Level 1 or Yellow which means the country has between 1 – 6 cases.
