Samoa announces travel restrictions after measles outbreak in American Samoa

A public health emergency has been declared in American Samoa due to a measles outbreak. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Samoan authorities have announced strict travel restrictions for anyone arriving from neighbouring American Samoa, where a measles outbreak has been declared.

Samoa’s Ministry of Health yesterday announced that from Monday, May 1, anyone entering the country from American Samoa must be vaccinated against the highly contagious disease and show proof via a vaccine certificate before boarding.

The new rule includes infants as young as 6 months old.

Children aged between 6 months and 15 months are required to have a single dose. Those aged between 15 months and 24 months are to have completed two doses.

“All passengers should have completed two weeks (14 days) post-vaccination prior to travel,” the Samoan Ministry of Health says.

“Failure to provide a legitimate vaccination certificate or meet the above conditions will result in no boarding or denied entry into Samoa.”

American Samoa declares public health emergency

The travel restrictions come as American Samoan authorities are racing to stop the spread of disease in the community.

A declaration of public health emergency has been announced by the Office of the Governor in light of the situation.

As of yesterday, there has been one confirmed case of measles and 31 suspected or probable cases of the disease.

The cases include children under 6 months of age in hospital and who are not yet eligible for a measles, mumps and rubella vaccination.

Local authorities have been quick to react after a positive case of measles was identified in the community last Wednesday (local time).

All daycare facilities were shut down immediately and until further notice in a bid to contain and prevent the ongoing spread of the potentially deadly disease and parents were urged to make sure their children’s immunisation status was up-to-date.

Samoa’s devastating measles history

EJ, left, and Aso sit on the grave of their 9-month old cousin Taugata Launiu who died of measles. Photo / Mike Scott

Samoa’s swift move to effectively shut its international borders to the US territory comes as no surprise, as the memory of its own fight against a measles outbreak still lingers.

Between September 2019 and January 2020, more than 5700 people in Samoa were struck with measles - the majority of them young children and infants.

Measures were put in place in a bid to stop the spread in the community - with schools closed and children banned from attending public gatherings and church services.

In just a few weeks, however, the small island nation began burying its children.

At one point, the entire country was put into lockdown, as health officials, doctors and nurses went door-to-door to vaccinate people.

Households with unvaccinated members were told to place a red flag outside their home - a biblical reference to the story of the Passover - so health staff knew who to visit.

By the end of the epidemic, a total of 83 people had died from the disease. The majority of the deaths were young children.