Covid-19 outbreak in Samoa: Flights suspended for lockdown after community case discovery

All flights to Samoa have been suspended and the country will go into full lockdown tonight after the discovery of a Covid-19 positive case in the community, Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio says.

Sio said he has asked officials to check if Samoa was still allowing cargo flights, should they require vaccines or other medical material.

Yesterday Samoa recorded its first case of community transmitted Covid-19 and immediately went into the first stage of a national lockdown.

Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa revealed a 29-year-old female tested positive for Covid-19 during routine testing before a flight to Fiji.

"We are standing ready to see what they might need," Sio said. "We stand ready to support."

Sio spoke recently with the Samoan Health Minister Valasi Toogamaga Tafito Selesele about moving to the stage of living with the virus.

He said Samoa had a 90 per cent double-dosed vaccination rate, and was currently working on boosters and vaccinating children.

Sio said people of the Pacific still remember how devastating the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic was.

"We have long memories in the Pacific and the 1918 epidemic hasn't been lost on Pacific people," he said.

"But what we see with Omicron is how fast this can spread."

Auckland councillor Alf Filipaina is confident the lessons learned from the 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa that claimed 83 lives will help the Pacific Nation cope should a Covid-19 community outbreak develop.

Hon Afioga Fiame Naomi Mata'afa at the opening of the Samoan Parliament in Apia in September 2021. Photo / Supplied

"We knew when the measles epidemic hit, the health system couldn't handle it," Filipaina said.

"But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. I have no doubt Samoa will handle what they have to because of those measles learnings."

Earlier this week three frontline workers tested positive after processing a repatriation flight from Auckland to Faleolo Airport on March 6.

Filipaina, of Samoan and Māori descent, said if the genome sequencing could track the source to the March 6 repatriation flight, that should make it easier to contain.

"It will be interesting to see if this case can be connected to those on the flight," Filipaina said.

"I'm no scientist but an issue now is that there has been 12 days in between repatriation flight and this case and we don't know how this has mutated.