APIA – Samoa today announced its first case of Covid-19, as the pandemic continues to spread to previously untouched Pacific island nations.
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi called for calm in the nation of 200,000 after confirming that a man who flew into the country on Friday tested positive while in managed isolation.
“We now have one case, and will be added to the countries of the world that have the coronavirus,” said the mask-wearing leader in a televised address.
Until recently, the remote Pacific islands were among the most successful in the world at keeping out the virus after closing their borders early in response to the threat, despite the huge cost to tourism-reliant economies.
But in the past two months, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, the Marshall Islands, and now, Samoa have lost their coveted virus-free status, although none has so far reported community transmission.
The island nations and territories of Kiribati, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Tonga and Tuvalu are believed to still be free of the disease.
The cautious approach adopted in the Pacific island nations was prompted by fears they are particularly vulnerable because of poor hospital infrastructure and high rates of underlying health conditions, such as obesity and heart disease.
The devastation a viral outbreak can create in such a fragile environment was demonstrated during a measles epidemic in Samoa late last year that claimed 83 lives, most of them babies and toddlers.
Malielegaoi said the infected man, a sailor, arrived on a repatriation flight via Auckland, one of the few border arrivals Samoa has allowed in recent months.
He did not say where the man was previously based, but said he tested negative before departing New Zealand, but a swab came back positive on Tuesday.
An announcement will be made later today on whether any measures will be introduced among the general population to prevent the virus from spreading. – AFP, November 19, 2020
