Samoa goes into lockdown after detecting first COVID-19 outbreak

The island nation of Samoa decided to seal their borders on Friday as they entered a nationwide lockdown after recording their first ever case of COVID-19. While the world experienced a huge number of cases over the last two years, Samoa was able to safeguard its population.

However, the government was forced to issue an emergency order suspending all international travel by air and sea after the first case was detected on Thursday in the island of Upolu.

Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa said that the country will entering a four-day national lockdown after the case was detected in a 29-year-old who tested positive ahead of taking a flight to Fiji. The authorities are trying to track down the movement of the woman.

“All schools will remain closed, including public gatherings, churches and other services except for essential services,” she said in a national address late on Thursday. “From midnight on Friday, people were also required to wear masks and use vaccination cards.” She added.

Samoa has not found any unexplained cases in the community till now and some experts believe that this can be an indication of an undetected outbreak that can get worse in the coming weeks.

According to AlJazeera, John Fala, who runs a logistics company in Samoa, said the emergence of the virus was inevitable. “We’ve had two years to prepare,” Fala said. “Now it’s finally here. Of course, there is going to be a bit of scrambling.”

About 90 percent of Samoa’s population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to government data.