COVID-19 Lockdown Extended for Another 24 Hours

By Lagi Keresoma

APIA, SAMOA – 26 JANUARY 2022: The nation-wide lockdown due to 26 COVID-19 positive cases has been extended to 600pm Friday 28 January 2022.

Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa made the announcement at 6.00 this evening informing the country of Cabinet’s decision to extend the lockdown for another 24 hours.

As of this evening, the number of positive cases remains at twenty six (26). Twenty one (21) are passengers that arrived on a charter flight from Brisbane, Australia last Wednesday, 19 January.

Five (5) are nurses who had been monitoring the 21 positive cases in isolation at the Moto’otua National Hospital.

“All are well and remain asymptomatic as of this afternoon,” according to the Prime Minister.

Follow up tests of all in isolation will be conducted tomorrow and the results are expected in the afternoon or early Friday morning.

Cabinet decided this afternoon to extend the national lockdown for 24 hours “to allow the Ministry of Health to finalize the test results of all those in quarantine.

Conditions remain including the opening of major services for supplies between 0800-200pm tomorrow, Thursday 27 January.

Fiamē also said that MOH is also awaiting the confirmation from New Zealand of the variant affecting the 26 positive cases.

Cabinet will also revisit the Alert Levels for the country, especially Level 2 and Level 3 and will announce the next steps in due time as all the 26 positive cases are contained in isolation.