Covid 19 coronavirus: first case of Samoa a sailor who arrived on a repatriation flight from Auckland

A sailor tested positive for Covid-19 in Samoa, the first case of infection on the Pacific island.

The man arrived in Samoa on a repatriation flight from Auckland last Friday and tested positive last night.

But a second test came back negative when he was tested around 6 a.m. (local time). Despite that, the man is being treated as a positive case.

Samoa Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi addressed the nation on Facebook to announce the news.

Speaking to the media this morning, he confirmed that the sailor is a Samoan national who had been working abroad and had returned home on a repatriation flight, to which he had every right, the prime minister said.

“We have been preparing for this,” Tuilaepa said.

He urged the public not to be afraid and to remain calm at this time.

“There is nothing to worry about. We have been preparing for this for a long time.

“Our medical staff is ready and we have enough medical supplies.”

Samoa is one of the few countries in the world that has been free from Covid-19 so far.

It has been in a state of emergency since the beginning of the year, even though there has never been a confirmed case of Covid before this.

Tuilaepa said: “We thank God that in the last nine months we have been safe [from the virus].

“Now, the request to the public is that we all carry out the precautions that many people around the world are already taking.

“As you can see this morning, I am wearing a mask …”

The state of emergency in the island nation has been extended for another four weeks, until December 23.

The infected man is now in an isolation room at a quarantine facility.

Tuilaepa repeated his message to the community asking for calm and not to panic, saying that the public should not take any risks that could lead to the spread of the infection in the community.