Staff Writer
More people were seen wearing masks around Apia today, only hours after the early morning announcement of a positive COVID-19 test last night on a seafarer who was on a repatriation flight from New Zealand last Friday.
The man was tested again this morning and the results came out negative.
The PM made a rare a public appearance on local media before the start of the working day this morning to make the official announcement and to calm the country down.
Public attention is on hold for the next few hours while he and his Cabinet is closeted in an emergency meeting to see where Samoa should go from here.
The PM has often declared on numerous public appearances that ‘everything closes down’ again once the coronavirus reaches Samoa.
It still remains to be officially re-confirmed after further tests if the seafarer is indeed carrying the virus or not.
He is already isolated to a location inside the National TTM Hospital compound with a second seafarer who was his room companion while in quarantine after arrival.
Police officers are assigned to stand duty to prevent the public from entering the quarantine location.
Public speculations are high on what Government will decide from here on. Several repatriation flights are already scheduled in the coming day up to next month and it remains to be seen if they will go ahead.
A direct flight from Los Angeles with more seafarers was scheduled earlier for tomorrow, Friday.
The Ministry of Education is the first to circulated advisories to parents and teachers to keep to health security protocols like social distancing during the end of school prize-giving gatherings.