By Martha Taumata Faavae
Returning stranded travellers under quarantine will be better off running the full 14 days of isolation than break out to sneak home to families in the villages.
If the runaway is a resident of Sakalafai and Sapulu in Salelologa, the village chiefs and orators are on the alert to keep them out.
The runaway family are liable to be in deep trouble with the village also if they allow that person or persons home.
Village ‘pulenu’u’ Pauli Sasauli confirmed the public warning after reports of people alleged to have broken out of quarantine confinement.
“I know there are people from our villages included in the returning travellers stranded in New Zealand and they are warned not to return home until they have served out the 14 days quarantine requirements,” ‘pulenu’u Pauli Sasauli advised.
“We’re aware there is a $2000 fine for anyone who breaks the quarantine orders but we want to put more stress on the protection with our full support of the order.”
Pauli believes that families are more responsive to the authority of the villages than the law, regardless of the supreme authority of the law above everyone else.
The fear by villages like Sakalafai and Sapulu is the quarantine fugitive could bring the feared coronavirus home and spread it to everyone.
Pauli assured also that there were issues within the village when they were unable to police effectively some of the lockdown violations with families holding funerals.
‘We’ve since tightened up our policing of the lockdown even within our primary schools where our village school committees are working with teachers to maintain social distancing in the classes.”
The Minister of Women and Social Community Developments, Tuitama Dr. Talalelei Tuitama, recently expressed disappointment at reports of villages not policing the lockdown well.
The Minister urged the villages to fulfill their role in support of the work by the Ministry of Police who depends on the authority of the chiefs and orators to help out.
“Cabinet granted an exception for chiefs and orators to hold their normal village sessions on the understanding that they have a special support role to maintain the orders of the lockdown,” Tuitama said earlier.
He was at the time reacting to the disappointment of reports that village activities like funerals were still being carried out in violation of the lockdown orders.
Police rely heavily on the support of the traditional leadership authority in the villages to keep watch of activities like dedication of new churches, bestowals of new chiefly titles, weddings, funerals and birthday celebrations.
The concern is the grouping of more than 5 people as required under the health security measures enforced under the orders of the lockdown.