By Staff Writer

Officially Samoa is still one of the few countries free of the coronavirus pandemic spread despite a few close calls.

The loudest sigh of grateful relief at Samoa’s pandemic free status came today from the National Emergency Operations Centre, NECO.

The two suspects who tested positive do not count because they were infected by the coronavirus outside Samoa.

In coronavirus terms they were tested false positive or the medical treatment on them before they arrived had left the virus no longer infectious.

“Thank you God for your love, care and protection; thank you Samoa for the support and the sacrifice made so far for our safety and protections,” NEOC Chairman Agafili Shem Leo saluted.

Samoa has been on lockdown for close to 11 months now with the closure of its borders to international travel.

Repatriation flights to return nationals stranded mostly in New Zealand were the only travel allowed on approval from Government.

  NEOC has from the start kept a strict security lookout at the borders.   Tight curfews to regulate domestic movements are enforced for health protection requirements.

While support of the restrictions has been generally accepted, the emotional strain would slip out now and then with angry public reactions.

  NEOC would normally take the full force of the criticisms.

“ We don’t often hear any thanks but we’re used to it.  Our main concern is to keep Samoa safe and that is what matters the most to us.”

Chairman Agafili and the Director General of Health, Leausa Dr. Take Naseri, have become the leading figures of the NEOC protection campaign.

The hundreds of frontline workers at the borders are finally in a position to catch their breath in the few weeks left of December.

The last repatriation flights for this year ends this week. 

All the passengers from these flights are isolated in selected locations for the next 14 days of quarantine.

The timing is to allow for all to be cleared through quarantine in time to go home and celebrate Christmas with their families.

 All the 272 passengers from the 13 Nov. ’20 flight have done their quarantine times and were released last Friday.

“The suspect cases were given their final tests on Monday this week.  All received final tests that came up negative before they were released,” Leausa Dr. Naseri assured.

The last repatriation flight this week on Monday 7 November 2020 brought in 164 passengers mostly from New Zealand, including scholarship students.

Leausa added that an elderly mother with a high blood pressure conditions was included in the travelling group.

She is receiving preferential treatment by being isolated for her health condition but not because she is a COVID suspect.

“Some of the travelers made their way from Austria, Philippines and the US who were able to satisfied medical requirements before the flight.”

A chartered flight also arrived today, 8 December ’20 from Fiji with 60 passengers on board mostly returning University and Theological students.

There are no repatriation flights until after the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The first flight for 2021 is on the 22 of January chartered exclusively for the return of 296 stranded seafarers.

There have been 16 repatriation flights since the lockdown started with 366 cargo, fishing and other vessels that called into the port of Apia over the period.

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