By Staff Writer
The Saturday 12th February 2022 repatriation flight from New Zealand landed 406 people in quarantine for COVID 19 health security precautions.
The restricted group comprised 272 passengers and 134 frontline workers.
All passengers are being quarantined in several selected locations where they will be tested regularly within the 21 days they are under close health watch.
Swabs taken from each passenger on arrival all returned negative test results last Sunday in the first of more health checks to follow while under quarantine.
The frontline staff who processed the new arrivals at Immigration, Customs, Quarantine, Samoa Airport Authority terminal workers, Samoa Airways and also drivers are all confined for 3 days quarantine.
An exception is made for the health frontline workers who are in quarantine for the full 3 weeks.
“ Health workers have to undertake tests and other duties that exposes them regularly to the passengers so they have to stay back longer,” Director General of Health, Leausa Dr. Take Naseri explained.
The 19 January 2022 flight from Brisbane, Australia infected 5 of the frontline working nurses while working with the passengers.
Of the 73 passengers on the flight 27 were tested positive in the final count and together with the frontline workers they infected brought the overall total to 32.
All are still held in isolation except for 5 who were quarantined at Faleolo hospital and 2 at the TTM Hospital cleared from release last Saturday 12 February 2022.
All returned negative tests three times in a row and in keeping with standard health safety practice they were safe enough to be sent home.