In a special announcement on Monday night Prime Minister Hon Fiame Naomi Mataafa confirmed Samoa will continue with Alert Level 2, with more relaxed conditions under State of Emergency Orders, including regular flights into Samoa with bookings returned to airlines, and the reopening of borders from 1st August 2022.
All incoming travelling passengers are now required to self-isolate at home for 7 days. According to the Prime Minister, there will be strict health measures and conditions put in place to ensure passengers adhere to the reporting of their test results to the Ministry, on the third and seventh day.
“A breach of these home isolation requirements will incur a fine of $2000 Tala”.
From June 2022, weekly flights will arrive into Samoa from Australia and New Zealand and fortnightly from Fiji.
All booking reservations and other airline arrangements for flights coming into and out of Samoa will now be handed back to airline companies and travel agents as was the case before borders were closed.
The Prime Minister confirmed that services for registration of travel into Samoa, that were done through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade have now reverted back to the airline offices using both online and onsite services.
“The traveling public is advised to do bookings online with the relevant airline companies”.
“In reassessing our preparations for our borders reopening to international travelers as initially announced, important consideration was given to our current rates of vaccinations set to planning for the reopening of our borders especially the private and business sector as well the experiences of other neighboring countries”.
The Prime Minister said Cabinet vaccination rates remain a critical component of Samoa’s response, especially for the 5 to 11 year cohort who have just completed their second dose and who according to the Ministry of Health’s advice, will need at least two weeks to acquire full immunization effectiveness against the Covid -19.
“Further as we have just implemented new quarantine measures for home isolation for passengers it is vital that we carefully monitor these new measures, particularly compliance and monitoring.
“In this connection Cabinet this afternoon approved that the country remains at Alert Level 2 for another two weeks from Tuesday midnight 17th of May 2022, to midnight of Tuesday 31st of May 2022”.
New changes introduced under these State of Emergency Orders include the following:
- Removal of curfew hours which will now allow greater mobility throughout the whole day.
- The referral of airline bookings and all other related airline arrangements to airline companies and travel agents for all travels to and from Samoa, beginning on the 22nd of May 2022.
- Opening of our national borders to everyone on the 1st of August 2022.
- The resumption of Colleges, and Post Secondary Education Training (PSET) on 18th May 2022, Primary Schools on the 30th of May 2022, and Pre Schools on the 4th of July 2022.
All other SOE orders remain unchanged.
The Prime Minister expressed condolences to the families and loved ones of those who have passed away due to complications of the virus.
“We continue to keep you in our prayers..
“God Bless Samoa, Soifua”.
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