The latest State of Emergency Orders by the Government of Samoa includes the temporary closure borders to New Zealand.
The second wave of COVID-19 in New Zealand has affected Pacific people in Auckland and Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi says small island nations cannot afford to take any risks.
The latest SOE orders for Samoa reads, “All international travel to and from Samoa by plane are temporarily suspended except as provided in exceptional circumstances approved by Cabinet”.
A repatriation flight scheduled to arrive this Friday 28th August has been cancelled as a result of the latest call by government.
Government has also directed the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) to explore ways to bring home Samoan students studying abroad.
Prior to the second wave of coronavirus in New Zealand, the Government of Samoa had been facilitating repatriation flights to meet the demand of stranded citizens wanting to return home.
New Zealand reported 7 new cases yesterday taking the total active cases to 129, however, that may change with test results data being updated daily.
