Christmas gatherings cancelled

Children stay home, Christmas gatherings cancelled in Samoa

Father Losi Antonio, of Mulivai Catholic Church in the south of Samoa, said at the start of the service the congregation prayed for those who had lost loved ones to measles as well as those fighting the disease.

Forty-eight people so far have died since the outbreak began - most of them children.

Strict government rules required children to stay at home from Mass, which is a big part of most Samoan's week.

"I asked the parish here to please make the children stay home," he said.