Samoa resumes repatriation flights from New Zealand

More than 300 Samoans were repatriated from New Zealand yesterday, the tenth such flight since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

TV1 Samoa reports most of the arrivals were returning seasonal workers who have completed their contracts in Aotearoa.

Also on board were Samoans who have been stranded in New Zealand since March when the country closed its borders.

All arriving passengers will be tested for Covid-19 and undergo 14 days of supervised quarantine.

Repatriation flights to Samoa were suspended last month after New Zealand was hit with a second wave of the virus.

Samoa prime minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi says the main concern this time was large number of Pacific peoples affected by the virus.

Meanwhile, Samoa's first planned repatriation flight from Australia to bring home students including those from Japan, China and other Asian countries, has now been rescheduled for 28 September, 2020.