COVID-19 response

Spokesperson Milikini Failautusi said disinformation has been an issue and her team is working on a plan to tackle the issue for the new year.

"A lot of misconceptions and fears about the covid because people, via social media, were able to get the wrong information, they were able to get the misleading information from the internet."

She said the spread of the virus has been rapid, all of the 50 actively engaged Red Cross volunteers in Funafuti who are on the frontline - have had Covid-19 according to RNZ Pacific.

During the handover Wong said Australia wishes to continue working with Samoa in the future to strengthen their partnership.

“I’m very pleased that we’re handing over tons of medical supplies to support the treatment of someone with severe Covid in the main hospital or in district hospitals.”

“Australia has a new government and we want to work in partnership with you as we know that we all face the challenges of Covid-19 like the economic challenges,” Wong said.

The supplies consisted of Personal Protective Equipment, drugs and other health equipment.

Samoan Paralympic champion Jordon Milroy’s message comes after the release of findings from a Human Rights Commission’s inquiry which found the needs of disabled people were not given importance in the government’s decision-making throughout the Coronavirus pandemic.

“Personally, Covid-19 has impacted how unacceptable and unwilling we are to make society more accessible,” he says.

Samoa continues to battle a surge in the domestic transmission of the virus.

The Ministry of Health has confirmed 13 Covid-19-related deaths since the first case was detected at the Tupua Tamasese Meaole National Hospital on 17 March 2022.

The total cumulative number of COVID-19 cases, from border and community cases, stands at about 7,185.

The chairman of the Covid 19 Task force, Lieutenant Governor Talauega Eleasalo Ale, says Covid is surging in the community and American Samoa must adjust to address the needs of the community.

"We need to move away from mass and indiscriminate lockdown policies and focus on adopting realistic and targetted policies to ensure that our people are able to live their lives safely while ensuring that life-saving services are accessible to our public," Talauega said.

Samoa Airport Authority (SAA) said as the first and last point of defense, it has developed a Public Health Corridor initiative in its efforts to maintain a high level of preventative measures at the airport.

“The goal is that we provide a last attempt at eliminating the risks of infectious bacteria carried on all surfaces by keeping to the principles of the Public Health Corridor which essentially is an end to end management of the passenger flow from arrivals to when they depart from the airport premises,” said SAA General Manager, Silimana’i Ueta Solomona.

The countries include Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Cook Islands, and Niue.

Commenting on the delivery, Abdulla Al Subousi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the UAE to Australia, said, "Today’s aid shipment to Pacific island countries reflects the UAE’s continued efforts to support and stand by these countries to contain the spread of COVID-19 by providing critical medical supplies and protection to strengthen the efforts of healthcare personnel."