Oceania University of Medicine

Toleafoa Dr. Viali Lameko has told the Samoa Observer coronavirus had circulating long before it was detected and he's concerned about the elderly, people with pre-existing health conditions and children under five catching the virus.

Toleafoa said the incubation period for Covid-19 - between exposure and symptoms appearing - is between five and six days and the most infectious time is one to two days before and two to three days after the symptoms start.

Manufaleali'i Toleafoa Dr. Viali Lameko won the premium honour at the 2020 Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) Scholarship Awards in Auckland on Wednesday night.

PMA chief executive Debbie Sorensen said the $US14,000 scholarship is only available to doctors and nurses in the region.

The scholarship aims to give recipients access to study at prestigious institutions beyond the region, she said.

Sorensen added that the PMA was delighted with the high calibre of the young health professionals who applied.

Manufalealili Dr Viali Lameko wrote in the latest edition of the Journal of Samoan Studies, saying the move, along with the promotion of more sports in villages, could help address high levels of obesity.

The Samoa Observer reported a 2018 survey of the national education curriculum found the health and sports subjects lacking across most rural secondary schools.

Manufalealili said with people in power noticeably obese, work needed to be done to discourage any notion that obesity was positively linked to influence and success.