Covid 19 Samoa outbreak: Big leap in community case numbers

By RNZ

The number of community cases of Covid-19 in Samoa continues to climb.

66 new cases were recorded yesterday bringing the total to 262.

The country became one of the last places to record a Covid case, last Thursday.

The Ministry of Health has confirmed a total of 1510 tests were carried out by midday yesterday at seventeen screening sites.

In addition to the 247 community cases, 15 imported cases linked to the NZ 0990 repatriation flight on March 6, 2022, continue to be monitored in isolation.

The ministry has identified a total of 428 close contacts of these cases and they remain under investigation.

Among the front liners who have tested positive are two police, a prison officer and a civilian in the police finance division.

Meanwhile the ministry is hoping results of tests on samples sent to New Zealand will bring them closer to identifying how coronavirus was transmitted in the community.

The acting director general of health, Tagaloa Dr Robert Thompson, said they are still tracking the movements of the country's first positive community transmission.

He refused to speculate on whether the virus was already in the community before the first positive case was confirmed.

Tagaloa said the more pressing issue is trying to ensure people do not crowd at the designated screening sites, including on Savai'i where positive cases had reached 5 by yesterday afternoon.