Two men in quarantine in Samoa over virus fears

By RNZ

The Samoa Ministry of Health has confirmed that two Samoan sailors are in quarantine for 14 days at the Faleolo District Hospital amid fears they might be carrying China's coronavirus.

According to the Samoa Observer, the two have been at the hospital, which has been converted into a quarantine facility, since Sunday when they arrived on a flight from Nadi, Fiji.

They had travelled with six Chinese passengers who were refused entry to Samoa and flown back to Fiji where they are being quarantined despite showing no signs of any illness.

When making their way back to Samoa, the two Samoans had reportedly stopped in China for two days, which prompted the ministry to quarantine them as a precaution.

All travellers originating or transitting through China must spend at least 14 days in quarantine at a country of last port that is free of the virus.

Meanwhile, the Fiji government says all passengers travelling from Hong Kong and Singapore are being met by health officers to determine if they recently visited China's Hubei Province.

French Polynesian authorities consider the risk posed by the virus as low but say a process is in place should the situation change.

In Wallis and Futuna, a heat seeking camera has been installed at the airport to screen all arriving passengers.

- RNZ