Travellers from the United Kingdom and South Africa have been temporarily banned from entering Samoa after the country’s Ministry of Health created an amended travel advisory for repatriation flights.
The new advisory also applies to travellers who transit through the United Kingdom and South Africa. However, travellers coming from anywhere else in Europe or the African continent will be assessed on a case by case basis.
Samoa’s Director General of Health, Leausa Dr Take Naseri, said the Samoan Ministry of Health is closely monitoring travellers from the United Kingdom and South Africa in particular because a new variant of the COVID-19 virus was detected in those regions.
According to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), as reported by the Samoa Observer, ‘All passengers originating from or transiting through the United Kingdom and South Africa starting from 27th November 2020 are prohibited to enter Samoa until further notice.’
The Samoa Government has banned passengers who originate from or transit through the United Kingdom (U.K.) and South Africa from entering the country effective 27 December 2020. https://t.co/nO0z2XDzl0
— Samoa Observer (@samoaobserver) December 27, 2020
It is believed that the new variant of the virus originated in South Africa before being transmitted to the UK. Cases of the new variant have already been detected in a number of different countries, including Spain, Switzerland, Sweden and France.
Samoa has been one of the few country’s that have been relatively unaffected by the COVID-19 virus, so it makes sense that it would implement such strict restrictions. According to the WorldOMeter, as of December 30, Samoa has had a total of 2 COVID-19 infections, both of which have recovered. No COVID related deaths have been reported.
Picture: Twitter/@RRVanuatu
