17 people in Samoa were put in quarantine after working with a COVID-19-hit container ship that passed through Apia, capital of the island nation.
According to local media, four of those quarantined are government staff of the Samoa Ministry of Health and the Samoa Port Authority, while 13 are stevedoring crew members who helped dock the Fesco Askold cargo ship and unload containers.
These workers were put into quarantine as three of the 17 crew members onboard the cargo ship tested positive for COVID-19.
As Samoa’s Director General of Health Leausa Take Naseri informed, the crew members had passed the national requirements for entry, including a negative COVID-19 test result from their previous port Tahiti, and cleared the on-board health check conducted by local officials.
Naseri said because of this, none of the crew members were tested in Apia and the five-person crew that went onboard were in full personal protective equipment.
In addition, the containers were all disinfected and there is hope that there is no risk of surface transmission of the virus.
Currently, Samoa has no confirmed COVID-19 cases. However, it has has been under state of emergency since March 21, and has closed its borders for foreign visitors.
