Apia, November 19: Samoa, a small island nation in the Pacific ocean with 2,00,000 inhabitants, reported its first COVID-19 case on Thursday. Prime Ministe Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has confirmed that an immigrant who landed in Samoa last week has been tested positive for COVID-19. He has asked the countrymen to remain calm and follow the safety procedures. Global COVID-19 Cases Top 53.2 Million, Death Toll Surges to 1,301,020.

He said, "We now have one case and will be added to the countries of the world that have the coronavirus" and advised people to take proper precaution for against the corornavirus. Malielegaoi said the infected man, a sailor, had arrived on a repatriation flight via Auckland, one of the few border arrivals Samoa has allowed in recent months. US COVID-19 Cases Cross 11 Million, Death Toll to 2,46,000.

Over the last two months, several Pacific islands including, Vanuata, the Solomon Islands, the Marshall Islands among others, have detected COVID-19 cases. But no case of community transfer has been reported.The island nations and territories of Kiribati, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Tonga, and Tuvalu are believed to still be free of the virus.

 

 

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 19, 2020 09:17 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).