17 quarantined in Samoa for working with COVID-19-hit container ship

17 quarantined in Samoa for working with COVID-19-hit container ship
Xinhua| 2020-11-11 http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-11/11/c_139508572.htm

SUVA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- A total of 17 people in Samoa were put in managed quarantine facilities after working with a COVID-19-hit container ship that passed through Apia, capital of the island nation last weekend, the Samoan government confirmed on Wednesday.

According to Samoa Observer news website, four of those quarantined are government staff of the Samoa Ministry of Health and the Samoa Port Authority, and 13 are stevedoring crew members who helped dock the Fesco Askold cargo ship and unload containers.

Three of the 17 crew members onboard the cargo ship tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend.

Samoa's Director General of Health Leausa Take Naseri said on Wednesday the crew members had cleared 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.

The Samoan government is considering this a very low-risk event and is not conducting further contact tracing or asking contacts of the 17 staff in quarantine to isolate.

Naseri said the containers were all disinfected and he is confident that there is no risk of surface transmission of the virus.

Samoa has been under state of emergency since March 21, and the island nation has closed its borders for foreign visitors.

Currently, Samoa has no confirmed COVID-19 cases.