Apia, SAMOA — Samoa lifted the nationwide lockdown at 6 o'clock last night (Friday in Samoa) with a new level of restriction in place with no community transmission of COVID-19 yesterday.

In announcing the move Friday morning, Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa confirmed that work and businesses would re-open, public gatherings would be capped at 30 people, and only cargo flights are allowed in and out of Samoa.

"There is no community transmission. Considering none of our frontline staff is affected, except for the five nurses in the isolation ward. Cabinet has endorsed to change our responses to alert level 2 or orange."

Fiamē said in-bound repatriation flights and seasonal worker flights have been suspended until further notice.

There are 27 positive cases of Covid-19 in Samoa - 22 from the Brisbane flight and five nurses who became infected while caring for the positive cases in MIQ.

SAMOANS RUSH TO GET VACCINATED

Hundreds of Samoans on Thursday swarmed vaccination sites around the country to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Many were turned away later after the AstraZeneca vaccine supplies ran out.

An estimated 12,000 eligible Samoans have not had their second dose and the sites were opened up on Thursday to try and get them fully vaccinated after 27 positive cases were confirmed.

The government had tried in vain during two national lockdowns last year to get these people vaccinated before the vaccine supplies expired and were forced to send the vaccines to be used in other countries.