The district hospital at Leulumoega has resumed services after it was temporarily closed for one day last week after a health worker tested positive to COVID-19. 

A staff member the Leulumoega hospital said the closure was to ensure the other staff and in-house patients got tested first so they don’t get exposed to the virus and pass it on to new patients. 

“We have cases reported everyday,” the hospital staff told the Samoa Observer. “The closure was only for one day at the beginning of the community outbreak but yes we are opened again.” 

The Acting Director General of Health, Tagaloa Dr. Thomsen disputed reports that the district hospital was closed. 

In response to questions during the media virtual press conference, Tagaloa said he is unaware of where the reports of the Leulumoega hospital closure came from. 

“The visit from Cabinet also went there on Saturday and it was opened and up to now it is still opened for patients.” 

Several members of the public including a staff of the Samoa Observer visited the district hospital on Saturday and were turned away by the security guard. 

The staff were putting up a wire to close off the gateway in the event of a positive case. 

“We’re not opened,” said the staff member on Saturday. 

Nearby residents in the area were also referred to the national hospital in Apia to get their rapid antigen test done on the same day. 

Those services have resumed and only emergency cases are allowed into the hospitals to avoid exposure and the spread of COVID-19.

A health worker at Leulumoega said as of Monday members of the public are asked to wait outside the gate due to the increasing number of suspected cases turning up at the hospital. 

“A lot of them are overcrowding at the hospitals but they need to observe all measures required of them,” said the frontline worker. 

According to statistics released by the Ministry of Health (M.O.H.) there were 85 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours (by Monday morning). 

A breakdown of the number of cases showed that children in the ages 15–19 accounted for 37 positive cases with the second highest group those in the 25–29 age bracket which recorded 30 cases. 

The majority of cases are people on Upolu island and four have now been registered in Savai'i.