The Opposition Leader has praised the Government's decision to remove all mandatory health restrictions for travelers arriving in Samoa which include COVID-19 testing.

Speaking during his weekly press conference, Tuilaepa Dr. Sa'ilele Malielegaoi said that such a decision should have been done the moment the country's borders reopened after more than two years of lockdown. 

"This is something they (Government) should have been done earlier," said Tuilaepa. "But I am thankful that they have decided to lift all health restrictions because the truth is that decision should have been done on the day we opened our international borders.

"There was no point in imposing the restrictions when we no longer had the quarantine processes as we did during COVID-19 lockdown and borders closure."

Tuilaepa said there was no point in in enforcing the health restrictions when people were asked to isolate in their own homes if tested positive upon arrival.

"So even though the announcement and decision had just been made, I am still thankful that they had removed all the restrictions," said the Lepa M.P.

The Acting Prime Minister, Tuala Iosefo Ponifasio on Thursday morning announced that all health restrictions have been lifted following discussions by the Cabinet in its weekly meeting.

Tuala said Cabinet on Wednesday decided to remove all restrictions and related conditions from the Samoa Government's current travel advisory to allow for the full reopening of the borders. 

This includes the removal of mandatory PCR or Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) for COVID-19 as a requirement to enter Samoa. 

Visitors to Samoa will no longer need to show any proof of a vaccination card and there will no longer be any more testing needed upon arrival at Faleolo International Airport or any port of entry. 

However, the Acting Prime Minister advised that travelers are still required to complete health arrival cards and any false declaration will be penalised. 

While members of the public are still encouraged to comply with health hygiene practices like wearing face masks. 

Tuala noted that following the celebration of Samoa’s independence, there has been a surge in travelers to Samoa and the country remains safe, which is a factor he attributed to the country's high vaccination rate. 

He revealed that 94 per cent of the eligible population aged 18 years and over have been fully vaccinated while those aged 12 to 17 have a rate of 93 per cent and 92 per cent for those 5–11 years old. 

The latest press release issued by the Ministry of Health confirmed that 36 new community cases of COVID-19 were recorded over the seven day period to last Sunday with three in managed isolation. 

In total Samoa has an cumulative total of positive cases (border and community cases) of 15,925 since the first community case was detected on island. 

The statistic show a total of 345 cases admitted by hospitals stands since the first case was detected on 17^th March 2022 with 307 discharged. The country’s death toll since March this year stands at 29. 

In terms of the proportion of COVID-19 community cases infection by gender, 43 per cent are males with 57 per cent females.