All Health Restrictions Nixed; Filipino Traveler Recounts “Trauma” Of Being Denied Entry At Faleolo

A business owner says the decision to nix all health restrictions and fully open Samoa’s borders to travelers is “good news” after an employee from the Philippines was denied entry at Faleolo International Airport early this month.

Effective Thursday, 22 September, travelers to Samoa are no longer required to meet stringent health restrictions that were part of Samoa’s travel advisory meant to safeguard the country from the COVID-19 virus and its variants.

The removal of restrictions including the Polymerase Chain Reaction (P.C.R.) technique or Rapid Antigen Test (R.A.T.) was announced by the Acting Prime Minister Tuala Tevaga Ponifasio in a special statement that was broadcast on Thursday morning.

“That’s good news,” Myra Valente told EyeSpy Radio on Thursday morning from American Samoa.

Ms. Valente is the owner of Myra’s Spa and Salon in Mesepa, American Samoa.

Early this month on 4 September, Alvin Libre Nicolas, a hairstylist from the Philippines who was hired to work at the salon, arrived at Faleolo.

Mr. Nicolas, 33, was transiting through Samoa, on his way to Tutuila in American Samoa.

Upon arrival at Faleolo, the hairstylist was held, taken back to the airplane and told by authorities to go back to Fiji and be re-tested, said Ms. Valente.

Mr. Nicolas tested negative for COVID-19 according to a written report from the Marilao Medical & Diagnostic Clinic in Dagupan City in Pangasinan, Philippines but by the time he arrived in Samoa it was expired.

The hairstylist was tested on 31 August and his results were released on 1 September, according to the P.C.R. report.

Being denied entry at Faleolo was devastating for the first time traveler after three flights and 17 and a half hours of flying.

From the Philippines, Mr. Nicolas traveled three and a half hours to Singapore and from Singapore he flew 11 hours from Singapore to Fiji. From Fiji, Mr. Nicolas took a three hour flight to Samoa’s Faleolo airport.

On what was supposed to be the final homestretch with one short flight to go from Samoa to American Samoa, he flew back to Fiji.

“He came to Apia on September 4 and they said his PCR test is expired so they took him back to the airplane and they said he needed to go back to Fiji to get a new swab test or P.C.R. test,” Ms. Valente explained.

“He didn’t know what to do. It’s good that the Fijian immigration staff in Fiji helped him do what he needed to do. They were also sad about what happened. We had to pay for a ticket from Fiji to Apia and for a hotel room. He came back to Apia on September 5 after he got his rapid antigen test.”

It was Ms. Valente who paid for the bill: $489 U.S. dollars roundtrip to and from Fiji, $95 Fijian dollars for one night in a Fiji hotel and $40 Fijian dollars for the swab test.

Mr. Nicolas described the experience as “traumatizing” and cried when he was asked to talk about it.

“They sent him back to Fiji just for a swab test and Alvin asked them not to send him back because he was so tired from a long trip but they held him and took him to the airplane,” said Ms. Valente.

“He had no money and that is why I had to do my best to send money to him.”

Mr. Nicolas stayed one night in Fiji without food, drink and his luggage.

“That day he had no food at the hotel, not even water. He said he drank some water in the bathroom. He is crying now because I asked him about it again,” Ms. Valente said.

Mr. Nicolas had a meal when he returned to Samoa the following day. He spent two nights at the Transit Motel near Faleolo before he left Samoa on 8 September for American Samoa.

He was elated to arrive at his final destination, said Ms. Valente.

“Alvin is new and he is a first timer in Pago. He was traumatized for what happened to him in Apia. The Fijians at the airport in Fiji they helped him to find a hotel and to contact me. When he got here he was so happy he was crying,” she said.

Questions about Mr. Nicolas sent to the Ministry of Prime Minister and Cabinet (M.P.M.C.) on Wednesday evening did not receive a response.

According to the 11 September COVID-19 Situational Report from M.O.H., Mr. Nicolas was not the only person who was denied entry to Samoa.

Between 4-10 September, nine (9) passengers were denied entry for different reasons: failure to provide a negative COVID-19 test result; failure to complete vaccination 14 days prior to departure for Samoa; and failure to present a COVID-19 vaccination certificate upon arrival.

A total of 51 aircrafts landed at Faleolo in that week (4-10 September).

M.O.H data shows that in that time same period some passengers were swabbed upon arrival and all who were tested returned negative results for COVID-19.

It is not clear why Mr. Nicolas was not swabbed upon arrival at Faleolo.

Ms. Valente said she hopes the Government of Samoa will reimburse them for the cost of airfare and the hotel room in Fiji which cost about $1,350 Samoan Tala.

On Thursday morning, the Acting Prime Minister Tuala announced Cabinet’s decision to remove all health restrictions including the rapid antigen test that caused Mr. Nicolas much grief on his first trip out of the Philippines.

Changes to the travel advisory were made based on advice from the Ministry of Health, Tuala said.

EyeSpy questions sent to the M.O.H. on Thursday did not receive a response.

“Cabinet today as per advice from the Ministry of Health and analysis of available information endorses the following with regards to the travel advisory to Samoa,” the Acting Prime Minister said in the special announcement.

Cabinet at its meeting on Wednesday, 21 September decided to “remove all restrictions and related conditions from its travel advisory to allow for the full opening of its borders,” Tuala added.

“These include removing of mandatory P.C.R. or rapid antigen test results for COVID-19 as criteria to travel to Samoa,” he said.

In addition, ”the need to present evidence of vaccination or vaccination cards as criteria to travel to Samoa [and]” has been removed, said Tuala.

Testing on arrival at Faleolo International Airport or any other port of entry into Samoa has been removed.

The Deputy Prime Minister noted that completion of health arrival cards is being enforced.

He reminds travelers to be honest when filling out required forms while traveling by air or sea to Samoa.

Travelers are further reminded that making a false declaration on a health arrival form is a crime.

Penalties and fees for a false declaration will be fully applied, the Deputy Prime Minister said

Some businesses require face masks for entry and Tuala encourages compliance with general health hygiene practices including “the wearing of face masks when necessary.”

“This travel advisory will be effective from Thursday, the twenty-second of September 2022. We continue to pray for our country and therefore we wish everyone a blessed day today. Soifua,” the Acting Prime Minister said.

To date, M.O.H has recorded a total of 15,925 cases of COVID-19.

Of that number, 15,746 are community cases, and 179 are border cases.

Since community transmission was detected on 17 March, 2022, there have been 29 COVID-19-related deaths.