This archive report was first published on 5 December 2019.
On December 5, 2019, Samoa's government invoked emergency powers to implement a nationwide lockdown in an attempt to contain the rapidly spreading measles outbreak.
Under the order, all businesses and non-essential government services were forced to close, while inter-island ferry services were suspended and private cars were prohibited from the roads.
Residents were advised to stay indoors and display a red flag if they had not yet received the measles vaccination, as hundreds of vaccination teams fanned out across the country of 200,000 in the early hours of the morning.
"I've seen mass mobilisation campaigns before, but not over an entire country like this," said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF's Pacific island chief, in an interview with AFP.
"That's what we're doing right now. This entire country is being vaccinated."
— Sheldon Yett, UNICEF's Pacific island chief Immunisation rates in Samoa had risen to over 55 percent since a compulsory mass vaccination campaign began two weeks prior, but the government aimed to push the rate above 90 percent to curb the current outbreak and prevent future epidemics. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi expressed frustration over anecdotal reports of parents encouraging their children to hide from vaccination teams, saying, "The message is that we have vaccinated a lot of people and they are OK." "The only cure for this is vaccination... having your children vaccinated is the only way," he added. Children are the most vulnerable to measles, which can cause a rash and fever but also lead to brain damage and death. As of the latest figures, 54 of the 62 dead were aged four or less, and infants accounted for most of the 4,217 cases recorded since the outbreak began in mid-October.
