SUVA, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Samoa said it will start a 48-hour national lockdown from Saturday evening after reporting more COVID-19 cases from a recent charter flight from Australia.

According to Samoa Observer, Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa announced the lockdown after an emergency cabinet meeting on Saturday morning.

The lockdown will start at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and end at 6:00 p.m. local time on Monday.

Fiame said in a national address that the decision for Samoa to go into a lockdown follows the cabinet meeting and its approval while taking into consideration the country's safety.

Samoa will go into Alert Level 3 as there are now 15 confirmed COVID-19 cases, following a charter flight that flew in from Australia on Wednesday, she said. Five more cases have tested positive on Saturday.

According to the prime minister, essential services of the Samoan government will continue, but there will be no public transport allowed except for authorized vehicles and those in essential services.

Schools, restaurants and churches across the island nation will also close. Enditem

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