The Ministry of Health in Samoa has started to check incoming passengers at the country's main international airport following reports of swine flu cases in New Zealand where many Samoans live.
The ministry's chief executive officer, Palanitina Tupuimatagi Toelupe, on local television last night said several government ministries and organizations have been advised to work together.
She says the health ministry does not want the public to panic as safety precautions have been put in place to make sure the memories of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, which killed thousands of Samoans, will not be revisited.
The CEO and her ministry for a start has issued a public warning for people to take the usual medicines for treating flu symptoms or seek medical advise from private and public health doctors.
