The Independent State of Samoa, known as Western Samoa until 1997, is made up of nine volcanic islands, two of which - Savai'i and Upolu - make up more than 99% of the land. It has the world's second-largest Polynesian group, after the Maori. The economy revolves around fishing and agriculture, which is vulnerable to cyclones and disease (BBC, 2020).
After a major measles outbreak last year that infected approximately 5,600 people and killed 83 people, Samoa was quick to respond to the threat from COVID-19. It swiftly closed its borders and quarantined anyone entering the country, as well as announcing a state of emergency on March 21, 2020. The country currently still has no confirmed COVID-19 cases (World Bank, 2020).
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