SAMOA, February 5 - 05 February 2020 ; “As of today 5 February an Air New Zealand Charter flight organised by the Government of New Zealand departed Wuhan at 7.45am Samoan time and is expected to land in Auckland this Wednesday evening around 7.30pm.

Among the 193 passengers were 4 Samoan nationals (3 current students and 1 former student residing in Wuhan) as well as 2 dependents. Three students, in consultation with their parents, chose not to catch the flight and remained in their university campuses in Wuhan.

Four Wuhan based students who had left for their holiday destinations before the lock-down came into effect, have been advised to return to the Samoa mission in Beijing at the conclusion of the break.

The total number of students who are based in Wuhan, current and former, is 11 plus 2 dependents, a total of 13.

The inclusion of the Samoan nationals on the NZ flight from Wuhan was at the request of the Government of Samoa.

All passengers, including the Samoan students, will be in isolation for 14 days in Whangaparaoa (north of Auckland) before they continue to Samoa.

The Government of Samoa will meet all expenses for the voluntary evacuation.

We support and respect the measures being taken by the Chinese Government to contain the virus as well as all measures to ensure the safety, well-being and security of international students in their institutions

We fully appreciate the assistance provided by the Government of New Zealand in collaboration with the Government of Australia and the cooperation of the Chinese authorities, in the arrangement and organisation of the voluntary evacuation of our nationals, alongside their own nationals as well as those of 5 other Pacific countries. To date, the only evacuation flights of foreign nationals are out of Wuhan, Hebei province

There continues to be vigilant monitoring of the situation throughout China particularly in the provinces where all of the 95 students are located through the Samoa mission in Beijing and in collaboration with our Pacific neighbours Australia and New Zealand and the Chinese authorities.