Samoa's prime minister has ruled out an amnesty for parents whose children are yet to be fully vaccinated for measles.
This picture released from UNICEF Samoa shows a girl receiving a vaccine during a nationwide campaign against measles in the Samoan town of Le'auva'a. Photo: ALLAN STEPHEN / UNICEF / AFP
A law was passed at the height of the ongoing measles epidemic in December, mandating parents to ensure their children are vaccinated and making it a prerequisite for school enrolments.
The epidemic has so far claimed 83 lives, most of them children.
As of Monday, there have been 5697 measles cases reported to the Disease Surveillance Team since the outbreak started in October.
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said schools had six months to produce a vaccination policy.
He said principals who accepted children who don't meet the vaccination criteria could be fined $US3700.
Latest update: 5,697 measles cases have been reported since the outbreak started.
— Government of Samoa (@samoagovt) January 7, 2020
To date, 83 measles related deaths have been recorded. There were 2 fatalities (one infant and one adult) between December 29, 2019 and January 5, 2020.
Full details on: https://t.co/H0svRrRqil
