All daycare and ECE schools to reopen on Tuesday, May 16

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — All public or private early childhood education (ECE) schools and all daycare center facilities will re-open on May 16, 2023, according to provisions of the second amended Measles Emergency Declaration issued yesterday by Gov. Lemanu P.S Mauga.

Additionally, all students, teachers, and support staff attending in-person learning and childcare employees at daycare and childcare facilities must be fully vaccinated with the MMR vaccine.

Furthermore, all public or private elementary schools, high schools and colleges were reopened on May 1, 2023.

And if required, schools will utilize online/ distance learning, and all authorities, departments and offices shall support the Department of Education to ensure that students, when required, have access to online/distance learning,” it says.

According to the second amended declaration, “vaccination coverage has increased” to 97.4% in elementary schools, 98.1% in high schools, 89.4% in early childhood education and 56.5% in daycare centers.

It also says that 98.9% of those in early childhood education have received their first vaccine dose and 91.7% of those in daycare centers have received their first vaccine dose.

And some 2,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered during this measles outbreak.

All other provisions of the original declaration issued Apr. 24 remain in effect and the second amended declaration expires May 24 unless otherwise stated.

As of early this week Health officials told Samoa News that the laboratory confirmed number of cases remains at 2 while probable cases has slightly increased to 54.