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Family mourns third child's death as Samoa measles crisis deepens; vaccinations now mandatory

1 NEWS Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver is in Apia, where she was invited to attend the joint funeral for two young cousins.

Samoa is in lockdown as the measles crisis deepens, with at least 11 dead and a state of emergency declared.

It is now compulsory for all members of the public to be vaccinated against measles and the Ministry of Health will be publishing its schedule for different locations.

High schools, which were to stay open until exams were finished, have been forced to shut their doors.

Any public gatherings cannot include any children up to the age of 17 and no one under the age of 18 can go to any medical facility unless they are sick.

There have been eight suspected measles deaths so far – all but one of them a child.

There’s been devastating news for one family who had already lost two babies.

1 NEWS understands that Faao Tuivale, the mother whose two children died of suspected measles within days of each other, has now lost a third child yesterday.

Tupua Tamasese Meaole National Hospital is full to capacity, with several children on life support and an increasing number of adults presenting with measles symptoms.

On Wednesday, New Zealand will send 3000 vaccinations and 12 nurses to help administer them on a rotational basis.

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