The Pacific island nation of Samoa sealed its borders Friday as it prepares to enter a nationwide lockdown after recording its first case of Covid-19 in the community, AFP reports.

The government issued an emergency order suspending all international travel by air and sea in the wake of the positive case, which was detected on Thursday on the main island of Upolu.

The nation of about 200,000 has been one of the few places to avoid local transmission of Covid-19 during the global pandemic, recording 48 cases at the border.