Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt is recovering well in New Zealand, Acting Prime Minister Mulipola Anarosa Ale-Molioo said in her Friday press conference.

Laaulialemalietoa left for New Zealand on Wednesday, 15 April and was expected to return in a week. 

Mulipola said updates on the Prime Minister’s condition have been provided daily, and that it was clear the previous week that he had been medically evacuated to New Zealand.

“There have been updates every day,” she said. “The prime minister is well. He is progressing along well with his treatment.”

She added that there are indications the Prime Minister may return soon. “There are plans that he will return to the country by next week,” she said, contradicting earlier statements by the Prime Minister during his live on his official Facebook page on the day he left and said that he would only be away for a week.

Mulipola did not specify the nature of the Prime Minister’s illness, nor was it raised during the press conference. However, she had previously indicated concerns about his heart, lungs and a valve.

The Prime Minister has not issued his usual updates on his official Facebook page, unlike during his previous medical trip to New Zealand last September, when he spent seven weeks recovering from leg surgery and would update on that platform.

At the taxpayers' expense, Laaulialemalietoa was medically evacuated on 15 April for what he said was "overdue medical checks."

Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition and Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi thanked Mulipola for taking the lead while the Prime Minister is away and praying for Laaulialemalietoa.

“I pray that God gives him strength through his medical condition," Tuilaepa said. “I thank Mulipola for telling the people straight about the prime minister’s circumstances."

There has been earlier confirmation by the Samoa Observer that the Prime Minister was admitted to Middlemore Hospital’s Coronary Care Unit (CCU), with concerns about his heart and lungs, as previously stated by Mulipola.

The Samoa Observer has chosen not to disclose further details of the Prime Minister’s condition due to privacy and ethical considerations.