The Leone Community Health Center has been turned into a quarantine facility for now to isolate people needing to be quarantined during the measles outbreak and in preparation for the possibility of any Coronavirus patients.
A couple visiting from the United States is being quarantined at the Leone health facility.
Responding to KHJ News questions about a notice from DOH announcing the closure of the Leone center for regular services, Director of Health Motusa Tuileama Nua explained that the couple traveled from Florida, via Atlanta and Hawaii and arrived on Hawaiian Airlines last Thursday night.
The man is Samoan and his wife is Carribbean. Yesterday they traveled to Samoa and during surveillance at Faleolo Airport, health officials discovered that both were experiencing high fever.
So the couple was returned to the territory.
Health Director Motusa said they will be kept in quarantine until they are well.
He assured that this is not a case of Coronavirus.
Local health authorities have consulted with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the two patients and CDC has advised that these cases have low probability for Coronavirus.
Swabs were taken nonetheless and are being sent to Honolulu for testing.
Motusa said they decided to turn the Leone Community Health Center into a quarantine facility instead of taking patients needing to be isolated to LBJ Hospital and risk exposure of other patients and visitors.
A notice from DOH issued last night says effective Immediately, Leone Community Health Center is closed until further notice. All those seeking public health services from Leone are asked to go to the Tafuna Community Health Center instead.
