Governor Lolo Moliga has been requested to assist with the repatriation of US citizens in Samoa, after the cancellation of all airline services to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
The governor informed the cabinet he has been working with the US embassies in Samoa and New Zealand, DOI, the State Department and Hawaiian Air on this matter. There are about 150 in the group.
In a letter to Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt, the governor said that the US Embassy in Samoa has requested the Samoa Government to allow US citizens to travel to American Samoa. He said with this request, ”I again am subjecting the lives of American Samoan residents to great peril by granting entry by IS citizens akin to my permitting the Norwegian Jewel cruise ship to enter our harbor to pick up fuel.”
The governor explained that we cannot conduct tests for COVID-19 here and we are awaiting supplies of swabs from CDC to allow us to collect specimens to be sent to Atlanta for analysis.
“Thus we have no way to test US citizens traveling from Samoa transiting to Hawaii and then onward to the mainland United States,” wrote Lolo.
To limit the risk of exposure to local residents Lolo is requesting DOI assistance in the coordination of the evacuation of US citizens stranded in Samoa to coincide with a Hawaiian Air regular or special flight to facilitate the direct transfer from Samoa Airways to Hawaiian Airlines at the tarmac to avoid having them having to go to the terminal.
Lolo requested that the State Department coordinate travel arrangements directly with Hawaiian Airlines to determine whether a special flight is needed.
He emphasized that American Samoa lacked sufficient quarantine facilities to isolate these US citizens if they come over earlier to await the Thursday’s Hawaiian Air flight.
Since Samoa is halting all flights effective midnight tonight under an amended declaration for coronavirus, KHJ News understands that the group of US citizens will be arriving today.
