The TalofaPass online portal is not going to be removed completely. But its purpose will be different from what it was set up for, which is to screen and preapprove all travelers to American Samoa during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At yesterday’s COVID-19 Task Force meeting, the outcome of a lengthy discussion on a recommendation by the Department of Health to remove TalofaPass was that the system will be used to track travelers with health conditions that need monitoring and treatment, so as to protect the health of local residents.
The Dept. of Health, with the full endorsement of the LBJ Hospital, recommended that TalofaPass will no longer be used to preapprove travelers. Instead, it would be used for travelers to upload health related information using a new health declaration form that would be added to TalofaPass.
KHJ News points out that while the DOH recommendation is to remove Talofa pass by November 1st, according to the explanation of the DOH officials, the portal itself will remain and travelers would still need to go on it to fill the health declaration form before they travel to the territory.
And if they forget to get this done online, there will be paper forms of the declaration waiting for them at the airport to fill upon arrival.
An official announcement about the change and when it will go into effect will be made once the online portal has been updated.
Another recommendation, which was endorsed at yesterday’s meeting, was to end the vaccination mandate for all travelers to the territory.
The health officials explained in detail, that the COVID numbers have almost flattened. LBJ reported zero cases for the last few weeks. They said, the evidence shows vaccination does not prevent transmission but it does reduce severity of the illness. They feel that the time is right to remove the vaccination mandate and not restrict travelers and residents who want to come to the territory.
Concerns were raised about removing the vaccination mandate, given the territory has only one hospital and may not be able to handle another outbreak. But health officials said, they have adequate supplies for treatment and are confident they can handle such a situation if it happens.
The next emergency declaration for COVID-19, which is coming out next week, will have the same restrictions in place now — but it was mentioned that a new one, with the transition of TalofaPass from preapproval of travelers to being used as a tracking tool for health related data, could possibly be in force by the time the next one comes out.
For now, travelers still have to register and get approval on TalofaPass.
