Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The COVID-19 Task Force had announced previously that there were 263 passengers — the largest group of repatriated passengers so far — on the 4th repatriation flight, which arrived May 12th and the travelers went into a seven-day quarantine period.

According to the task force news release, a total of 105 travelers were fully vaccinated before they entered the Hawaii quarantine site and an additional 43 were vaccinated on May 6th in Hawaii.

Two passengers posted on social media that at least 40 travelers were quarantined at the Fatuoaiga facility and were released to join their loved ones last week Monday — while the rest were quarantined at Tradewinds Hotel, and released last Thursday.  The passengers quarantined at Fatuoaiga were all fully vaccinated but they were still checked by health officials prior to quarantine and afterwards, according to passengers.

Vagana Saili, currently residing in Aasu and one of the passengers on the 4th repatriation flight says he was among the passengers quarantined at Fatuoaiga and released Monday.

He was among the supporters who attended last Friday’s “Thank You Wave”, to express appreciation and grateful thanks to Gov. Lemanu Peleti Palepoi Sialega Mauga, Lt. Gov. Talauega Eleasalo V. Ale, the COVID-19 Task Force and all those involved in the repatriation to return home local residents who were stranded across the U.S since flights between Honolulu and Pago Pago were suspended in March of last year.

Saili said, during a brief Samoa News interview in the midst of the wave, that many residents have been stranded off island and want to return home to be reunited with family and “finally we are home and therefore praise God.”

He traveled from Seattle, Washington where he waited for a chance to return home. Saili agreed with passengers interviewed by Samoa News from previous repatriation flights that they all started out as strangers, upon checking in for quarantine in Hawaii and became a family,  supporting and leaning on each other.

“We all came from different parts of [the U.S.] but we all have one final destination — American Samoa. And many of us didn’t know each other. But upon release from quarantine on Monday, we all felt like family, and we had a chance to know each other in the group,” he said referring to the group quarantined at Fatuoaiga.

Saili noted that it was great bonding together as a group and family at Fatuoaiga and again expressed appreciation to all those involved in the repatriation program.

Two other passengers, who were quarantined at Tradewinds Hotel, also took part in the wave. One of them, Sifaga Malaga Fuatagavi, also expressed her thanks and appreciation to the government for the repatriation program, which allowed her and many others who wanted to return home to finally be back on island. She praised the excellent care and service all those involved in the repatriation program gave to the passengers starting from Hawaii and here on island.

She thanks “our leaders” — the governor, and lt. governor and others — for showing love for the many sons and daughters, elders and those stranded off island for many months.

The next repatriation flight, Repat 5, has been postponed from May 28th to June 1st, in “light of recent break-through variant positive cases in Honolulu,” according to separate statements by the ASG Medicaid Office and Health Department. (See last Friday’s online edition of Samoa News for details.)

The Medicaid Office posted its statement last Thursday on its Facebook page while the DOH statement was released the following day.

[photo: FS]