Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — American Samoa Health Department is among the eleven new “trusted partners” which Hawaii authorities say will accepted coronavirus tests for the state’s domestic pre-travel testing program, according to a news release over the weekend through Hawaii Gov. David Ige’s Office.

Last month, Ige granted the more than 200 passengers from COVID-free American Samoa on the Oct. 25th medical charter, a waiver for full quarantine exemption upon arrival in Hawaii.

Responding to Samoa News inquiries, ASG Coronavirus Task Force chairman, Iulogologo Joseph Pereira pointed out that Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga expressed appreciation and thanked Gov. Ige “for all the help extended to American Samoa particularly creating a seamless environment which allowed our people to enter Hawaii without going through its rigorous quarantine requirements.”

 Iulogologo said that when it was “first disclosed to us that we were not among the favorable testing partners” for Hawaii, the local Health Department and LBJ Medical Center “quickly submitted our request” along with the US Centers for Medicaid and Medicare’s CLIA certification of both DOH and LBJ testing labs.

He said that Lolo extends his thanks and appreciation to former Honolulu Mayor Muliufi Hannemann “for addressing this issue for us with Governor Ige's Office.”

The news release Saturday morning distributed by Ige’s Office explained that domestic transpacific travelers, five years and older, arriving in the State of Hawaiʻi may bypass the state’s mandatory 14-day quarantine by taking a COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) from a “trusted testing partner”.

The test must be taken no more than 72 hours prior to the final leg of departure, and a negative test result must be uploaded in the Hawaii Safe Travels digital platform or presented upon arrival. If results are not received prior to arrival, the traveler will be required to self-quarantine until a negative test result is reported to the Hawaii Department of Health.

The news release announced “eleven new trusted testing partners” were added for domestic transpacific travel. And among them is the American Samoa Department of Health Clinical Laboratory, which “is a CLIA-certified moderate complexity testing laboratory situated at the Tafuna Health Center Clinic.

It provides necessary clinical laboratory testing services for the people of American Samoa, including the FDA-authorized Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) test required for passengers to participate in the State of Hawaiʻi’s pre-travel testing program, according to the news release.

Currently all Hawaiian Airlines flights between Honolulu and Pago Pago are suspended through Dec. 30th although Lolo has hinted to one more possible medical charter out of Pago Pago to Honolulu before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Hawaii authorities reported 108 new virus cases, bringing the state’s total to 16,519 — as of 3p.m Nov. 14th, according to the Hawaii Health Department public records, which also state that total deaths stand at 222