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USDOT grants HAL exemption for American Samoa

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reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The US Transportation Department (USDOT) on June 1st granted Hawaiian Airlines’ request seeking a third extension until June 30th of the exemption to the airline’s obligation to serve Pago Pago.

The request included a copy of Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga’s letter late last month to airline president and chief executive officer Peter Ingram seeking the suspension of flights through June 30th. (See Samoa News edition May 27th for details).

In approving Hawaiian Airlines’ request, USDOT deputy assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs, David Short, said the federal agency “deemed American Samoa as an exemption point from Hawaiian’s service obligation so long as the Governor of American Samoa’s request for Hawaiian to suspend service to American Samoa remained in effect.”

Meanwhile several local residents stranded in the US — especially in Hawaii — have launched a new wave of criticism on social media against the governor, over the suspension of flights between Honolulu and Pago Pago until July 1st.

This week, fresh new criticism circulated on social media — including comments posted to Samoa News stories.

At last Sunday’s ASG COVID-19 task force meeting, Lolo again addressed these mounting criticisms reiterating that American Samoa only has one hospital while the US has many medical facilities which residents stranded there can use in case of medical needs.

He again asked for the public’s patience as the government works on getting necessary quarantine facilities in place and other services to prepare for possible re-opening of the borders.

According to the governor’s Fifth Amended declaration, LBJ Medical Center lacks the physical capacity to appropriately respond to epidemics and pandemics and must now divert operating resources to address the COVID-19 emergency need, thus causing the potential for medication and heath supply shortages and expanding the risk for a health catastrophe.

As of May 30th, American Samoa has 2,784 test kits on hand, which is “grossly insufficient to support our testing plan targeting the testing of first responders, systematic individuals and then asymptomatic persons, to yield confidence in the effectiveness of our projection and mitigation strategies,” the declaration states.

Samoa News notes that the Health Department is conducting virus testing, while LBJ is working on completing construction of its negative pressure room to house its testing machine so it could start testing for the virus.