US agent sent home from American Samoa failed Covid test

It's been revealed a US federal agent was refused entry to American Samoa last week because she did not have two negative test results for Covid-19.

The agent from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, was flown home last Friday, the day she arrived.

LBJ Hospital Chief Executive Faumuina John Faumuina; Department of Health director, Motusa Tuileama Nua; and Epidemiologist Aifili Dr John Tufa ,were questioned by the House of Representatives' Health Committee, concerning the handling of the case and other issues relating to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aifili said the female FEMA contractor had tested positive for the coronavirus on 29 June although she was tested again on 15 July and was negative.

Explaining what went into the decision to return the woman on the plane she came on, he said the agent did not meet rules set out by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.

"If you were positive before you need to have two negative tests to ensure that you dont have the virus with you. So, because of these conditions... she should have had a medical evaluation and another test to confirm."

Chair of the Health Committee Vesi Fautanu and committee members Vaetasi Tuumolimoli Moliga and Poyer Samuelu were concerned the two people who traveled with the FEMA agent could have been exposed to the coronavirus and were allowed to enter the territory.

The two passengers, the House of Representatives member Faimealelei Anthony Allen and his wife, were being quarantined at the Tradewinds Hotel along with the head of the company that provided ground-handling for military flights. The latter went onto the aircraft several times while it was on the ground at the local airport.

Motusa said the three were being isolated in their rooms and could not come out. He said he had met with hotel management to cordon off the wing of the hotel.

The lawmaker and his wife, who were medical referrals by the Veterans Administration (VA), were Covid-19 tested in Hawai'i and were negative. Three other VA referrals were not allowed to travel on the same flight because they had not been tested.