Pacific / American Samoa

American Samoa lawmaker denies leaving quarantine

08:29 am on 25 July 2020

The American Samoa representative accused of leaving quarantine says he has not left his room since he and his wife were brought there.

"There are police officers posted outside their door, and they can tell you I have never stepped outside the door," Faimealelei Anthony Allen said

The representative was responding to statements in the House of Representatives about a witness seeing him in Fagatogo on Tuesday when he is supposed to be in quarantine.

The Tradewinds Hotel Photo: Tradewinds

The Aua Faipule said he will have more to say in response to the allegations made against him by his colleagues but for now he wants to assure the public that he has not left his room at the Tradewinds Hotel.

Representative Faimealelei told KHJ News the witness may have mistaken his 32 year-old son who looks just like him, for him.

He said since traveling from Hawaii last Friday, and taken to the Tradewinds Hotel with his wife to be quarantine, he hasn't gone anywhere.

He also said that since he left the island in May for treatment in Hawaii under a Veteran Affairs referral he has undergone eight Covid- 19 tests and they were all negative.

The lawmaker said the local Department of Health performed another Coronavirus test yesterday and it was also negative.

Faimealelei and his wife had travelled from Honolulu Friday with a FEMA agent who was refused entry because she had tested positive for Coronavirus in the mainland on June 29.

The agent had another test in July 15 prior to traveling to American Samoa and the test was negative.