COVID-19 pandemic in American Samoa

COVID-19 pandemic in American Samoa
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationAmerican Samoa
First outbreakWuhan, Hubei, China
Arrival date9 November 2020[1]
(1 year, 3 months, 1 week and 3 days ago)
Confirmed cases18[2]
Suspected cases‡0
Recovered3
Deaths
0
‡Suspected cases have not been confirmed by laboratory tests as being due to this strain, although some other strains may have been ruled out.

The COVID-19 pandemic in American Samoa is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the unincorporated United States territory of American Samoa on 9 November 2020.[1]

Background

On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[3][4]

The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003,[5][6] but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[7][5]

Timeline

Cases
Cases
Deaths
Deaths

March 2020

On 6 March, the American Samoan government introduced new entry restrictions including restricting flight numbers and requiring travelers from Hawaii to spend 14 days in Hawaii and obtain a health clearance from health authorities.[8] On 11 March, a government task-force was set up to deal with the virus and quarantining measures have been put in place for incoming visitors.[9] On 14 March, half of the 210 passengers on a returning Hawaiian Airlines flight were required to self-quarantine at home.[10] Following a trip to the US mainland, Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga self-isolated as a precautionary measure on 16 March.[11]

On 26 March, Iulogologo Joseph Pereira, executive assistant to the American Samoa Governor and the head of the territory's coronavirus task force, acknowledged that the territory did not have facilities to test samples of the COVID-19 virus, having to rely on testing facilities in Atlanta, Georgia.[12]

April 2020

On 19 April, United States President Donald Trump declared that a major disaster existed in American Samoa, responding to a request for help from Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga on 13 April. This declaration makes the territory eligible for federal assistance to combat the spread of the coronavirus. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency has named its Regional 9 administrator Robert Fenton Junior as the Coordinating Officer for any federal recovery operations in American Samoa.[13]

May 2020

As of 6 May, the US territory has reported no cases.[14]

November 2020

On 9 November, American Samoa reported its first three cases, who were crew members aboard the container ship Fesco Askold.[1][15] This marked the confirmed spread of COVID-19 to every inhabited US territory; the disease had previously been confirmed to have spread to all 50 states and the District of Columbia with the confirmation of a case in West Virginia on 17 March.

On 18 November, the Department of Health, Port Administration and the Fesco Askold's owners reached an agreement to allow local stevedores to offload and load containers from the container vessel.[16] According to Radio New Zealand, the Fesco Askold is scheduled to leave American Samoa on 19 November.[17]

December 2020

On 21 December, American Samoa started its COVID-19 vaccinations by vaccinating its health workers and first responders with the Pfizer vaccine.[18] On the same day, another case was reported as a crew member aboard the container ship Coral Islander tested positive.[19]

March 2021

By 6 March 2021, nearly 24,000 COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in the territory. According to the Department of Health official's 's Aifili Dr John Tufa, this amounts to roughly 42% of American Samoa's eligible population.[20]

April 2021

On 18 April 2021, Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga announced a positive case in quarantine on a man repatriated from Hawaii.[21]

August 2021

On August 13, 2021, the government of American Samoa made vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory for entry into the territory as soon as the FDA issued full approval, which it did for the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on August 23.[22]

September 2021

A sixth case (commonly reported as the first territorial case in the media, with cargo ship and previous quarantine cases excluded) was found in a group of travelers quarantining at their hotel on September 18.[23] The infected person is a fully vaccinated resident who had returned from travel to Hawaii and the continental United States on the first commercial flight between Honolulu and Page Pago after service was restored.[24] In reaction, the person was taken to another facility to isolate, and flights into the island have been suspended indefinitely.[25]

October 2021

Two more cases (the third counted imported case, and the seventh and eight overall) were reported on October 2. They were fully vaccinated residents quarantining after returning on a flight from Honolulu on September 27. In response, the patients and three close contacts were put in isolation.[26]

December 2021

In late December 2021 it was reported that a total of 11 imported cases had been detected on the island, with no local transmission.[27]

January 2022

Six new cases were detected on January 13, 2022 from a Hawaiian Airlines flight.[28]

As of January 31, 2022, 18 imported and no local cases had been found.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Covid 19 coronavirus: Samoan officials on alert after three sailors test positive". The New Zealand Herald. 10 November 2020. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Epidemic and emerging disease alerts in the Pacific as of 1 February 2022 - World". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  3. ↑ Elsevier. "Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier Connect. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  4. ↑ Reynolds, Matt (4 March 2020). "What is coronavirus and how close is it to becoming a pandemic?". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Crunching the numbers for coronavirus". Imperial News. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  6. ↑ "High consequence infectious diseases (HCID); Guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases and their management in England". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  7. ↑ "World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus". www.wfsahq.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  8. ↑ "American Samoa tightens entry requirements over Covid-19". Radio New Zealand. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  9. ↑ "American Samoa establishes Covid-19 govt taskforce". Radio New Zealand. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  10. ↑ "Half of flight's passengers to self-quarantine in American Samoa". Radio New Zealand. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  11. ↑ "Covid-19: American Samoa governor self-isolates as a precaution". Radio New Zealand. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  12. ↑ Georgiev, Peter; Kaplan, Adiel (26 March 2020). "American Samoa's coronavirus conundrum: No way to test". NBC News. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  13. ↑ "Trump declares Covid-19 disaster for American Samoa". Radio New Zealand. 19 April 2020. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  14. ↑ Romero, Simon (6 May 2020). "A Place in the U.S. With No Covid-19? Look to American Samoa". New York Times. Archived from the original on 8 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  15. ↑ "Three crewmembers on container vessel test positive for COVID-19". Samoa News. 9 November 2020. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  16. ↑ "American Samoa looks to speed up loading of vessel that had Covid cases". Radio New Zealand. 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  17. ↑ "Fesco Askold due to depart American Samoa today". Radio New Zealand. 19 November 2020. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  18. ↑ "American Samoa starts Covid-19 vaccinations". Radio New Zealand. 21 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  19. ↑ "Covid-19 positive sailor in American Samoa port". Radio New Zealand. 21 December 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  20. ↑ "Close to 24,000 Covid-19 vaccines rolled out in American Samoa". Radio New Zealand. 6 March 2021. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  21. ↑ "1 confirmed case, Gov assures we're safe". Talanei. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  22. ↑ Pfizer FDA Update - press release from governor (remove *s from URL)
  23. ↑ "American Samoa reports first positive COVID-19 case". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  24. ↑ "The Latest: American Samoa reports first case of coronavirus". AP NEWS. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  25. ↑ Williams, Jordan (17 September 2021). "American Samoa reports first case of COVID-19". TheHill. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  26. ↑ "American Samoa confirms two Covid-19 cases". RNZ. 2 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  27. ↑ "Epidemic and emerging disease alerts in the Pacific as of 04 January 2022 - World". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  28. ↑ "In brief: News from around the Pacific". RNZ. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
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