The US President Donald Trump has declared a major disaster exists in American Samoa and ordered federal assistance to help efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Photo: AFP
Federal funding was available to American Samoa and certain private non-profit organisations for emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance.
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.
Federal funding was available to territorial and local governments and certain non-profits on a cost-sharing basis for emergency protective measures.
The assistance comes at a federal cost share of 75 percent.
Mr Trump's declaration followed a request on 13 April from the territory's governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga.
Lolo Matalasi Moliga at his State of the Territory address. Photo: RNZI / Monica Miller
The territorial government Coronavirus Tasforce Chair, Iulogologo Joseph Pereira, said Lolo was hesitant to declare a Major Disaster as American Samoa did not have a confirmed case.
However, Iulogologo said the Governor felt that given American Samoa's economic downturn, and all of the money the local government had spent on facilities to build a coronavirus deterrent infrastructure system, the territory needed access to federal public assistance.
American Samoa is the only US jurisdiction, state or territory, without a confirmed Covid-19 case.
