Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Through a Mar. 1 memorandum, Gov. Lemanu Peleti Mauga provided his cabinet members additional information on ASG operations under the Code Red threat level and reports required from directors.

Based on data from the Health Department, “the number of positive COVID-19 cases transmitted by community spread has increased exponentially,” since Code Red was initially activated on Feb. 22, the governor said in the memo to cabinet members.

“The COVID-19 Task Force will continue to monitor this data to determine when the community will be able to sustain trends in the right direction and make the necessary recommendations for follow-up actions,” the governor explained.

And to contain the spread of the virus in the community, the governor said the order was given to extend the Code Red period for another 7-days.

(Samoa News points out that as of 8p.m. Mar. 1, total cases for American Samoa reached 94 and health officials are expecting to see more in the coming days.)

The governor pointed out that it’s “crucial” to continue supporting the local COVID-19 baseline mitigation measures including wearing masks, getting vaccinated, social distancing and prohibiting public gatherings.

“We must be mindful of limited movement and restrict travel to performing services essential to your department’s operations,” the governor told his cabinet members, and recommended virtual and telework should be used to carry out daily activities where feasible, and on-site work should be absolutely limited to “critical situations”.

The governor’s memo also requested directors to report certain information to his deputy chief of staff. For example, the report covers divisions, units and functions that are closed due to Code Red as well as functions that are operational but only online.

As for divisions, units and functions that have been deemed essential and continue to function, directors are to provide office hours of these operations and describe the protocols in place to protect essential workers from COVID-19.

The governor made clear that all other restrictions under the current COVID-19 Emergency Declaration will remain in place as a course of action will be refined over the coming weeks.

“The Task Force utilizes targeted mitigation measures at the village level using varied data to help slow the spread of COVID-19 within the territory,” Lemanu explained. “We must work together to accomplish our mission-critical goal of containing the virus.”

The governor also gave a directive that all messaging efforts, communications, and contact tracing are facilitated at the local Homeland Security Department’s Emergency Operation Center (EOC). And all action plans must be submitted to the Governor’s Authorized Representative (GAR) — who is Lt. Gov. Talauega Eleasalo Ale — for review and approval.

He asked cabinet members to give EOC and emergency responders their full support “as we continue to place the health and the safety of our people as our number one priority.”

The governor commended all cabinet members, essential employees and first responders for stepping up to meet the challenges in the EOC, at testing and vaccination sites, as well as enforcing curfew — which is 9p.m daily.

He also recognized the work of the Office of Samoan Affairs and the local government in enforcing curfew and dealing with village issues.

During a news conference earlier this week, ASG officials said that the daily curfew is from 9p.m. to 4:30a.m. the next day, with businesses operating hours from 5a.m to 4p.m.

Officials also emphasized wearing face masks and social distancing during business operations and this includes in public transportation — buses and taxis.

However, business owners are faced with the problem of some customers failing to wear face masks or observe social distancing of six feet apart. Losing their customers during these hard times is one of the main reasons owners are saying they have chosen not to ‘enforce’ these rules — they are not ‘face mask police’, according to a Samoa News report on the difficult issue in Wednesday’s paper.