FSM Information Services
Public Service Announcement
ATTENTION FSM CITIZENS CURRENTLY IN THE FSM BUT WHO PERMANENTLY RESIDE IN HAWAII OR GUAM: April 13th & April 14th Are the Last Outbound Flights for FSM Citizens for the Foreseeable Future
PALIKIR, Pohnpei— Per the March 14th, 2020 Presidential Declaration, citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) are prohibited from outbound travel to COVID-19 affected countries, states, or territories, with limited exemptions—such as those returning to a place of employment. On April 13th and April 14th, 2020, there are scheduled flights from international commercial air carriers to the FSM which have final destinations of the U.S. State of Hawaii and the U.S. Territory of Guam respectively.
On April 9th, 2020, His Excellency David W. Panuelo, President of the FSM, and the Honorable Yosiwo P. George, Vice President of the FSM, determined in coordination with the FSM COVID-19 Task Force that, AFTER April 13th and April 14th, the Nation will no longer allow any FSM citizens to engage in outbound travel UNLESS they are certified by a doctor as requiring urgent medical assistance. Amongst the many reasons for this decision include that the U.S. State of Hawaii and the U.S. Territory of Guam are actively threatened by the COVID-19 coronavirus, and it is in their residents’ interests that their Governments’ focus exclusively on combatting the COVID-19 Pandemic. This decision will be further detailed and clarified in an Amended Declaration of Emergency in the forthcoming days.
If you are an FSM citizen presently within the Nation’s borders, and who permanently resides in the U.S. State of Hawaii or the U.S. Territory of Guam, such as where you are gainfully employed, then the flights on April 13th and April 14th represent your last opportunity to return home for an indefinite—that is, an unknown—period of time. If you are exempted from the current travel prohibitions and choose to travel to Hawaii or Guam on these dates, their Governments have advised the FSM that you will be taken to a designated quarantine facility and held for no less than fourteen (14) days at your own expense.
The FSM National Government respects the wishes of all four FSM States to prohibit the disembarkation of passengers from international commercial carriers, including travelers intending to leave one FSM State to visit or reside in another; the National Government maintains its mandate of a 14-day quarantine for any arriving passengers in the event an FSM State chooses to relinquish its travel ban.