By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

TWENTY people reported having lung and other health problems which, according to the Department of Public Health, are due to the “poor air quality.”
Beginning on Sunday, wind from Anatahan has brought haze to Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez said the cases that clinics have been dealing with since Monday included bronchitis, coughing, shortness of breath, sore throat and eye irritations.
He said, 12 people with those problems came in on Monday, eight more walked in yesterday and seven others with similar health conditions were reported on Rota.
But Villagomez said these people have not been confined to the hospital, and most of them are adults.
“I can assure you that there are also no admissions to pediatrics because of this (haze),” he said.
Public Health medical director Richard Brostrom said the number of patients visiting the hospital for lung problems has increased since the appearance of haze.
He said they have been seeing people with lung problems “but not as many as these days.”
“So we attribute most of these patient problems to the decrease in air quality,” he added.
But he said that they still have to confirm if these lung problems were caused by the haze.
“We are looking at (the patients’) conditions and looking at how they are presented to the hospital, and it’s our best estimate that these cases are related to poor air quality based on the conditions outside.”
Brostrom said that they want to assure people that “in places that have a lot of volcanic exposure…this temporary decrease in the air quality should not cause any permanent problems.”
He said, it is still safe for the majority of people – “those who feel okay” — to be outside and doing their regular activities, including taking a walk on the pathway along Beach Road.
But Villagomez said people who have lung diseases or respiratory ailments should not go out. He said they have to take precautions because the haze is an irritant.
Villagomez said he himself is experiencing eye irritation which he believes is caused by the haze.
He said he was outdoors with the children, swimming and playing soccer.
“(The haze) got into my eyes and when I woke up I had a lot of discharge,” he said.