HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The emergency session concerning the Guam Memorial Hospital has been postponed, along with all other legislative events, as the island has been placed under Condition of Readiness 2 due to the approaching tropical storm.
Speaker Therese Terlaje announced Sunday night that the Guam Legislature will be closed for public services upon the declaration of COR 2, and will remain closed, except for essential services, until COR 4 is declared.
“(The) legislative emergency session, hearings and all other legislative events scheduled for Monday, Oct. 9, 2023, and all dates thereafter until the island is returned to COR 4, are postponed until further notice,” the speaker stated.
The emergency session was scheduled to take place at 1 p.m. Monday, but that was before Tropical Storm Bolaven began to intensify as it approached the Marianas through the weekend. Guam was placed under COR 3 Sunday morning and was at COR 2 by 8 p.m. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the storm.
Bolaven is anticipated to intensify into a typhoon by Monday night and is holding steady to pass through the Marianas by Tuesday evening, according to Landon Aydlett, chief meteorologist at National Weather Service Guam.
Residents need to prepare for a Category 1 typhoon, Aydlett had said.
On the agenda for the now-postponed emergency session were Resolution 215-37 and Bill 164-37. Both were introduced by the Republican caucus at the Guam Legislature. Resolution 215 urges the governor to declare a state of emergency for the island’s only public hospital and to direct assistance toward it. Bill 164-37 would appropriate all fiscal year 2022 and 2023 audited excess funds to GMH for payments, repairs and cleaning needs.
Sen. William Parkinson had also requested an emergency session to go over typhoon preparedness with government agencies. However, that was hours before the speaker ultimately postponed legislative events due to COR 2 being declared.
In addition to the Legislature, the District Court of Guam and the Judiciary of Guam are both closed, and will remain closed until the governor declares COR 4.
There are no classes for public school students Monday, as Guam Department of Education schools and the GDOE central office in Tiyan will be closed. However, GDOE employees have been told to report to work sites to prepare for Bolaven’s arrival.
Catholic schools are also closed Monday, but not just because of Bolaven, as some of the schools were already scheduled to observe Columbus Day as a holiday, the Archdiocese of Agaña stated in a release. With the island now under COR 2, any Catholic schools that were planning to hold classes Monday will have them cancelled due to the coming storm, the Archdiocese release added.
The Guam Community College and the University of Guam will also be closed to the public. Classes, boot camps, tests, programs and other activities have been canceled and will resume after the island is back under COR 4, according to releases from both colleges.
The Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center pharmacy will be open Monday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to a flyer from the agency. GBHWC also stresses that residents experiencing anxiety or difficulty can call or text the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline number to speak with lifeline staff. Residents can also reach staff online at 988lifeline.org.
This file photos shows the Guam Memorial Hospital as seen Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Tamuning.
