HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Guam could see another spike in the number of Covid-19 cases right after the three-day New Year’s weekend, the same way it did after Christmas. This is not necessarily because of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which has not been confirmed on the island to date.
Department of Public Health and Social Services Surveillance Team director Vince Campo shared certain information on Thursday.
About 22 people who experienced Covid-19 symptoms starting Dec. 24, 25 and 26, along with their close contacts, couldn’t or didn’t get tested until Dec. 27 and 28, Campo said.
That resulted in an unusually high number of tests and a high positivity rate after the three-day Christmas break, Campo said.
From less than five new Covid-19 cases daily, the numbers increased to 43 positive results out of 966 people tested Monday, 30 out of 804 tests Tuesday, and 35 out of 660 Wednesday.
As a result, Guam’s Covid-19 Area Risk, or CAR, Score jumped from less than 1 before Christmas to 2.3 on Tuesday and to 3.1 on Wednesday.
Besides the limited testing, the two other factors contributing to the jump in number of cases were traditional holiday gatherings and holiday travel, said Campo, a data analyst.
Because the New Year’s weekend mirrors the Christmas weekend, from Friday to Sunday there will be no testing at Tiyan, for example, and more gatherings will take place, an increase in cases is likely to happen again, he said.
While an increase in cases is something to be wary about, Campo warned against jumping to conclusions because the CAR Score is a tricky meter, he said. A better picture should be available by next week, he said.
Over the last 14 days, DPHSS recorded that 65.5% of cases were in households, which was expected because of Christmas gatherings, while 22.4% were at community gatherings and 12.2% were in the workplace.
“We have identified clusters within the holiday season,” Campo said.
One was traced to a Dec. 19 sports team gathering, and two separate workplace-related exposures on Dec. 22.
Campo said, with Guam as a culture-based community, there would always be traditional Christmas and New Year’s gatherings, which are high-risk events for Covid-19.
DPHSS spokesperson Janela Carrera and Campo reminded members of the public that, should they gather for the holidays, they should continue to practice the “3 W’s” — wearing masks, watching distance and washing hands — and be fully vaccinated and boosted.
The government isolation facility’s occupancy also jumped to 12, from the normal three to four, Campo said. There’s currently no one at the government quarantine facility, he said.
Of travel-related Covid-19 cases, 74% were from the U.S. mainland, 11% from Hawaii, 5% from Japan and 11% from all other locations, DPHSS data shows.
As of Thursday, DPHSS had yet to receive laboratory confirmation of the presence of the Omicron variant on Guam.
DPHSS continues to wait for the results of genome sequencing of 10 samples the department sent to the Hawaii State Laboratory on Dec. 20. Campo said Hawaii has a faster turnaround time, and the results could be received the first week of January.
Another set of samples will be sent to Hawaii next week, Campo said.
DPHSS has been sending samples to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and it has taken several weeks for the genome sequencing results to be sent back. The highly virulent delta variant, which caused surges in numbers of deaths, hospitalizations and cases, was spreading into the community for more than a month before it was confirmed.
FEMA emergency medical technician Shane Alexander, left, prepares to administer the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine to 6-year-old Elaina Guzman, as she looks on during a vaccination clinic held Thursday at the University of Guam Calvo Field House.
