COMMUNITY members may want to reconsider their holiday plans this week, local health officials said.
Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation Chief Executive Officer Esther L. Muna, Community Guidance Center Acting Director and Treatment & Recovery Clinical Supervisor Joe Kevin Villagomez and clinical psychologist Dr. Glenda George, on Friday spoke about the risks of social gatherings, especially during the holidays amid the rising number of positive Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in the CNMI.
After Thanksgiving, Muna said that there was a notable uptick in hospitalizations due to Covid-19.
“The patterns that we’re seeing here with these cases are that they are happening in social gatherings [and] within the household…with loved ones. We want to urge you to make sure that if you’re going to hold a gathering this weekend, please do it safely,” Muna said.
She said it is risky to put your guard down and not practice the 3Ws, even among close family members and friends.
“We don’t want you to have your social gathering while undermining your safety and the safety of others. We want to try to reduce the hospitalizations,” she added.
“If you haven’t been vaccinated, please get vaccinated, get your booster if it’s due, continue to wear a mask, social distance, and please just recognize the risk and be safe for yourself and your family.”
She said community members should “act as if [they] already have [the virus].”
She added, “We know that it’s a time of celebration…. We can be creative and we can do it safely. You can do it by having it outdoors. If it has to be indoors, limit the amount of people that are indoors, open the windows to let the air out, wear your mask, social distance, have tables apart from each other, try not to have individuals, especially when you’re eating, take off [their] masks and speak very directly to someone. That’s just unsafe. Try to make it clear to your guests, whoever is coming to your event, that these are the rules, and let them choose whether they will attend.”
Muna said, “It’s really about protecting each other. We want to try to stop this spread. Looking at the pattern of social events, social gatherings, we are really, really worried because…we know people will celebrate. What’s going to happen is that individuals [who will contract the virus because of these gatherings will have to be isolated]. The holidays will not be an option for them. We don’t want to do that. That’s not the gift that we want to give to others. The gift we want to give to others is for us to continue to celebrate and be together, but again, doing it safely. So, be creative.”
She recommends using hand gloves and having food individually packaged or served on individual platters.
She also recommends having multiple hand-sanitizing or handwashing stations easily accessible at social gatherings.
“There are a lot of ways to be creative. Sharing is caring and sharing is loving, but at this time right now, during a Covid era, sharing is not good advice,” Muna said.
CGC Acting Director And Treatment & Recovery Clinical Supervisor Joe Kevin Villagomez, for his part, said, “The holiday season is usually always linked with exciting times, family gatherings, and celebration, but because of the current situation in our community, we are encouraging everybody to take a second look at those plans, limit the gathering to small groups, especially close family members that have been vaccinated, so as to limit and control the spread.”
Clinical psychologist Dr. Glenda George noted that “what it was a year ago is not what we’re looking at today, so…we have to do things differently. We’ll have to have a mask on all the time. For some people, they don’t want to wear the mask, but they do because they understand the importance of keeping people safe around them. Sometimes it’s a little sacrifice that we make so that we’re taking care of each other. This is, I think, more than ever, where we are really asked to step up to the plate and make the right decision. There are people who are still unvaccinated, and as a loved one, [you should] talk to them. I think sometimes there’s misinformation out there and for those of you who are vaccinated who know the research and the science behind it, share that, have a conversation and let them see the other side of why it’s important to vaccinate.”
