TWO individuals have been confirmed positive for Covid-19, the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. reported on Friday. This brings the CNMI’s total to 164 cases since March 28, 2020.
CHCC said the two new cases were identified by travel screening and confirmed diagnosis through fifth day testing. The individuals have been safely in quarantine and were moved to the designated isolation area for close monitoring.
CHCC said it has already initiated contact tracing for the most immediate contacts of the new confirmed case, including passengers on the same flight.
The CNMI Covid-19 dashboard indicated that of the 164 cases, three were undergoing a 14-day incubation period.
The dashboard also shows that 128 of the CNMI’s total cases were tested through travel screening at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport; 11 through community testing; and 25 through contact tracing.
The chairman of the governor’s Covid-19 Task Force, Warren Villagomez, said the arrival screening continues to be conducted in partnership with other government and enforcement agencies.
During a media briefing on KKMP, Villagomez said a team from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will arrive on Saipan. Ahead of the team’s arrival, he said, CHCC and the task force are opening a second vaccination site at the multi-purpose center, and will conduct a dry run on April 28. This will help ensure that people in the southern villages of the island can avail themselves of the vaccine, he added.
For her part, CHCC Chief Executive Officer Esther Muna reported that 17,373 individuals or over 40% of the CNMI’s eligible population have been fully vaccinated.
“That is really a good number, but of course we would like to see an increase on that to get to 85%, which will give us at least a minimum risk of Covid-19 from travelers,” she said.
She also said that CHCC and the task force are already considering and evaluating the possibility of easing some of the quarantine restrictions while still following the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CHCC, she said, may make an announcement this week.
On Guam, no new cases of Covid-19 were identified out of 332 tests performed on Saturday, April 24. To date on Guam, there are 7,915 officially reported cases of Covid-19 with 136 deaths, 67 cases in active isolation, and 7,712 not in active isolation.
