HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Acting Gov. Joshua Tenorio on Thursday said Guam is sending medical supplies to Palau, which is currently going through its first Covid-19 surge.
Palau, an island nation of about 18,000 people, “is getting more than 100 cases now a day,” Tenorio told reporters at the groundbreaking of the Sinajana Senior Center expansion Thursday.
Earlier this month, Palau confirmed its first community case of Covid-19 since the virus started to spread globally.
Among the medications bound for Palau is Remdesivir, a Covid-19 antiviral drug used in hospitals, Tenorio said.
“And so, in consultation with (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and the federal government, we ‘re advancing a small portion of our stock to them, something manageable based on utilization rate and it’s the fastest,” Tenorio said.
Guam is also sending some filters or screens for another medication, along with some intravenous and oxygen equipment that Palau needs for its hospitalization, he said.
“It’s very unfortunate. It’s the first time that they are experiencing the surge and of course they have much less medical facilities but like I said, we’re all in this together. We’re hopeful that they will come out better,” Tenorio said.
Guam is also going through its fourth Covid-19 surge, which health officials said is driven by the highly contagious but less severe Omicron variant.
While Guam’s daily new cases reach up to 850 a day, Guam has not had the severe hospitalizations it had seen during prior surges including the Delta surge in 2021.
Tenorio said he designated Dr. Michael Cruz of the Guam National Guard to coordinate the medical supply response with Palau.
The medical supplies will be flown to Palau, the acting governor said.
Guam, however, is not sending health personnel to Palau at this point.
“Our hospital has been doing some tele-training with the doctors that are all out there. Dr. Joeen Aguon has bene providing (that). They are CDC officials in Palau including Dr. Hancock who is our regional administrator so currently our medical resources are needed for our response here in Guam but we’re all in this together and their success is something we’re hoping for,” Tenorio said.
Guam is sending a variety of medical equipment and supplies to Palau, which is experiencing its very first Covid-19 surge. Testing supplies are seen at a Public Health facility where drive-thru testing is performed on people who have been determined to have Covid-19 symptoms on May 26, 2020 in Barrigada.
