THE number of Covid-19 cases in the CNMI is now 175 after another traveler tested positive for the highly contagious virus.
Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. spokesman Guillermo Lifoifoi said the latest case was identified through travel screening and confirmed diagnosis through fifth-day testing on May 18, 2021. This case did not report any Covid-19 vaccination, Lifoifoi said, adding that the individual has been moved to the designated isolation area for close monitoring.
Lifoifoi said CHCC’s Communicable Disease Investigation/Inspection team has already initiated contact tracing for the most immediate contacts of the new confirmed case, including passengers on the same flight.
Of the 175 cases in the CNMI, 139 were diagnosed through travel testing: 84 from the U.S., 36 from a U.S. territory and 19 from a foreign country.
Eleven of the cases were detected through community testing and 25 through contact tracing.
On neighboring Guam, the Joint Information Center said nine new cases of Covid-19 were identified out of 480 tests performed on Tuesday, May 18. Four cases were identified through contact tracing.
To date on Guam, the JIC said there have been a total of 8,118 officially reported cases of Covid-19 with 139 deaths, 88 cases in active isolation, and 7,891 not in active isolation.
