ANOTHER newly arrived passenger tested positive for Covid-19, raising the CNMI’s total number of confirmed cases to 135 since March 28, 2020.
Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. spokesman Lee Tenorio said the individual was identified by travel screening upon arrival at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport and diagnosis through fifth day testing.
The individual is safely in quarantine and has been moved to the designated isolation area for close monitoring, CHCC said.
CHCC added that 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 indicates that two persons are currently in isolation while 135 have been released based on CHCC and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
Of the 135 cases, 109 were diagnosed through travel testing, 10 through community testing and 15 through contact tracing. There had been two deaths in March and April 2020.
On Guam, the Joint Information Center reported Tuesday that two new cases of Covid-19 were identified out of 591 tests performed on Monday, Feb. 15. One case was identified through contact tracing.
To date, on Guam, JIC said there have been a total of 7,701 officially reported cases of Covid-19 with 130 deaths, 71 cases in active isolation, and 7,500 not in active isolation.
Vaccination campaign
Meanwhile, the CNMI is approaching Phase 1B of its Covid-19 vaccination campaign.
CHCC announced on Monday that the online registration for Phase 1B, which starts on Feb. 20, is now open.
Phase 1B will accommodate people working for the government, including federal and autonomous agencies, schools, banks, airlines, seaports and business establishments.
Last week on Tinian, 126 healthcare workers, high-risk first responders and persons 65 years and older completed their Covid-19 vaccine series.
On Rota, the Mayor’s Office, the Rota Health Center, the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services coordinated a homebound vaccination campaign Monday in an effort to reach out to residents who could not make it to the health clinic.
