COMMONWEALTH Healthcare Corp. Chief Executive Officer Esther Muna on Monday clarified the agreement between Guam and CNMI health officials pertaining to Covid-19 vaccine records.
Muna made the clarifications in response to a traveler who wants to know why she “is still quarantining travelers from Guam…without scientific evidence to support her actions in complete violation of her signed agreement with the Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services.”
Muna said the agreement between Guam and CHCC is about accepting immunization records from each other, and it is not an agreement to not quarantine residents from each jurisdiction.
She also noted that Guam continues to report new Covid-19 cases, and that “a fully vaccinated individual can still transmit to others even though it is unlikely.”
She noted that the CNMI still has a significant rate of unvaccinated members of the community. Although the Commonwealth has not identified any community case for over 28 days now, “there is still an infection risk for unvaccinated individuals.”
Muna said while fully vaccinated individuals traveling from Guam may have their vaccination records accepted, according to the CNMI-Guam agreement, “we still require those who are fully vaccinated to be in a household setting/bubble of other fully vaccinated household members.”
She added, “With a responsibility to protect the people of the CNMI, travelers coming into the CNMI must meet the requirements of the CNMI and not of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And CDC says that on its website: Follow the requirements of the states and territories.”
Esther Muna
