THE contact tracing that the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. immediately conducted after a U.S. solider tested positive for Covid-19 yielded negative results, CHCC Chief Executive Officer Esther Muna said.
On Monday, the U.S. military’s Joint Region Marianas issued informed the public that a U.S. Army medical professional tested positive for Covid-19 following fifth-day testing by CHCC staff on April 6.
The soldier was placed into the isolation facility in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.
In an email interview, Muna said that as with any detected case, “contact tracing starts immediately and the individual and contacts were immediately moved to the designated isolation area for close monitoring.”
Muna said the soldier was an approved critical essential traveler.
All the soldier’s contacts, she added, were found to be negative and had been released.
According to the Joint Region Marianas Public Affairs Office the soldier, who had not experienced any symptoms, arrived here on April 1 as part of a mission to augment CHCC medical providers in their campaign to vaccinate CNMI community members.
The soldier was fully vaccinated and received a negative Covid-19 test result before departing Hawaii.
“No additional positive cases have been identified among the 12-member U.S. Army medical team in Saipan,” Joint Region Marianas stated.
“However, out of an abundance of caution, the team is scheduled to depart CNMI and is in the process of being re-assigned for potential mission support to Guam.
“The soldier who tested positive for Covid-19 will depart CNMI upon completion of the required isolation period and release by CHCC staff.”
Vaccine dashboard
Also on Monday, CHCC and the Governor’s Covid-19 Task Force announced the official launching of the CNMI Covid-19 vaccination dashboard, which shows the number of vaccine shots by brand administered in the Commonwealth.
The dashboard showed that a total of 33,686 individuals have received the Covid-19 vaccine in the CNMI. Of this number, 14,363 have received two doses and are now fully vaccinated.
According to the dashboard 16,844 received the Pfizer vaccine, and 12,379 of them are fully vaccinated; 2,479 received Moderna, and 1,935 of them are fully vaccinated; and 49 people were fully vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine.
