HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Office of the Governor will step in and help relocate some residents who are now facing an outbreak of influenza at the long-term, post-typhoon shelters operated by the American Red Cross.
It’s been a tough road for residents who lost everything in Typhoon Mawar, who faced poor sanitation conditions at temporarily waterless government-run shelters just after the typhoon, and who are now subject to an outbreak of illness at what have been called poorly ventilated Red Cross shelters.
A child was hospitalized Tuesday following an influenza B outbreak at the Red Cross shelter at the Guam Pak Warehouse in Tamuning, The Guam Daily Post has reported. Dr. Hoa Nguyen on Thursday confirmed infections at the Red Cross Shelter at the Astumbo Gym during a subsequent visit.
“Our administration has expressed concerns and requested for the immediate relocation of the American Red Cross Tier III Shelter at the Guam Pak Warehouse in Tamuning,” Adelup said in a statement issued Thursday. “Upon notification of current shelter conditions, we began the process of securing a new location with remaining inventory.”
Options are limited, the statement said, as “sites previously identified as shelters, including village gymnasiums, are either under construction or left severely damaged by Typhoon Mawar. These challenges are compounded by limited commercial real estate available for such support.”
The Department of Public Health and Social Services is now stepping in to help the Red Cross isolate affected families and minimize further exposure, the statement said.
“Our ultimate goal is to support long-term solutions for our vulnerable populations through stable housing.”
Finding solutions
The Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority, the Office of Homelessness Assistance and Poverty Prevention and the Guam Department of Labor also are being engaged to find solutions.
Sen. Jesse Lujan on Thursday wrote the governor asking for either local schools or any available hotels to be designated as shelters for displaced residents, who faced “poor ventilation and overcrowding” at both Red Cross shelters.
Lujan said, when he and his staff visited shelters, “the garbage and waste were not removed and disposed of from the shelter facilities in a timely manner, further worsening the circumstances.”
Conditions were “unacceptable,” Lujan said.
Using campuses including Tamuning, Lyndon B. Johnson, or Chief Brodie Elementary Schools, and having nongovernmental organizations manage them could alleviate the situation, Lujan wrote.
The Guam Daily Post asked Adelup spokesperson Krystal Paco-San Agustin whether a new location had been identified as of noon Thursday, and whether improvements were made to either the Astumbo or Red Cross shelters to handle the situation.
The Red Cross, which manages the shelters, would be issuing a statement, Paco-San Agustin told the Post.
Samantha Taylor, Red Cross spokesperson on Guam, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Conditions were “unacceptable,” Lujan said.
A shelter for residents displaced by Typhoon Mawar is shown Saturday, June 10, 2023, along Ypao Road in Tamuning.
