HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Guam marks another step toward a post-pandemic life, dropping its Covid-19 vaccine mandate for government employees and student-athletes, while also removing the crowd limit on outdoor social gatherings.
This means unvaccinated GovGuam employees in the executive branch no longer have to get weekly Covid-19 testing in order to keep their jobs, among other things.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero on Friday signed an executive order lifting the outdoor social gathering limits and rescinding the vaccine requirements for GovGuam employees in the executive branch and student-athletes in interscholastic athletics.
“Effective immediately, there no longer will be a limit on outdoor social gathering numbers and, other than health care workers, our government will no longer mandate proof of employee vaccination and weekly testing requirements,” the governor said Friday afternoon in a video message.
Prior to this latest executive order, outdoor social gatherings were limited to 100 people.
Indoor social gatherings continue to be limited to 100 people.
In her executive order, the governor said rescinding the vaccine mandate brings GovGuam employees in line with their private sector counterparts.
Sen. Frank Blas Jr. on Friday said it shouldn’t have taken seven long months for the vaccine mandate to be lifted.
The senator said he supports Covid-19 vaccination, but it should have remained optional rather than mandatory. Groups of individuals held peaceful rallies protesting the vaccine mandate.
The governor cited manageable numbers of Covid-19 hospital admissions and the availability of vaccines, boosters and treatments for lifting additional restrictions Friday.
“We are starting to turn the Covid corner. Thank you for staying the course,” the governor said, after urging everyone to continue to wear their masks, wash their hands, watch their distance and to get vaccinated and boosted.
Nearly 96% of Guam’s vaccine-eligible residents, or those at least 5 years old, have been fully vaccinated as of Friday. Among the entire population, the full vaccination rate is 88%.
The governor said about 95% of executive branch employees have been vaccinated against Covid-19.
‘Focus on teaching’
Education Superintendent Jon Fernandez on Friday said more than 95% of Guam Department of Education employees are fully vaccinated.
“With regard to testing, rescinding the testing requirement would provide some relief from employees who have had to conduct weekly testing clinics as part of their additional duties. We can now continue to focus on teaching and learning,” he said.
The governor said full vaccination and booster shots continue to be necessary.
“Individuals who are not vaccinated or boosted are at an increased risk of infection, hospitalization and death as a result of Covid-19,” she said in her order.
Still ‘high risk’
Despite decreasing numbers of cases and hospitalizations, Guam continues to be in the “high risk” category based on new federal metrics on Covid-19 transmissibility, among other things.
Covid-19-related deaths continue at an average of about one per day since the start of 2022, and Guam still is considered in an Omicron-driven surge.
Guam’s Covid-19 transmissibility and positivity rates are about 10 times higher than those of Hawaii, which will lift its mask mandate and domestic travel restrictions by March 26, health officials said Thursday.
This is why the mask mandate and other restrictions need to remain in place, officials said.
The governor said, like the virus, Guam’s safety measures can’t go away overnight.
“We are confident in lifting certain restrictions to balance our approach back to a safe sense of normalcy. However, we must consider the vulnerability of our hospital, the high-risk designation determined by science, and local data that drives our policies,” the governor said in her less-than-3-minute video message.
Leon Guerrero said Guam is taking the “safest, most strategic road to recovery,” citing considerations and inputs from health care experts and the Physicians Advisory Group.
“As your governor, I encourage you to take comfort in knowing we are at the end stage of the pandemic. Now, we take another step forward,” she said, before announcing the additional lifting of restrictions.
One by one
Starting Feb. 26, people were no longer required to show Covid-19 vaccine cards to go into restaurants, bars, gyms, theaters and other covered establishments.
About a week later, the indoor social gathering limit went up from 25 people to 100.
“If we sustain our vigilance, there will come an appropriate time when there are no limits on indoor social gatherings, and face masks and other measures are no longer mandatory,” the governor said in her statement.
The governor, a registered nurse, said exiting the pandemic will be a lot like trying to exit a family party. That means making the rounds and making sure everyone is OK before leaving, she said.
This might take some time, she said, but it also means Guam exiting an unprecedented event knowing it kept families top of mind, especially the manamko’ and loved ones with chronic illnesses.
This Monday, March 14, will mark the second anniversary of the governor’s first declaration of a public health emergency because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Guam reported 337 Covid-19-related deaths since March 2020, and 46,243 officially reported cases.
On Friday, the Joint Information Center report showed 120 new cases out of 614 tests. Of that number, 24 cases were through the Department of Defense, JIC said.
As of Friday, there were 29 Covid-19 hospitalizations in the three hospitals, including three needing intensive care and one needing a ventilator to help with breathing.
David Dinsman is among approximately two dozen protesters who carried signs that called for freedom from Covid-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates at the Micronesia Mall intersection of Marine Corps Drive and Route 16, in October 2021.
