Public Health Medical Director Richard Brostrom said this represents 71 percent of the 91 returned results from the laboratory.
He said the results came in early this week and they are still waiting for the rest of the results to arrive.
The Department of Public Health sent over a hundred samples for testing.
To date, CNMI has a total of 71 confirmed cases of H1N1.
“There could be more confirmed cases when the rest of the samples will arrive,” Brostrom said.
But, he added, there is no need to panic because the results came in late and all the confirmed cases were already out of the hospital months ago.
“These patients who proved positive were already well and discharged from the hospital in May or June,” he said.
He added that there are no patients at the Commonwealth Health Center confined for suspected cases of H1N1. There are also no reported deaths from H1N1 in the CNMI.
Brostrom said more individuals could have been positive for H1N1 virus during the peak season of May to July.
“Majority of the people who experienced flu-like symptoms could have been confirmed cases for H1N1 virus but they did not consult the doctor,” he added.
Preventive measures
Brostrom said although the numbers of patients checking in for suspected H1N1 cases and seasonal flu has been going down in the past month, the numbers could increase toward the end of the year.
“We are expecting the numbers to rise from November to January because that’s usually when the seasonal flu comes in,” Brostrom said.
But he hopes that by then, the H1N1 vaccination shots have already been released.
Public Health is urging the community to remain on guard and observe precautionary measures like keeping sick children at home.
