THE CNMI, which reported three new Covid-19 cases over the weekend, was commended in an article posted Saturday on RealClearHealth.com as a “case study in how to respond effectively to a crisis.”
Written by Bob Haueter, a former deputy chief of staff to former Congressman Howard McKeon, R-Calif., the online article stated that while many states and some federal officials “failed miserably” in responding appropriately to the pandemic, “we can learn much from a small commonwealth consisting of 14 islands in the northwest Pacific Ocean, the Northern Marianas Islands, that has handled the crisis well from the start.”
Haueter added, “This example is in stark comparison to the lack of confidence exhibited in a number of federal and state politicians who have not responded as well to the crisis.”
He stated that Gov. Ralph DLG Torres showed “the appropriate balance between action and restraint that has left his island economically viable and with minimal infections over the course of the past year.”
“While many politicians got it wrong — the CNMI is a case study in how to respond effectively to a crisis,” Haueter said.
“This territory of the United States handled the crisis far better than the majority of the 50 states and the results have been excellent.”
3 new cases
In his latest update weekend, Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. spokesman Lee Tenorio said the three additional individuals confirmed positive for Covid-19 were identified by travel screening and confirmed diagnosis through testing upon arrival.
These additional cases bring the CNMI’s total to 132 since March 28, 2020.
Tenorio said the individuals have been safely in quarantine and were moved to the designated isolation area for close monitoring.
In addition, CHCC has already initiated contact tracing for the most immediate contacts of the new confirmed cases, including passengers on the same flight, Tenorio added.
Of the 132 cases, five persons were in isolation as of Sunday and 129 had been released.
Of the CNMI’s total cases, 106 were diagnosed through travel screening at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport, 11 through community-based testing, and 16 through contact tracing.
Real credit
Regarding the RealClearHealth.com article, the governor said, “The real credit goes out to CHCC, our task force, our doctors and nurses, other first responders, and all of you in our community working together to keep our islands the safest place in the U.S.”
For his part, Press Secretary Kevin Bautista said despite this global pandemic, “we can still celebrate Sundays in the Marianas in true fashion as islanders because of proactive planning and leadership by Governor Torres, CHCC CEO Esther Muna, Task Force Chairman Villagomez, and our [frontline workers].”
Bautista added, “We’re blessed to be living in the safest place in the United States from Covid-19. Let’s not take good leadership and community success for granted.”
