GOVERNOR Ralph DLG Torres on Friday said the CNMI may reopen its borders to tourists in mid-June.
But he also said that he is awaiting recommendations from the Covid-19 Task Force before setting a date for reopening, which, he added, will remain a “moving target” until at least 80% of the community has been vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus.
The governor said that the CNMI does have an airline that is anxious for the CNMI to reopen immediately, noting that the herd immunity percentage will be closely monitored.
According to the World Health Organization, herd immunity, also known as population immunity, is the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection.
WHO supports achieving herd immunity through vaccination.
The CNMI, for its part, is working with potential tourism markets to determine the number of vaccinations that would assure herd immunity in the Commonwealth.
A task force under the governor’s economic council of advisors is looking into air transportation and has already received interest from South Korea, he added.
Other airlines have also expressed a strong interest in the CNMI’s reopening despite the mandatory 14-day quarantine, the governor said.
He reiterated that before reopening its tourism industry, the CNMI not only must have 80% of its population vaccinated, it must also implement quarantine measures for tourists.
“At the end of the day, we want to make sure that when we give a date, an exact date, that things are in place already,” he said.
The governor said additional protocols are being discussed among his office, the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., the Covid-19 Task Force, the Marianas Visitors Authority, as well as all other agencies that are working on the reopening of CNMI borders to tourism.
Ralph DLG Torres
