HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — New Covid-19 cases have again hit three digits at 189 positives out of 1,351 tests, according to the Joint Information Center. On Tuesday, the JIC reported 210 new cases.
The high numbers, which include 13 hospitalizations and a Covid-19 Area Risk Score of 37.9, has prompted health officials to urge residents to get vaccinated and education officials to make contingency plans in case schools are shut down again.
Health officials are certain the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is in our community and contributing to a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases.
Dr. Nathaniel Berg, chairman of the governor’s Physicians Advisory Group, said there’s nothing that could have been done to avoid Omicron and the recent increase in Covid-19 cases was anticipated.
“The holidays brought increased travel and gatherings. Our Physicians Advisory Group and Public Health officials forecasted that this would lead to a rapid rise in cases and it has,” Berg stated.
“And just like the Delta variant, there was nothing additional that we could’ve done to avoid Omicron infecting our community.
“We are certain that the Omicron variant is present on our island,” Berg stated.
However, recent genome sequencing test results — from samples collected between Dec. 6 and 16 — only showed the Delta variant of the virus that causes Covid-19.
In a video released Wednesday morning, Berg urged residents to get tested, get vaccinated or get the booster shot, wear face masks and take other preventative measures.
“If we each take the recommendations that we’re given with urgency and sincerity, we will recover as a community,” he stated.
Berg also urged residents to seek medical help if flu-like symptoms are progressing rapidly.
“I do not want to see any more dead-on-arrival cases. No one does. Go to the emergency room if you have symptoms that are progressively getting worse,” he said.
“If you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or other significant medical conditions, this becomes particularly important. I say that because around the world, most of the people who have died from Omicron have had other medical conditions.”
He said current vaccines are “expected to protect against severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths due to infection with the Omicron variant.”
And while there will be some breakthrough infections among fully-vaccinated residents, they “are much less likely to get very sick.”
2 students, 1 staff test positive
DPHSS and GDOE are working together to offer after-school vaccinations. The first was held yesterday at Machananao Elementary School and the second will be held today at Astumbo Elementary School.
GDOE on Wednesday confirmed there were two positive Covid-19 cases involving students. One student is from Southern High School and the second is from Tiyan High School. One employee at J.Q. San Miguel Elementary School also tested positive for Covid-19.
GDOE Superintendent Jon Fernandez, on Wednesday, said they’re working with DPHSS and watching the increasing number of cases closely and making preparations in case schools are shut down again.
According to the JIC, Guam has 129,906 fully vaccinated residents, more than 15,700 of whom are students ages 5-17.
Associate Superintendent Joseph Sanchez said schools are already working on plans to distribute laptops to students who returned them. They’re also working with a local telecom company to get more portable WiFi devices for students who need them.
Sanchez said, however, that with students back in classrooms five days a week, teachers are reporting that students are quickly catching up on lessons.
While this doesn’t make up for what is now three school years of interrupted education, it’s progress that Fernandez said they’re loathed to give up.
“The core strategy is to continue to prioritize in-person instruction at the school sites,” he told local media on Wednesday. “That’s why it’s very important we work with DPHSS to work with any scenario.”
Ten-year-old BraydenJames Flores who is a fourth-grade student, displays the shaka sign as he completes is first jab of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine during an outreach clinic at Guam’s Machananao Elementary School on Wednesday.
