103: NMI’s first 3-digit spike

One hundred three new cases of COVID-19.

The CNMI breached the three-digit barrier yesterday with 103 individuals identified and confirmed positive for COVID-19—all from surveillance testing, according to the latest news release of the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.

The latest tally brings the CNMI’s total count to 958.

All 103 new cases were found through surveillance testing covering four days—from Nov. 27 to 30—and have since been isolated and are being monitored.

Despite the increases in community transmissions in the last few days, the CNMI remains at Level Green in the Community Vulnerability Scale. This is the safest level in the five-color scale, with Red as the least safe.

CHCC also reported that there are 493 active cases of COVID-19 right now and seven active hospitalizations. Of the seven, six are unvaccinated, one is vaccinated, and no one is on a ventilator.

Of the 103 new cases, 50 were found through community-based testing and 53 through contact tracing. As of yesterday morning, CHCC said the vaccination statuses of the cases were still pending verification.

Since Oct. 28, there have been 667 new cases identified in the CNMI. Of the 667, 319 were found through contact tracing, 336 through community-based testing, and 12 through travel testing.

As for its vaccination updates, CHCC reported that 401 COVID-19 shots were administered on Nov. 30, bringing the CNMI’s vaccination rate to 86.9%. Getting vaccinated, and the CNMI’s high vaccination rate “affords the community more protection against severe illness, hospitalization, and death,” said CHCC.

In related news, during a virtual news briefing on Wednesday CHCC chief executive officer Esther L. Muña reported four COVID-19 cases on Tinian. She said three are asymptomatic and one is experiencing mild symptoms. She said one index case—the original case—was identified and a second case was linked to the same household as the index case. The third and fourth cases were from two different households and were identified through contact tracing. The cases have since been isolated, said Muña.

Muña also said that discussions with Tinian leadership have been ongoing to discuss the next steps in the event of more cases and to discuss the possibility of having a quarantine site on the island. Muña added that similar discussions and considerations are ongoing for Rota as well.