All travelers required to quarantine under updated entry rules

Out of an abundance of caution, effective today, Aug. 10, 2021, all inbound travelers are required to quarantine in the designated government facility, according to an Office of the Governor news statement yesterday.

Fully vaccinated travelers may apply to quarantine in the lodging of their choice after being verified for completing their COVID-19 vaccination (“vax verified”), passing a lodging or household assessment, receiving a negative COVID-19 test result on arrival, and attesting to strict Restriction of Movement until a negative test result is received from the required fifth-day COVID- 19 test.

Fully vaccinated travelers seeking critical or essential status to move between home and their workplace must fill out the critical essential status portion of the Health Declaration Form. Effective for Aug. 12 arrivals, those requesting critical essential status must upload a pre-arrival negative PCR test result into the Health Declaration Form.

“Vax verified” travelers’ critical essential status will be evaluated by the Communicable Disease Investigation/Inspection team based on the ability to maintain social distancing inside the workplace, on the exposure risk to an identified positive case, or as deemed necessary. Travelers will be monitored randomly by the task force throughout the required five-day quarantine.

All travelers are encouraged to fill out their health declaration form at least 72 hours prior to arrival at https://governor.gov.mp/covid-19/travel.

The statement emphasized that the safety of the residents of the CNMI is the top priority of the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force and the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. Therefore all travelers are required to show up to their scheduled fifth-day test. Should any individual test positive during any test or fail to follow quarantine protocols, they may be isolated at the government quarantine facility.

If documents are submitted on arrival or less than 72 hours prior to arrival, travelers may need to quarantine in the designated government facility. Grantees are required to practice the 3 W’s—wear a mask, wash your hands, watch your distance—at all times and abide with other establishments’ COVID-19 precautionary requirements.

With a confirmed COVID-19 delta variant case in the CNMI, the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force and the CHCC are urging residents of the CNMI to continue practicing the 3 W’s, especially wearing masks indoors and around individuals whose vaccination status is unknown. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for the two-week period ending July 31, the delta variant made up more than 90% of cases that were sequenced. Wearing a mask and getting vaccinated against COVID-19 are the best steps to end this pandemic.

Getting vaccinated prevents severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Consider registering for COVID-19 vaccinations at www.vaccinatecnmi.com, call 682-SHOT, or walk in to any vaccination outreach site.

The CNMI is reminded to watch out for misinformation and to follow updates directly from the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force and the CHCC. The spread of misinformation is just as dangerous as the virus itself.

If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, please contact the CHCC Tele-Triage hotline at (670) 233-2067. The hotline runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

For comments, concerns, and inquiries, call the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force hotline at (670) 287-0046/0489/1089, or email travel@vaccinatecnmi.com. The hotline runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Updates from the COVID-19 Task Force and the CHCC can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts @governorcnmi and @cnmichcc, as well as through CNMI media partners. (PR)