Many businesses in the CNMI, big and small, have temporarily closed their doors, changed operating hours or have migrated their operations online\u2014all due to COVID-19 concerns. <\/p>\n
Fiesta Resort and Spa Saipan suspended operations effective Saturday. In its announcement last Friday, it stated that the temporary closure is due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Kensington Hotel in San Roque is closing all business operations-accommodations and restaurants starting this week, while Hyatt Regency Saipan has suspended accepting accommodations but Kili Caf\u00e9 & Terrace is open for take-out.<\/p>\n
The famous fried rice of Shirley\u2019s Coffee Shop will be missed for a while as they closed temporarily effective last week. <\/p>\n
Other businesses that also announced their temporary closure in Facebook posts yesterday were ice2CU and 360 Revolving Restaurant.<\/p>\n
Bed-and-breakfast owner Shey Fernandez-Owens said she and her husband had to pull the plug on their business because their rental unit is next to their house. \u201cWe have three little children and their health and safety are very important to us. So even though we won\u2019t be making money, it is the only choice we had,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The Owens have guests from the U.S. mainland and Guam, but their clientele are mostly from China and South Korea. Owen said she actually had to contact AirBnB to ask it to cancel bookings because AirBnB has penalties if hosts cancel bookings, \u201cso I had to explain why,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, it is very hard to stay positive as we have not even reached a year since we opened. However, the only way to survive this is to have hope that this crisis shall soon pass. \u2026We cannot be consumed by despair, sadness, or stress because that can be detrimental to our health. \u2026As parents and small business owners, we have to stay positive for our own state of mind and, most importantly, for our children,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Isla Montessori School, a non-profit school in Dandan, closed their campus last March 16. \u201cFollowing the announcement from the governor and the Public School System and to ensure the health of our children and their families\u2026we used the first week of closure as our spring break and, during that time, teachers worked to create their distance learning opportunities for the students. \u2026We began official school days on March 23 and have just completed our first week online,\u201d said school co-founder Susan Book.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe health of our island is at the forefront of most people\u2019s minds. I\u2019m sure there will be some more closures in order to keep our community safe. My hope is that we can still support our small businesses, nonprofits, schools, etc. during this time so that they will still be there when we come out on the other side,\u201d Book added.<\/p>\n
Green Flash Dive in Chinatown, a dive services company that provides air fills, equipment, instruction, and dive guiding to all dive companies on Saipan, began to limit hours coinciding with the governor\u2019s first directive, where business are supposed to operate from 6am to 1pm every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe stopped all face-to-face interaction at that time and, beginning yesterday, we only allow air fill service with customer pickup,\u201d said owner Rhea McDoulett.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe stay positive because we are confident in Saipan\u2019s resilience. We also know we live in one of the most beautiful places on earth and people will always be drawn to the beauty of our islands,\u201d McDoulette added.<\/p>\n
The increase in the number of business closures is not farfetched, especially in the wake of two confirmed COVID-19 cases in the CNMI, as announced last Saturday. <\/p>\n
\u201cMore businesses are recognizing the need to protect their staff, families, and themselves by slowing the spread as much as possible. In addition, the likelihood of an extended economic closure makes many in business confront the possibility of real closure,\u201d McDoulette said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognize that we are not alone in this difficulty. It is when we focus on the individual effect that it begins to cause anxiety and stress. We also don\u2019t dwell on finding fault in this catastrophe. Instead, we look forward to that time we will all look back at this period and remember all of the good people did to overcome a worldwide problem,\u201d McDoulette added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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