With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lowering the CNMI\u2019s risk of exposure to Level 2, which means travelers to the CNMI have a \u201cmoderate risk\u201d of being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, it is unlikely to get to Level 1, according to Esther Mu\u00f1a, the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.\u2019s chief executive officer.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a radio news briefing last Tuesday, Mu\u00f1a said, \u201cLevel 1 would have been obviously more difficult to achieve and in a pandemic\u2026so we are Level 2.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Level 1 designation means CDC considers an area\u2019s COVID-19 risk to be low.<\/p>\n
This comes soon after CDC issued a health advisory for travelers where they designated each country\u2019s risk for COVID-19. The CNMI was initially declared a high-risk zone, together with other Pacific nations, but has since lowered the CNMI\u2019s risk level after the CNMI protested the earlier designation.<\/p>\n
Based on its assessment, there are a handful of countries that are considered Level 1. According to CDC\u2019s official website, there are only seven countries\/islands where the risk of COVID-19 is low and these include: Fiji, New Zealand, Thailand, Sint Eustatius (Caribbean Netherlands), Bonaire (Caribbean Netherlands), Saint Barthelemy(Lesser Antilles in the Eastern Caribbean Sea), and Saba (Caribbean Netherlands).<\/p>\n
Separately, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres credits the CNMI\u2019s low infection numbers to the collaborative effort of everyone in the CNMI. \u201cI continue to say that our success is not just [because of] the [Governor\u2019s COVID-19] Task Force, not just [because of] our CEO, not just [because of] me or the lieutenant governor. It\u2019s a collaborative effort. \u2026We will not be where we are at if we don\u2019t have the community join this fight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Torres said that everyone is fighting for the same thing, which is to not have a community outbreak, and that restrictions that are being implemented can only be successful if everyone in the community abides by them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we impose curfew, you in the community have a choice. Do you want to follow the curfew and be safe, or you want to go against the curfew? So if we as a community take these restrictions seriously, especially seeing more cases now, then we are all fighting for the same cause,\u201d said Torres.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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