Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. chief executive officer Esther L. Mu\u00f1a assured that the CNMI\u2019s COVID-19 protocols are working and the CNMI\u2019s health leaders acknowledge that a risk of spread will always exist as the CHCC and the COVID-19 Task Force continue to work to protect the community from COVID-19. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew that there was that possibility of getting a case [of community spread] here in the CNMI, so this is not a big surprise. It is a surprise, but it is not a surprise that will require everything to stop,\u201d said Mu\u00f1a during Gov. Ralph DLG Torres\u2019 regular radio news briefing last Saturday.<\/p>\n
In the same news briefing, COVID-19 Task Force chair Warren Villagomez said the CNMI\u2019s COVID-19 situation is always evolving, and he assured that the existing accommodations at the quarantine site at Kanoa Resort Saipan are adequate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings are evolving, investigations are ongoing, as well as efforts to make sure that we have ample accommodations at Kanoa. …Nevertheless, we as people here in the CNMI [are] asking everyone to continue to adhere and follow the three W’s: wear your mask, wash your hands keep the distance,\u201d said Villagomez. <\/p>\n
Ahead of Halloween and All Soul\u2019s Day last weekend, Villagomez said that he and the task force have not planned to take any swift action on community events. \u201cWe are not planning to do any swift community action at this time. All Soul\u2019s Day is still as planned [and] Halloween trick-or-treating is still ongoing. We are adding more enforcements out there to make sure that we don’t take away these events from our community,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Mu\u00f1a said the individual who was identified as positive for COVID-19 from school-based testing was ineligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and said that six members of this individual\u2019s household tested positive as well, with one of the six being unvaccinated and experiencing symptoms.<\/p>\n
She also said that CHCC\u2019s contact tracing team has been working tirelessly to find the index case, or the origin of the community spread of COVID. As she had stated during previous radio briefings, Mu\u00f1a said those eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine to get vaccinated.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething we’re seeing again [is that] there’s individuals that are ineligible to be vaccinated that are still at risk. We’ve mentioned in previous briefings that we’re urging everybody to please get vaccinated, [and] if you’re eligible, get it. We have a lot more people\u2026 [getting] their third shot which is encouraging, but we still have a large number of individuals that have not gotten their first shot, and that’s the biggest concern that we’ve had,\u201d said Mu\u00f1a.<\/p>\n
Torres said that, along with the efforts of the task force and CHCC, preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the CNMI requires a collective effort from the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a partnership with the community. We can only put so [many] barriers, so [many] restrictions, so [many] protocols, but at the end of the day we need everyone. \u2026The community has done very well in listening to and following all the protocols\u2026 [but] we’re not done yet,\u201d said Torres.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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