{"id":361956,"date":"2022-02-14T06:04:12","date_gmt":"2022-02-13T20:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=361956"},"modified":"2022-02-14T06:04:12","modified_gmt":"2022-02-13T20:04:12","slug":"5th-day-testing-now-optional-for-vaccinated-travelers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/5th-day-testing-now-optional-for-vaccinated-travelers\/","title":{"rendered":"5th day testing now optional for vaccinated travelers"},"content":{"rendered":"
Will Castro, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres\u2019 chief of staff, introduces the set of panelists for the COVID-19 protocol forum last Friday at the Kensington Hotel Saipan.\u00a0(Kimberly B. Esmores)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The CNMI continues to evolve and adapt to the \u201cnew normal\u201d under the COVID-19 pandemic, this time updating its travel protocols to make fifth day testing optional for fully vaccinated travelers. <\/p>\n

During a COVID-19 protocol forum last Friday at the Kensington Hotel Saipan, Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. CEO Esther Mu\u00f1a informed government and private sectors of the new COVID-19 protocols in place in light of the recent surge of omicron cases in the CNMI. <\/p>\n

Aside from scrapping on-arrival COVID-19 testing altogether, Mu\u00f1a said fifth day testing has now been made optional for vaccinated travelers. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs this pandemic shifts, our strategies will also shift. We\u2019re no longer requiring testing on arrival. For vaccinated travelers, they must fill out a health declaration form but now, fifth day testing is optional,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Mu\u00f1a said that both vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers must still fill out a health declaration form before entering the CNMI but, unlike vaccinated travelers, unvaccinated individuals will be given a registration code for fifth day testing. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll travelers must fill out a health declaration form before they enter the CNMI. But unvaccinated travelers must test after five days. Once they register to fill out a declaration form, they will be given a code that registers them for fifth day testing,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Lastly, vaccinated essential workers will no longer be quarantined but unvaccinated workers must fill out a quarantine application form before entering the CNMI. <\/p>\n

Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. CEO Esther Muna announces the CNMI\u2019s new entry protocols during a COVID-19 protocol forum last Friday at the Kensington Hotel Saipan. Behind her are the other panelists: From left to right, Patrick Guerrero, Warren Villagomez, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, and Dr. Lily Muldoon.\u00a0(Kimberly B. Esmores)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere is now an essential worker application form for quarantine but this only applies to unvaccinated workers. Vaccinated individuals do not need to quarantine. Once they enter, they are free to leave and go to work,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

According to Dr. Lily Muldoon, medical director of public health and CHCC emergency physician, the shift in protocols is to focus on medically significant community infections instead of border surveillance. <\/p>\n

Muldoon said that, although focusing on blocking COVID-19 at the border worked in the beginning, considering that the CNMI now has a vaccination rate of 99% and the omicron variant is notorious for being more contagious than both the alpha and delta variants, the CNMI must now shift to focusing on treating severe cases and containment within the community. <\/p>\n

\u201cOmicron data suggests that omicron is less severe but it can still cause hospitalization. Because it is more contagious, if the spread is not contained, the CNMI risks overwhelming its healthcare system. We want to protect and not overwhelm our healthcare system,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

To date, there are five individuals hospitalized as a result of COVID-19. <\/p>\n

For those experiencing severe symptoms of COVID-19, Mu\u00f1a and Muldoon encouraged them to visit the COVID-19 treatment sites located next to the Koblerville basketball court, or the MCATS tent located at CHCC. <\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s event was attended by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, tourism and hotel industry stakeholders, several health officials, lawmakers, and municipal leaders, among others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The CNMI continues to evolve and adapt to the \u201cnew normal\u201d under the COVID-19 pandemic,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":361951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[900],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-361956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}