Two more in NMI recover

Two more joined the list of recoveries yesterday, six days after the first nine individuals who recovered from COVID-19 in the CNMI were released from the Kanoa Resort isolation site in Susupe last April 15.

As of 6pm yesterday, there were no additional information on the two individuals who were recently released.

According to Esther Muña, chief executive officer of the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., the newly released individuals will be given a certificate that indicates that they have been “cleared.” They are, however, still strongly advised to continue practicing social distancing, Muña said, as they could still have the virus in their system.

The bottom line, Muña said, is because an individual could potentially still have the virus in their body, this is why CHCC should do a communitywide testing to know what’s in the community.

Muña also stated that the certificate doesn’t mean that an individual who had been isolated may now walk freely in the community because they might think that they won’t be getting the virus anymore. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends to continue wearing face masks to protect not only yourself, but everyone else in the community.

“The bottom line is, when people are recovered, they’re released,” said Muña. “You can’t imprison them forever.”

With more testing kits available in the CNMI, individuals who do go into isolation at the alternate care site at Kanoa Resort in Susupe and are released can later undergo retesting.

Janet (not her real name), who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, is hopeful that the people who are being released from isolation will still practice responsible behavior. “I’m not [going to] lie. I do worry that they will infect the community, but I hope that they do take this seriously and practice social distancing, good hygiene, or just stay quarantined in their home for two more weeks just to be safe,” she said.

“I think what the governor and the COVID-19 Task Force are doing is great,” added Jerry (not his real name). “Because the CNMI is way ahead of schedule with all the precautionary things that are being done, I’m confident that the CNMI will be able to beat the coronavirus.”

If people don’t take this seriously, the lockdowns, curfews, etc., will be in effect until the next few years, he said. “We all really have to be careful now,” he added. “I don’t want to live in a world where wearing masks every time we go out is the ‘new normal.’ I want to be able to go outside and not worry anymore.”

To date, the CNMI has 14 confirmed COVID-19 positive cases, two deaths, 11 recoveries, and 51 negative cases.

The CNMI government is currently finalizing plans of implementing mass testing throughout the CNMI. It will be free for everyone.

More test kits to arrive

According to press secretary Kevin Bautista, there will be more test kits that will be arriving on Saipan through a charter flight late last night.

This comes after the 26 ventilators, medical supplies, and UV lights for infection control were shipped from Long Beach, California to the CNMI early this week. These medical supplies will help expand the CNMI’s efforts against the spread of COVID-19 and the capacity of CHCC’s laboratory.

COVID-19 in Guam

As of late evening of April 21, the Department of Public Health and Social Services in Guam tested 42 individuals for COVID-19. Nobody tested positive and all 42 tested negative. This means that Guam has had the fortunate news of having no new cases for four days in a row now.

The DPHSS overall count includes probable cases of COVID-19 and confirmed positive cases tested by the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego, Guam Memorial Hospital Authority, and Diagnostic Laboratory Services.

To date, Guam has 136 confirmed COVID-19 positive, with five deaths and 114 recoveries.