Isolation, quarantine contracts ending

The CNMI government has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for permission to extend the contracts for both the isolation site at Kanoa Resort in Susupe and the quarantine site at the Pacific Islands Club in San Antonio, weeks before both contracts come to an end.

And although PIC’s contract will be ending by the end of this month, Patrick Guerrero, the governor’s authorized representative, said that they have requested that the contract be shortened to only until the end of this week. This will help PIC start preparing for accepting and receiving tourists, in time for the projected reopening of the CNMI on July 15.

PIC, which holds 308 rooms, is being used as a quarantine facility for all arriving passengers in the CNMI.

This also means that the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force will be making some changes to the quarantine protocols for all incoming passengers, Guerrero said, although nothing yet has been finalized.

On the other hand, Kanoa Resort’s contract, which will be expiring next Monday, June 22, will be extended for another 30 days. “We look forward to an extension of Kanoa’s contract or a new contract to continue occupying that space that we had just built,” said Guerrero.

Kanoa Resort, which is being used as an isolation site for positive COVID-19 cases, is also being retrofitted into an Alternative Care Site, a sort of temporary hospital to exclusively handle COVID-19 cases.

Guerrero clarified, though, that the revised contract with Kanoa Resort may have to be modified since they do not need the entire hotel property and they have not utilized as many rooms as they thought they would. He said most cases that don’t need hospitalization have been staying at the isolation site.

“Contact tracing, to my understanding, has not resulted in a lot of others having to check in at Kanoa for isolation,” said Guerrero. Moreover, with the increased testing capability that the Commonwealth Health Center has, they were able to test close contacts of those individuals and then release them.

Guerrero stated that some individuals have gone back for a second testing but have not been kept in isolation, simply especially if they aren’t showing any symptoms.

“This extension moving forward is going to be quite different from how we had a contract with them for the last 90 days,” said Guerrero. The last contract that was for 90 days was meant for the whole facility as a quarantine or isolation facility.

Discussions about renovating additional floors above the bottom floor for mid-level non-intensive care unit and how much of the facility the CNMI needs for confirmed cases and close contacts/“person under investigation” space that are needed are still ongoing and will have more details on that next week.

As for the expenses, it will be different from the first run around. “As always, in the best interest of the government and the taxpayers, my goal is to try to negotiate something that’s more reasonable for just the area that we’re going to be using,” said Guerrero.

According to him, more details about the contract for Kanoa will be available next week with the new contract in place.