Longer quarantine for violators

While quarantine protocols for COVID-19 are being modified for returning residents, this does not mean that the health protocols are being loosened, according to Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. chief executive officer Esther Muña. In fact, added measures are in place to ensure that the rules are still being strictly followed, she said.

For one, being approved for home quarantine is not automatic. Those who want to avail of this option have to apply for it first (at the governor.gov.mp website) 72 hours before their arrival in the CNMI. Also, it strictly applies only to returning CNMI residents who have been fully vaccinated and had obtained their vaccinations in the CNMI, according to the CHCC guidelines issued Tuesday.

Muña also said that individuals who are approved for home quarantine can expect surprise visits from the Department of Public Safety to ensure that you are where you’re supposed to be. If not, the individual can be subjected to a longer quarantine time period.

In a media conference with Muña yesterday, she said those who are in home quarantine can expect consequences for violating an agreement between them and CHCC and the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force. Should the individual violate the agreement, Muña said they can be brought from where they are quarantined to the government facility and may have to start the quarantine over again. For example, if an individual was four days into home quarantine but left their home for a store run and DPS caught them, this individual could be brought back to the government facility where they will restart the five-day quarantine.

Muña said that they are able to offer more qualified individuals the option to apply for this quarantine procedure because of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance and because they have the means to control a public health situation.

“Public health is not stagnant. Decisions are made based on what we know, and what we can control,” said Muña. “The ability to be able to put surveillance, the ability to contain and control any public health crisis is how we can have an effective public health system. A public health crisis exists in different forms, but there is a way to contain it, but also we need to adjust and transform as we go along.”

Even with the family cluster who tested positive for COVID-19 last weekend, the testing capability, the contact tracing, and quarantine facilities the CNMI now has is how CHCC and the task force was able to respond quickly and help contain a larger transmission, she said.

Muña also disclosed that of about 50 inbound travelers yesterday, only five people have already applied for home quarantine. Additionally, she clarified that home quarantine is optional, and if an individual wants to stay at a government facility, they can.