‘Tourists won’t get special treatment’

When tourism resumes in the CNMI, it will be a controlled environment where tourists won’t be treated differently compared to returning residents, assured Warren Villagomez, who chairs the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force.

In a phone interview with Villagomez, he said that tourist will be swabbed upon arriving and on their fifth day after arrival. They will also be staying at the government quarantine facility for a mandatory term of five days. After that, the tourist will be released to their hotels and will not be on their own upon arrival.

Right now, the CNMI is working hard to speed up the vaccination process as a means for the CNMI population to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19. That means vaccinating a high number of CNMI residents enough to create indirect protection for those who are unvaccinated.

According to Villagomez, the plan to restart the tourism industry is being put together by the task force, the Marianas Visitors Authority, the Commonwealth Ports Authority, and the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. “It’s actually a setup that’s put together by the task force, MVA, CPA, and CHCC. …It’s a controlled environment; it’s not an open tourism arrival. …There are measures that that would protect the safety of the community as well as the safety of the tourists,” said Villagomez.

There have already been many typed of implementations that have been tested in the CNMI, according to Villagomez. This includes the modified quarantine where residents who have been vaccinated in the CNMI go off island and then return on island and have the choice to stay in a government facility or quarantine at home.

Additionally, the implementation of the first and fifth day on arrival testing is a “safety net,” according to Villagomez.

“We’re communicating with the airlines, with the travel agents, as well as the hotels on island [and] with MVA on making sure that they know that the plan is understood and would be adhered,” said Villagomez.

Not all hotels will be part of the tourism bubble program. Villagomez said there will be specific hotels only but there won’t be a limit on how many tourists will come to the CNMI.

It was learned that the mandatory health declaration form will help the task force and CHCC plan ahead with the mandatory quarantine.

Villagomez said at the moment, there are no talks about additional quarantine to accommodate all inbound travelers.