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CNMI’s COVID-19 total now at 249
Guam: 154th COVID death logged, 75 hospitalized
One incoming traveler has tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the CNMI’s total to 249, according to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. yesterday.
The individual was identified by travel screening and confirmed positive through arrival testing on Sept. 8. The individual has been quarantined and now being monitored. CHCC also reports that there is currently only one active hospitalization due to COVID-19.
In related news, the Joint Information Center in Guam announced Wednesday the island’s 154th COVID-19-related death. The patient— a “John Doe” “with no verifiable record of COVID-19 vaccination” and who had tested positive for COVID-19— was pronounced dead on arrival at the Guam Memorial Hospital on Sept. 7. The JIC also reported Wednesday that 75 individuals in Guam are hospitalized due to COVID-19, and that 39 of the 75 are unvaccinated.
Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero offered her condolences. “[Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio] and I pray for his friends and family during this most difficult time. These reports are never easy to come up against. Each loss is felt so deeply by this community. We can only hope to make a difference each day by doing everything we can to prevent any further loss,” said Leon Guerrero.
During a virtual news briefing last Wednesday CHCC chief executive officer Esther Muña spoke of the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19, not only for the safety of the individual but also for the safety of the unvaccinated and those ineligible to receive the vaccines, like children.
“It is your choice, and we’re still urging people [to] think of it as a decision of your own to protect others, especially when we’re seeing a large number in this community that is unvaccinated—not only unvaccinated, [but also those that] are ineligible to get vaccinated. I’m sure if they had a choice, [ineligible individuals] would have been willing to get vaccinated as well,” said Muña.
