CNMI’s total now at 393 after four new positive cases

Four more individuals have been confirmed positive for COVID-19, identified through contact tracing on Nov. 14, according to a Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. news release Monday night. This brings the CNMI’s total to 393. CHCC also announced that, as of Nov. 15, there are 53 active cases. CHCC also reported that a total of 115 tests were conducted on Nov. 14 comprising travel and surveillance testing.

In Guam, its Joint Information Center was notified of two more COVID-19-related fatalities, 41 new cases, and 28 cases that are hospitalized.

Since Oct. 28, there have been 102 new cases in the CNMI. Of the 102, 75 were identified through contact tracing, 18 through community-based testing, and nine through travel testing.

In related news, the CNMI Office of the Governor, the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., and the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force held yesterday an event called the “CNMI Safe Travel Summit” at the Kensington Hall of Kensington Hotel Saipan.

The event, which was attended by many of the CNMI’s public and private sector stakeholders, featured CHCC and the task force providing updates on the CNMI’s COVID-19 response and future updates to COVID-19 safety protocols.

In a portion of his opening remarks during the event, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres spoke of the importance of cooperation in the CNMI’s collective efforts against COVID-19 and that the funds spent so far on the CNMI’s COVID-19 response is money well-spent in terms of lives saved.

“Throughout the course of this response, cooperation is our story. Because of cooperation and collaboration, and despite the recent community transmission, we can confidently say that we have consistently made the CNMI one of the safest [places] in the world from COVID-19. We are proactive, [adjusted] what we needed to, [listened] to the science and health experts, and [communicated] transparently with our people,” said Torres. “The funds that we have spent on our COVID-19 response are pennies to the dollars that translate to all the lives we have saved [in] our community. Picture this: [it could have been] 6,000 to 8,000 cases and up to 500 deaths. Today, we’re barely at 400 positive cases. …That’s a success in itself.”

In the latest news release from Guam’s JIC, it said that Guam’s 259th COVID-19-related fatality occurred at the Guam Memorial Hospital on Nov. 15, 2021. The patient was a 66-year-old male, unvaccinated with underlying health conditions. He tested positive on Oct. 9, 2021.

The 260th COVID-19-related fatality occurred at GMH on Nov. 16, 2021. The patient was an 80-year-old male, unvaccinated with underlying health conditions. He tested positive on Nov. 3, 2021.

Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero later released the following statement: “[First gentleman] Jeff [Cook], [Lt. Gov.] Josh [Tenorio], and I pray for healing and offer our heartfelt condolences to those who have lost the most during this pandemic. …The only thing we can control are our personal efforts to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and to ensure we are all doing our part to not let the virus affect our most vulnerable loved ones.”