2 more positive cases

Two additional individuals have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. news release yesterday. The CNMI’s total positive cases since March 28, 2020 is now 198.

In the latest cases, one individual was identified through fifth-day testing on Aug. 1, while the other was identified on Aug. 2 through COVID-19 testing on arrival.

According to CHCC chief executive officer Esther Muña, none of these two individuals were from Korea. The two have since then been quarantined and are being monitored. CHCC’s Communicable Disease Investigation/ Inspection team has already initiated contact tracing for those in closest contact with the two positive individuals.

CHCC also reported that one of the new positive cases was identified on Tinian, and that the person’s closest contacts all tested negative for COVID-19. CHCC said, “There was no community transmission on Tinian.”

In related news, Tinian has recently been making its own push toward reaching 80% of its eligible population being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, even before the vaccination campaign Road to 80 visited Tinian last July 30.

According to Tinian and Aguiguan Mayor’s Office chief of staff Allen Perez during a Road to 80 livestream last Friday, he said that key members of the Tinian community were brought together to discuss the importance of being vaccinated.

“On Tinian, we do a face-to-face approach. We called in our tour agents, some businesses, certain community leaders from ethnic groups and sat down with them and explained the need for us to revitalize our economy, open our borders, and the need for everybody in the community to work together to get us to 80 [percent vaccinated],”, said Perez.

According to the vaccinatecnmi.com dashboard, as of Aug. 3, 2021. 1,453 Tinian residents, or 57.1% of the Tinian population, are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

In line with this goal and in support of Road to 80, the Tinian Mayor’s Office last Friday provided five $100 cash prizes for a raffle that was open exclusively to Tinian residents who received their first shots of a COVID-19 vaccine at the Tinian Health Center on July 30. According to Road to 80 raffle host Brad Ruszala, around 54 people received their first shots on Tinian last Friday, and were qualified for the raffle. The raffle’s winners were Moses Reyes, Mary Loise Atalig, Marlena King, Jayver Cruz, and Shiela Mari Borja.