6th COVID-19-related death

The CNMI recorded its sixth COVID-19-related death last Saturday—an unvaccinated CNMI resident who passed away this month.

This came as the CNMI reported a total of 592 new infections that were identified across nine days and were reported on Saturday and late Thursday.

In a news statement from the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., it said the latest fatality had tested positive for COVID-19 in November, was identified at CHCC, and was isolated. The patient was admitted to CHCC’s Alternate Care Site at Kanoa Resort.

CHCC declined to provide more details when pressed for specifics on the person’s exact date of death, citing patient confidentiality and privacy.

The news release confirming the COVID-19 death quotes Gov. Ralph DLG Torres as speaking about the importance of getting vaccinated. It also quotes CHCC chief executive officer Esther L. Muña about “living COVID-19 safe.” Both emphasized the importance of following the “3 W’s”: wash your hands, watch your distance, and wear a face covering.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones. This is another reminder for our people who are not vaccinated to get vaccinated. Vaccines save lives from this unforgiving disease. We must also continue to protect each other by practicing the 3 W’s,” said Torres.

“It will never be easy to deliver this news. We will provide necessary support to the family and will continue to provide the support our whole community needs,” said Muña.

She also urged the community to continue practicing the “3 W’s” and to “do other preventative measures.”

“We need to start living COVID-19 safe. Act as if you actually have the infection; and even when your test results come back negative, this is still great practice while we are in this pandemic,” she added.

New cases

Separately, CHCC also reported that a total of 332 new cases of COVID-19 were identified from Dec. 1 to 7, and another 260 were confirmed from Dec. 8 to 9.

CHCC also said there have been 567 recovered cases since Oct. 28, 2021. CHCC’s official announcements can be found on its social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

As of Dec. 10, CHCC reports that there are 14 active hospitalizations: 10 unvaccinated, two vaccinated, two partially vaccinated, and zero on a ventilator. One individual has already been discharged from CHCC’s Alternate Care Site.

Of the 332 cases announced last week, one was identified on Dec. 1, 116 on Dec. 4, 37 on Dec. 5, 72 on Dec. 6, and 106 on Dec. 7. 
Of these cases, 266 were found through contact tracing, 65 through community-based testing, and one found through fifth-day travel testing. The vaccination statuses of the 332 were pending verification as of the night of Dec. 9, said CHCC.

Of the 260 cases announced on Saturday, 174 were identified on Dec. 8 and 86 on Dec. 9. Of these cases, 105 were found through contact tracing, 149 through CBT, and six through travel testing.

In a virtual news briefing on Friday, Muña briefly said that CHCC’s focus right now is on preventing a further increase of hospitalizations and “making sure that everybody has the best outcome out of this.”

“Our health system [is] focusing on the hospitalizations as well as making sure that everybody has the best outcome out of this. …We did change in our reporting about those that have recovered. That’s because that’s what we are really looking at: trying to get individuals to have the best outcome, which is recovery and not getting hospitalized,” said Muña.

Since Oct. 28, 2021, CHCC reports that there have been 567 recovered cases, there are 914 active cases, and two COVID-19-related deaths of the cases identified. These are current numbers as of Dec. 9.

Prevention measures

Along with getting vaccinated and practicing the “3 W’s”, the community is reminded to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on how to protect yourself and others. These guidelines include avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, covering coughs and sneezes, cleaning and disinfecting high touch surfaces daily, being alert of symptoms daily, and registering to get tested for COVID-19.

In the press release, CHCC said that it highly encourages unvaccinated individuals to get vaccinated or receive booster shots against COVID-19 “to help prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death”.

CHCC said that data from small clinical trials show that vaccine effectiveness is waning after the primary series of two doses, “but protection remains high against severe disease and hospitalization”. Registering for COVID-19 vaccination in the CNMI can be done at www.vaccinatecnmi.com.

For individuals not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and it has been five to seven days since exposure to a person who may have had COVID-19, CHCC advises community members to avail of free COVID-19 antigen testing conducted at various Department of Fire & Emergency Medical Services stations or community-based testing, which is also free.

At the Kagman, Garapan, or Susupe fire stations testing is conducted on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from 8am to 4pm.

In the CNMI, registering for testing can be done at https://covidtesting.chcc.health.

CHCC advised individuals waiting on their testing results to follow the “3 W’s”, stay at home as much as possible, and limit contact with others.

If experiencing symptoms, individuals are encouraged to see their health care providers right away or call the 24/7 CHCC Tele-Triage Hotline at 670-233-2067.