All travelers required to quarantine in govt facility

Effective today, Aug. 20, 2021, all inbound travelers to the CNMI are required to quarantine in a designated government facility for five days, as per the latest update to the CNMI’s entry requirements.

According to an Office of the Governor news statement last night, it said all travelers will be tested for COVID-19 on arrival and on their fifth day in quarantine. Travelers will be released after they test negative for COVID-19 on the fifth day. All travelers who test positive for COVID-19 will be isolated in the designated government facility for 10 days.

All pending home quarantine applications will be denied. Travelers currently in-home quarantine are expected to complete their quarantine at home and are required to report to their fifth-day test.

The statement said the entry requirements are being updated as the safety of the residents of the CNMI remains the top priority of the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force and the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.

With an increase in cases being identified on arrival and fifth-day testing of persons who have completed a COVID-19 vaccination series (breakthrough cases), it is crucial for the wellbeing of the residents of the CNMI to contain the spread of COVID-19 at the border. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a vaccine breakthrough infection is defined as the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA or antigen in a respiratory specimen collected from a person greater than or equal to14 days after they have completed all recommended doses of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration- authorized COVID-19 vaccine.

Essential workers requesting entry into CNMI must complete the essential worker request section within the online CNMI Mandatory Declaration Form at least three days prior to arrival. The request will be reviewed by the CNMI Territorial Health Official for a decision. Not all requests are automatically approved.

Travelers who are requesting Critical or Essential Work approval will be evaluated based on the strength of work justification, point of origin, negative PCR test results dated no more than 72 hours prior to arrival, COVID-19 vaccinations, and transit/flight plans. Grantees are required to practice COVID-19 precautions at all times and abide with other establishments’ social distancing expectations.

Essential workers may report to work after receiving their test results from specimen collected on the day of arrival and approval of job-site assessment. Travelers in this category are urged to communicate with the CNMI Territorial Health Official via travelers.health@chcc.health in advance of plannning their trip to CNMI.

An “essential worker” is one listed in the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers Advisory List accessible from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity, and Infrastructure Security Agency at http://www.cisa.gov/critical-infrastructure-sectors.

The CNMI, while recognizing CISA categories, has established a local process to consider modified quarantine for certain essential work needs critical for CNMI. Simply being in a CISA category should not be perceived as a reason to be exempted from our local procedures, nor does it confer “approved essential worker” for the CNMI.

All travelers are encouraged to fill out their health declaration form at least 72 hours prior to arrival at https://governor.gov.mp/covid-19/travel. (PR)