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CHCC modifies quarantine for returning residents
The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. is modifying its quarantine protocols for returning residents who plan to home quarantine.
In a phone interview with Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force chair Warren Villagomez, he said this modified quarantine will also require the task force to first inspect the returning resident’s home. He said this will help them decide whether a returning resident can “safely home quarantine.”
Villagomez clarified that the returning resident who is eligible for home quarantine is someone who is from the CNMI, got fully vaccinated in the CNMI but went off-island and then came back. Additionally, those returning residents who are coming back must register at the governor.gov.mp website 72 hours before their arrival, according to CHCC. That website contains the health declaration form that returning residents must fill up.
Villagomez said the individual will be swabbed on arrival and will be waiting for their results with other returning residents who are also eligible for the modified quarantine. This will be the same for the fifth day testing.
The task force, CHCC, and the contact tracers will be monitoring those who are eligible for the modified quarantine. Villagomez said there are no talks for individuals coming in who were fully vaccinated elsewhere to be eligible for home quarantine. This means that those who are fully vaccinated from the U.S. or Guam and are coming into the CNMI are not eligible to home quarantine.
The home quarantine is just another option. If returning residents prefer to quarantine at government sites, they can still do so.
As for the COVID-19 test through the community surveillance at the Kanoa Resort in Susupe, Villagomez said they all came back negative.
CHCC announced that the surveillance testing has been closed from today to March 19. However, Villagomez said that a SolGent Co. Ltd scientist will be arriving from Korea this Friday and community-based testing will continue next week.
