First group of ‘tourists’ will be Korea govt execs, media

The first group of “tourists” that will be allowed into the CNMI will be South Korean media and government officials who will arrive in the CNMI on June 15. The group totals 50 passengers, who will be staying in the CNMI for four to seven days.

It is being hoped this group’s arrival will ultimately help with the resumption of the tourism industry on the islands, said Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force chair Warren Villagomez.

Speaking at the media briefing last Friday, Villagomez announced that they continue to work on a “bubble corridor tourism” but, in the meantime, a group that is not considered “normal” visitors but are interested in coming here will be arriving. This group consist of people from the South Korean media and South Korean government officials.

“We’re doing steps to test out the system and make sure that we correct issues that need attention and reassure our community that we are doing the right thing, and the right safety measures [will be] in place,” said Villagomez.

According to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. chief executive officer Esther Muña, the 50 passengers will follow the same quarantine procedures as other passengers arriving in the CNMI.

“Basically, [it’s] the same protocol…whether they’re fully vaccinated, whether they are doing essential or critical work, those things are going to be weighed and that’s where they are put in different [groups],” said Muña, referring to the traveler protocols that CHCC updated last April 27. This includes:

-Group A: Travelers fully vaccinated in the CNMI;

-Group B1: Critical essential workers approved by the CNMI health official;

-Group B2: Essential workers approved by the CNMI health official who have proof of vaccination;

-Group B3: Essential workers that are approved by the CNMI health official who are not vaccinated or do not have proof of vaccination;

-Group C: Travelers from a Level 1 jurisdiction according to CDC COVID-19 travel.

According to her, if the South Korean media and government officials need to do an interview that they can’t do virtually, they can be brought to an area where they will be surrounded by people who are fully vaccinated and then immediately brought back to the quarantine site.

“It depends on what their records are showing and that’s how we look at it and evaluate it and [figure out] how we’re going to accommodate [them]. There are different pathways for quarantine, and those are the ones that we are going to follow exactly,” said Muña.

As for the actual tourists, Villagomez said they will be coming in by July 1 but that is still a “moving target” date.