Free quarantine for residents

Returning residents who are concerned about being put in home quarantine in a small house where social distancing may be impossible may still be able to get quarantined at the Kanoa Resort in Susupe at no cost.

This was clarified yesterday by Patrick Guerrero, the governor’s authorized representative. “Returning residents are allowed to quarantine [at Kanoa Resort] at no cost if they choose to, if they feel that they might be jeopardizing family members health, and they don’t have a big enough home to practice social distancing,” said Guerrero.

This comes soon after the CNMI government announced new quarantine procedures in the CNMI for passengers arriving from off-island.

Esther Muña, Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. chief executive officer, added that the success of the community in complying with the health directives was one of the reasons why home quarantine was implemented.

“Everyone has really been doing a lot of personal responsibility to flatten the curve, so we are here because of our people,” said Muña.

Muña added that one can still prevent COVID-19 infection in a small home by continuously practicing wearing a mask, wiping down everything, and doing as much social distancing as possible. She added that you won’t only have to wear a mask outside but inside as well.

“For example, even if a household member gets the flu, you won’t kick them out, you’d make that person wear a mask, and be able to function within the house,” said Muña.

Additionally, there will be 40 passengers from last June 20 who will be getting tested for COVID-19 at Kanoa Resort today. These passengers will be getting tested via drive-thru.

Penalties

A system has been put in place once the Saipan airport starts accepting international flights.

“Upon arrival, we have the Sara Alert database, we have multiple layers and countermeasure to prevent slips,” said Warren Villagomez, who heads the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force.

Villagomez said that passenger’s health declaration gets captured, which will include one’s full name. Then the passenger will move on to the geo-mapping, where a staff at the airport will pinpoint where a passenger’s residence is.

“It’s your word and data they [airport staff] are entering, but there’re multiple ways that we’re capturing information, so if you don’t report, and we will send you a reminder, it’s going to be a strict enforcement with the Department of Public Safety and other law enforcement agencies,” said Villagomez.

To date, the CNMI has 30 confirmed cases, with one active case and two deaths.

COVID-19 on Guam

The Joint Information Center in Guam reported one case that tested that positive for COVID-19 through Diagnostic Laboratory Services. The case reported no contact to a confirmed case of COVID-19.

According to the JIC, out of the 226 confirmed cases, 42 are military service members (35 of them have been recently identified among a unit deployed to Anderson Air Force Base) and 184 are civilians.

To date, Guam has a total of 226 confirmed cases, with five deaths, 174 released from isolation, and 47 active cases.