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‘It’s like a drought’
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Posted on Mar 19 2020
With the drastic slump in tourist arrivals due to the coronavirus pandemic, Commonwealth Ports Authority board chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds compares what’s happening to the CNMI economy right now to a drought.
“It’s like a drought. I hope and pray for rain. And that’s kind of where we are at,” said King-Hinds in an interview last Thursday. Worse, people don’t know how long this economic crisis brought by coronavirus is going to last, she added.
“What we can do right now is to plan and to prepare, and to look at other areas who have been impacted by the spread of the virus,” she said.
The virus may not be unique to the CNMI, but what is unique to the Commonwealth is the fact that the islands’ economy is primarily driven by the tourism industry, she said, and it’s difficult to plan when people don’t know what type of resources they’re going to have, whether it be medical or finances, because everybody’s impacted at this point.
She advised the community not to panic and just follow the health advisories and prepare their families.
“The new buzzword these days is ‘what is social isolation?’ Don’t take anything for granted,” she said.
CPA now estimates its total revenue loss at $6.4 million, from the original projected loss of $3.9 million.
Last Thursday, the CPA board of directors unanimously approved implementing a 64-hour work schedule for all employees effective March 29.
