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NMI enters 8th month under emergency
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres renewed last Friday the declaration of a state of public health emergency and extended the declaration of the state of significant emergency on the islands due to COVID-19. This places the CNMI under the state of emergency for the eighth straight month.
“COVID-19 continues to pose a significant and imminent threat of harm to the community, environment and people of the CNMI and thus emergency declarations are necessary to respond, quarantine and ensure the prevention of or containment of COVID-19 in the CNMI,” said Torres in his Executive Order 2020-17.
The governor first placed the Commonwealth under the state of emergency on Jan. 29, 2020 which ordered the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. to implement quarantine and preventive containment measures, two days before a public health emergency was declared in the United States.
The U.S. currently has 5.35 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, 50 of which is in the CNMI.
At the radio press briefing last Thursday, Torres reminded the community to not be complacent, especially with the increase in the number of cases in the neighboring island of Guam.
“This is a reminder that COVID-19 is very much in our region, very much happening around the world. We can never put down our guards,” he said. “We’ve done an excellent job on making sure that our government, private partners, and community continue to work hand in hand to fight the pandemic together. Please continue to practice social distancing, make sure to wear mask, and just be aware that it’s a serious matter.”
The governor also called for everyone to continue being vigilant. “I just wanted to remind everyone that no one is immune to it, and that we all need to continue making COVID a priority in our life even as we move forward on the new norm for everybody.”
The state of emergency is in effect for 30 days, or until Sept. 15, 2020.
