One more recovery in NMI

A mere 24 hours after two people recovered from COVID-19 in the CNMI, one more person was added to the tally of the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. website yesterday, with the number of recoveries in the CNMI going up from 15 to 16, indicating that one more person has recovered from the virus.

Warren Villagomez, who chairs the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force, said during Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ press briefing yesterday that “they [CHCC, task force, and Torres] are ecstatic to “graduate” individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 or individuals who are “persons under investigation.”

“Recovery is our optimal goal, to make sure that we provide optimal care,” said Villagomez. “…Doctors were able to determine the release of the two individuals and they are out in the community safely.”

Villagomez assured that CHCC will be able to monitor the released patients through what’s called the Sarah Alert System.

Torres said the CNMI can’t claim yet that it is coronavirus-free “but we can claim that we definitely protect our staff, our private partners, our first responders, and more. They have enough personal protective equipment, ventilators, and more for nurses and doctors who are tirelessly working day in and day out to help protect the CNMI.

Torres noted that there are more than enough test kits for everyone in the CNMI, but there’s more to come soon since they’re ordering more. “With everyone’s involvement, I believe that we’re going to be moving forward in the right direction,” he said.

Alternate Care Site

The Alternate Care Site that is currently under construction at the Kanoa Resort in Susupe is going through the last stages, which is what contractors and engineers call a “punch list,” a stage in the process where contractors and engineers make sure that everything is in order.

Patrick Guerrero, the governor’s authorized representative, stated that they will be installing the last few equipment this week. “The construction portion is a week delayed due to some changes and unforeseen circumstances that we couldn’t meet the May 25 deadline,” said Guerrero.

Guerrero added that a charter flight from California will be coming this week to deliver a bunch of medical equipment, beds, bedside monitors, etc.

“We still have a few days if we needed to get the facility ready, but it should be ready as the flight comes in this weekend with more medical equipment, beds, bedsides monitors, and things of that sort,” said Guerrero.

To date, the CNMI has 22 confirmed COVID-19 case, with 16 recoveries, two deaths, and four active cases.

COVID-19 in Guam

According to the Joint Information Center in Guam, two new cases of COVID-19 were reported to the Department of Public Health and Social Services on May 30 and 31.

One is a confirmed case that tested positive by polymerase chain reaction testing at the Guam Memorial Hospital and reported household contact to two confirmed cases. The second is a probable case that tested positive through serology testing at Diagnostic Laboratory Services.

To date, Guam has a total of 175 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with five deaths, 145 released from isolation, and 25 active cases.