Three more test positive in CNMI

Three more passengers that had just come from Guam tested positive upon arrival on Saipan last Oct. 1, raising the CNMI’s total to 73.

According to a Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. statement, the three were identified through travel screening and were confirmed positive through testing upon arrival. They have all been brought to the Kanoa Resort quarantined site in Susupe, where they will be closely monitored.

The mandatory contact tracing that CHCC conducts once someone tests positive has already begun. CHCC did the initial contact tracing for the most immediate contacts, including passengers on the same flight.

According to the chart CHCC provided, as of Oct. 1, four people are currently in isolation. Of the 73 confirmed cases, 47 are travel related (27 are from the U.S. mainland, 10 are from a U.S. territory, and 10 are from a foreign country). Of the 73 confirmed cases, 26 are from community screening; 10 are from the community-based testing or testing at CHCC, and 16 are from contact tracing.

COVID-19 in Guam

Three more COVID-19-related deaths this weekend in Guam, raising the island’s total to 52.

Guam logged its 50th COVID-19-related fatality last Oct. 2, a 72-year-old female with underlying health conditions that were complicated by COVID-19. According to the Joint Information Center in Guam, the 72-year-old female was admitted to the Guam Memorial Hospital last Sept. 16 and was a known positive case.

The 72-year-old female passed away last Oct. 1 at approximately 7:50 pm, JIC said.

Guam’s 51st COVID-19-related fatality also happened at GMH, a 90-year-old female whose health conditions were also severely impacted by COVID-19. She was a known positive case and was pronounced dead on arrival at approximately 4:55pm.

Guam’s 52nd COVID-19-related fatality occurred at the Guam Memorial Hospital at approximately 1:30pm yesterday. The patient was a 66-year-old female with underlying health conditions that were compounded by COVID-19. She was pronounced dead on arrival at GMH. The patient was swabbed upon arrival and her test yielded a positive result. 

Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero conveyed that it is never easy announcing a COVID-19-related fatality, especially a member of their community.

“These are our people, and for many, they died alone without the comfort of the family beside them. [First gentleman] Jeff [Cook], Lt. Gov. Josh [Tenorio], and I send our deepest condolences and sympathies to her family and friends,” said Leon Guerrero.

Leon Guerrero stressed that the virus doesn’t discriminate, and no one is truly safe, or immune, from its chokehold, which is why it is vital for everyone to remain vigilant and “do whatever is necessary to keep each other safe.”