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‘Unvaccinated travelers now tested on Day 5’
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Posted on Jan 10 2022
Effective today, unvaccinated travelers will be tested for COVID-19 on Day 5 of their isolation period at a designated government site instead of Day 7, shortening the isolation time granted to individuals who test negative.
Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. chief executive officer Esther L. Muña disclosed this protocol changes during a radio news briefing last Friday.
In addition to this change, Muña said that other protocol changes are in the works in light of updated guidance and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We are going to be making some changes, especially with arrival protocols. There’s been a lot of guidance issued by the CDC and we’ve been unpacking them and [assessing] where it can fit,” said Muña.
She said, however, that the CNMI’s healthcare system capacity and the well-being of CHCC personnel remain as factors as CHCC considers possible COVID-19 protocol changes.
“At the end of the day, we are also looking at our healthcare system. When we look at the number of hospitalizations, it’s always concerning for our staff. We don’t want burnout, [and] we want to make sure we have the bed [and] resource capacity,” said Muña. “We’re at a situation where we’re managing it really well, and [we will] continue to monitor and again try to as much as possible make some preventative measures.”
