Woman claims bugs in quarantine site beds

A 71-year-old woman who is undergoing mandatory quarantine for arriving passengers at Mariana Resort & Spa, is upset about her accommodation, saying the mattress she had slept on for two nights was old, severely damaged, and infested with bugs.

Staff of the COVID-19 Task Force, which has responsibility over the quarantine site, have since helped Susana Blas-Deleon Guerrero move into one of the resort’s separate, private bungalows, where she will continue the rest of her quarantine.

Deleon Guerrero told Saipan Tribune that she began her quarantine last Monday but it was only yesterday, Wednesday, when she woke up with what she said was pain on her right leg. “My right leg looked like a shark bit me,” she said over the phone.

She then called the front desk, and asked for people to come by and change her bedsheets and pillows. The front desk supposedly told Deleon Guerrero that they will provide her with new sheets and pillows, but said that she needed to change her pillows and bedsheets herself. “I can’t! I’m 71 years old, [and] I can’t bend down because I have muscle spasms. Somebody has to come here and help me,” said Deleon Guerrero.

According to her, the front desk did agree to send people to her room to either help her change her beddings or switch rooms. In the meantime, she removed the bed sheets and saw just how old, damaged, and bug-infested the mattress she had slept on was. “Look at that! I slept on this thing for two nights, I got up because something was biting me, and right now maybe one of the things that bit me is inside my skin. I’m not exaggerating,” said Deleon Guerrero.

Staff of the COVID-19 Task Force, which runs the quarantine sites, helped move Deleon Guerrero to a bungalow soon after, where she currently stays.

Saipan Tribune tried to obtain comments from task force chair Warren Villagomez last night but he had yet to respond as of press time.

Deleon Guerrero assured that her complaints about the quarantine site are not politically motivated. She named several Democratic and Republican lawmakers whom she called and shared pictures with before calling Saipan Tribune, with one lawmaker advising her to talk to the media instead of posting it on social media.

As to how arriving travelers are transported from the airport to Mariana Resort, Deleon Guerrero has no complaints. “Everything was great from arrival on Monday morning. The task force was awesome. They were quick and helpful all the way to Mariana Resort,” she said.