SAIPAN (RNZ PACIFIC) — The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. and the Governor’s CNMI Covid-19 Task Force on Saturday reported six more confirmed cases of Covid-19, bringing the islands’ total cases to 86 since reporting started in March.
CHCC spokesman Lee Tenorio said that the individuals were identified by travel screening and confirmed diagnosis through testing upon arrival at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport.
CHCC stated that the individuals have been safely quarantined and transported to the designated isolation area for close monitoring.
In addition, CHCC said it has initiated contact tracing for the most immediate contacts of the new confirmed cases, including passengers on the same flight.
The CNMI Covid-19 dashboard indicates that of the total confirmed cases reported, 60 were diagnosed through travel screening, 10 through community screening and 16 were traced to known contacts.
The dashboard also shows that of the 60 travel-related cases, 32 were traced to the U.S mainland, 17 to another U.S. territory, and 11 to foreign countries.
Governor’s CNMI Covid-19 Task Force Chairman Warren Villagomez said during a press briefing on KMMP radio Friday that “as our neighboring islands continue to spike, we are [implementing] all the preparatory measures as we speak,” including the preparation for a vaccination campaign.
“We need to do a lot of promotion and marketing to make sure that we get our population vaccinated when the time comes,” Villagomez said, adding that the task force is also monitoring the personal protective equipment inventory in the CNMI….PACNEWS