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Far-flung Pacific island nations have been among the most successful in the world at keeping COVID-19 at bay by swiftly closing their borders and imposing strict quarantine measures.
With poor hospital infrastructure and high rates of underlying health conditions Pacific governments weren’t going to take any chances. And for the most part it’s worked.
Island nations and territories including Kiribati, Nauru, Palau and Tonga are believed to still be completely virus-free, while others such as Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa have recorded some cases, but none via community transmission.
But economically, these places, so heavily reliant on tourism, have been badly hit. Which is why the procurement and rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine is now top of the agenda across the Pacific, in the hopes of re-opening the borders and jumpstarting the economy.
AS the CNMI government approaches the one-year mark since the initiation of furloughs, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres has informed the 22nd Legislature that the administration will initiate reduction-in-force procedures involving
Photo: AFP
10,000 vaccinated in the CNMI
The Northern Marianas continues its Covid-19 vaccine rollout with over 10,000 residents already vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation (CHCC).
The CHCC said a total of 10,644 residents on Saipan, Rota, and Tinian have been vaccinated with either the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine or the Moderna vaccine.
Broken down, 7,267 residents have already completed their first dose, while 3,337 have completed their second dose.
The leadership of Governor Ralph Torres during the pandemic has also been praised in an article by RealClear Health.
Meanwhile, an additional Covid-19 case was reported in the CNMI last Monday bringing the U.S. territory s total coronavirus cases to 133.