NMI announces eased quarantine protocols effective May 17
Pacific Daily News
The Northern Marianas on Saturday announced eased quarantine protocols.
Effective May 17, 2021, fully vaccinated travelers from Level 1 jurisdictions on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Travel Health Notice list won’t have to quarantine if they can show verifiable vaccination documentation and their lodging or household passes assessment, according to an NMI news release.
If household assessment fails, travelers will be given the option to self-monitor at home.
Travelers from Level 1 jurisdictions don’t have to test upon arrival, but will be tested on the fifth day after arrival, the release stated.
THE CNMI will welcome a group of 50 South Korean government officials and media partners on June 15, 2021.
CNMI Covid-19 Task Force Chairman Warren Villagomez on Friday said the group will visit for four to seven days.
He said the visitors are not considered ânormalâ tourists because they will be here for professional rather than personal reasons.
The CNMI has set a moving target date of July 1 for the arrival of ânormalâ tourists.
âWeâre taking steps to test out the system and make sure that we correct issues that need attention and reassure our community that we are doing the right thing, and the right safety measures [will be] in place,â Villagomez said.
Vanuatu s main international airport Bauerfield at Port Vila
Photo: RNZI/Beverley Tse
French ambassador in Vanuatu summoned
Vanuatu s director general of Foreign Affairs, Kalfau Kaloris, has summoned the French ambassador, Pierre Fournier, over an apparent breach of the country s Covid-19 state of emergency.
On Friday 30th April a French military plane made two attempts to land at Bauerfield International Airport despite not having clearance to do so.
The chief executive of the Civil Aviation Authority, Jackie Langani, said the aircraft couldn t land at Bauerfield because the authorities hadn t been informed about its mission.
She said the aircraft, which was on a training flight from New Caledonia, breached the state of emergency imposed to control Covid.
THE Commonwealth joins the nation in celebrating Nurses Week from May 6 to 12 this year with Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation Chief Executive Officer Esther L. Muna, and CNMI Covid-19 Task Force Chairman Warren Villagomez extending their well wishes to the islandsâ nurses.
âNobody wants to go to the hospital, and thatâs the truth,â the governor said. âPeople go to the hospital as the very last resort. and when they get to the hospital, itâs our nurses [who are] the first ones there. Their kindness [and] compassion go a long way.â
Drawing from his personal experience as a father of six children and a son to an elderly mother, the governor said he truly appreciates all CNMI nurses for taking care of their patients.
People in the Northern Marianas are being advised by the ocal health authgority to continue to wear masks whether vaccinated against Covid-19 or not.
That s despite a new advisory from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that loosens the rules on the use of coverings.
The Commonwealth Health Care Corporation chief executive officer Esther Muña said people should continue to wear facemasks since the islands had not yet reached herd immunity.
Herd immunity is when a large number of people in a community is vaccinated enough to provide indirect protection for the unvaccinated ones.
The number varies among different infectious diseases and different jurisdictions but the typical target is between 50 and 90 percent, depending on how infectious a disease is.