By 8 am. on Sunday, certain restrictions imposed by the government of Guam to contain the spread of Covid-19 will be lifted as Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero moves the island to Pandemic Condition of Readiness (PCOR) 2.
PCOR 2 is the level with moderate restrictions and is intended to signal a positive movement toward normalcy. According to press release from the Joint Information Center, the goals of PCOR 2 involve an effort to continue to slow the possible spread of COVID-19 while being able to gradually re-open certain business, non-governmental organization, government, and individual activities.
Industry specific guidelines are made available for businesses and non-governmental organizations on the Guam Chamber of Commerce website: https://www.guamchamber.com.gu/guam/guidelines-to-opening-guam-businesses-and-ngos
Although many businesses will be open to the public, the community is reminded to continue to practice precautionary measures
: ● Maintain a distance of 6 feet between yourself and others
● Wear facial coverings around others and in public establishments
● Adhere to respective business protocols in place for protection from COVID-19 1
● Practice good hygiene frequently
● Stay home if you are sick
While social gatherings of no more than 10 people are allowed, keep in mind the health and safety of your loved ones.
Practice safe measures when around others by waving instead of hugging or embracing one another.
COVID-19 test results are reported from multiple labs at varying times of the day. Cumulative test results will be provided this evening once all tests from today are finalized. The Guam Public Health Laboratory will be closed on Sunday, May 10.
ADVERTISEMENT
There will be no tests run. The GPHL will resume operations on Monday. Physicians are reminded to follow storage requirements by ensuring specimens are refrigerated at 2-8°C. To date, there have been 151 cases confirmed through COVID-19 testing provided with 5 deaths and 124 released from isolation. As this is an evolving situation, information is subject to change with little to no notice.
The Department of Public Health and Social Services uses CDC’s test-based criteria for releasing patients from isolation. This requires Covid-19 patients to have two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart before being released from isolation. Some cases that were previously released from isolation have returned to active isolation status after re-testing positive for Covid-19 through follow-up testing. To date, no additional cases have been linked to people released from isolation.