Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said today she will not hesitate to reinstate public health emergency-related restrictions if Guam sees a resurgence in Covid-19 hospitalizations.
“This is a fluid situation,” the governor said at today’s press conference.
At least five patients are currently receiving Covid-19 treatment at the Guam Memorial Hospital. One is on a ventilator. Another patient has been admitted at the Naval Hospital Guam.
The governor also noted that six variants of concern have now been identified on Guam.
Despite the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s new guidance to allow fully vaccinated people to resume pre-pandemic activities without wearing face masks, the governor said she is not ready to adopt this recommendation.
“We know all too well that the situation is unique. We do not share the same luxury that our counterparts in other states,” the governor said, noting that Guam’s health care system is fragile.
“Our priority has been to protect our people and our fragile health care system,” the governor said. "This is not the time to let our guard down."
Dr. Felix Cabrera, the governor’s medical advisor, said the threshold for any adjustment to Guam’s safety protocols and quarantine would be 10 to 15 hospitalizations.
This was the same basis used by the governor when she raised Guam’s Pandemic Condition of Readiness from level 1 to 3 in August last year following the resurgence of Covid-19 cases.
The expansion of age eligibility for Pfizer vaccine to include adolescents from 12 and older, Guam will add 10,000 more eligible individuals.
Cabrera said Guam has administered 138,000 doses of vaccines, accounting for 75 percent of the allocation for the island.