WRITTEN TESTIMONY
Ralph DLG. Torres
Governor, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Before the 2022 Senior Plenary Meeting
of the Interagency Group on Insular Affairs (IGIA) February 1, 2022
WRITTEN TESTIMONY
Ralph DLG. Torres
Governor, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Before the 117th United States Congress,
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Hearing February 1, 2022
“I would like to let the community know that after having been in close-contact with a family member who tested positive for COVID-19, I received a COVID-19 antigen test administered by the Task Force on Sunday, January 30th and was informed shortly after that I tested positive for COVID-19.”
“Before Sunday, I took COVID-19 tests on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and had tested negative on all three of those tests.”
The safety and health of the residents of the CNMI remain the top priority of the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force and the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation (CHCC). With approximately 99% of the CNMI’s eligible population fully vaccinated and approximately 50% of those fully vaccinated having received a booster shot, given the epidemiological data and the state of the health system in the CNMI, quarantine and entry protocols will be updated based on the recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on isolation for persons confirmed positive with COVID-19 and are asymptomatic. In addition, COVID-19 testing pre-registration will no longer be required for anyone wishing to get tested at the community-based testing (CBT) site but is encouraged to minimize registration wait time.
Governor Ralph DLG. Torres would like to clarify some misinformation put out by the media on Wednesday with regards to a meeting held on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, between Governor Torres and Saipan Cares for Animals’ Director, Ms. Beth Pliscou. First, neither the Commonwealth Zoning Board nor a representative from the Zoning Office was present at Tuesday’s meeting. However, the Governor did meet with the Zoning Administrator and Zoning Chairman on Monday, January 25, 2022 to gather information on SCA’s current situation.
Catholic Schools Week
The local non-profit organization Saipan Cares for Animals (SCA) has recently announced that they plan on closing down their animal shelter within the next week due to a decision made by the CNMI Zoning Board. While the Commonwealth Zoning Board did inform SCA of the need to halt their current operations by January 31, 2022, they have not mandated SCA to vacate the premises.
Governor Ralph DLG. Torres, through the CNMI Office of the Governor and the CNMI Office of Veterans Affairs, invites all veterans residing on Saipan to a series of veteran town hall meetings to discuss issues of concern for veterans and military families.
The safety of the residents of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands remains the top priority of the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force and the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation (CHCC). As part of the ongoing effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the CNMI, surveillance testing will be expanded.
Governor Ralph DLG. Torres on Wednesday issued the following statement regarding the House of Representatives’ decision on his impeachment, as well as the impeachment demonstration held outside of the CNMI Legislative building.
Lieutenant Governor David M. Apatang, together with Delbert T. Pua, Special Assistant for the Office of Youth Affairs, recently proclaimed October 2024 as Youth Empowerment Month. The proclamation was made in the presence of members of the Legislature, Cabinet officials, and community partners, all united in their commitment to improving the lives of our youth.
