THE House Health and Welfare Committee was briefed by the Covid-19 Task Force Tuesday, February 15, about the Commonwealth’s evolving pandemic response, sole-source purchasing concerns, and long-term plans for the CNMI’s healthcare system.
Led by House Health and Welfare Chairwoman Christina “Tina” Sablan, the meeting included updates from Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation Chief Executive Officer, Esther Muna, CNMI Covid-19 Task Force Chairman Warren Villagomez, Governor’s Authorized Representative Patrick Guerrero, CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management Special Assistant Gerald Deleon Guerrero, the Public School System’s Family and Community Engagement Program Manager Liela Yumul, and Department of Corrections Commissioner Wally Villagomez.
“Since the committee’s last briefing with the task force, there’s been a surge in Covid-19 cases between the Delta and Omicron variants, including a spike in infections affecting our public schools as well as staff and inmates at the Department of Corrections,” said Chairwoman Sablan.
Among the highlights from the briefing was the exorbitant costs of sanitization at the Vicente Taman Seman correctional facility in Susupe.
“It was a revelation that the Department of Corrections spent over $257,000 on sanitization services provided by one company in just seventeen days, and nobody on the panel could recall the last date of service, or who is providing sanitization currently,” Sablan said. “To put that amount in perspective, the entire CHCC facility is apparently sanitized for $30,000 per month. The entire legislative building has been sanitized for $1,600 in a day.”
The committee learned that since the beginning of the pandemic, the government has spent approximately $18 million for sanitization. “That’s $18 million in sole-source contracts or emergency purchasing, without a bidding process,” Sablan said.
HSEM Special Assistant Deleon Guerrero informed the committee that the government is finally moving to bid out sanitization services. A request for quotations has been drafted but has yet to be issued.
The committee and task force members also discussed the need for updated, and more frequent messaging to the community about current Covid-19 safety protocols for businesses and public establishments.
“There’s so much confusion from all the ever-changing executive orders, directives, memos, and advisories. The current guidance and requirements really need to be made clearer for everyone,” Sablan said. “For example, Covid-19 is so widespread in our community, that contact tracing has stopped and the task force’s focus has shifted to testing and treatment to reduce hospitalization and save lives. Since contract tracing has stopped, there is no need to do temperature checks and logbooks in business establishments anymore. That message finally started to go out last week.”
Sablan said the overtaxed testing process could also be eased through adequate communication from public health officials.
“The system is being overwhelmed by people who think they need to show a negative test before they can return to work or school or even travel, or who are unvaccinated and required by their employers to test weekly. We appreciate that the task force members recognized the need for more public education regarding who needs to get tested, when people need to get tested, and why they need to get tested,” she said. “This will help employers change their policies and eliminate needless tests in the queue.”
Lastly, committee members asked the task force to address long term plans for the commonwealth’s healthcare system beyond the pandemic. CHCC CEO Muna described the need for a new, expanded hospital facility with integrated public health services, and said federal partners will be assisting CHCC with an assessment to begin the planning process.
The House Committee on Health and Welfare consists of Chairwoman Sablan, Vice Chairwoman Leila Staffler, Reps. B.J. Attao, Sheila Therese Babauta and Donald Manglona.
