The Department of Public Health and Social Services has confirmed six cases of the JN.1 COVID-19 variant on Guam as of Jan. 6, while also reporting eight other COVID-19 cases that required hospitalization as of Jan. 9.
Both Guam Memorial Hospital and Guam Regional Medical City have required masking up because of a recent increase in COVID-19 cases. Last week, GMH reported 43 staff testing positive for COVID-19.
“Following the holiday season, the island is seeing an influx of COVID-19 cases, mirroring what is happening in the mainland United States, which also saw an increase in COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses following the holidays,” Public Health’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert Leon Guerrero said in a statement Tuesday night.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the continued growth of JN.1 suggests it to either be more transmissible or better at evading immune systems.
“At this time, there is no evidence that JN.1 presents an increased risk to public health relative to other currently circulating variants,” the CDC said.
Public Health said it continues to monitor the situation, and is encouraging the community to practice COVID-19 prevention measures such as washing your hands, wearing a face mask in large social settings, and to social distance when possible.
Those experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, such as shortness of breath, fatigue, body aches, headaches, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion, nausea and/or diarrhea, should stay home, except to seek medical care, Public Health said.
If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, seek testing and self-quarantine at home while awaiting results, it added.
DPHSS reminds those who test positive for COVID-19 with an at-home test kit to report their test result to [email protected] with the following information:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Date of test
- Result
- Contact information
- Picture of the resulted test
DPHSS also reminds those who test positive for COVID-19 to isolate for five days, regardless of vaccination status.
Day one of isolation begins after the symptom onset date or the day the test was administered, if asymptomatic.
COVID-19 vaccinations are available at the following DPHSS locations:
- Northern Region Community Health Center (NRCHC) and Southern Region Community Health Center (SRCHC) for the following:
- Children ages 6 months through 18 years old who are uninsured, underinsured, or under Medicaid or the Medically Indigent Program (MIP).
- Adults 19 years old and older who are uninsured or underinsured. Underinsured means your health insurance carrier does not cover COVID-19 vaccinations.
- To schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine, individuals can call the NRCHC by calling (671) 635-7412/7456/4435 or the SRCHC by calling (671) 828-7517/7518.
- Bureau of Family Health and Nursing Services (BFHNS), located in the NRCHC for the following:
- Children ages 6 months through 18 years old, who are uninsured, underinsured, or under Medicaid or MIP.
- Adults 55 years old and older, who are uninsured or underinsured.
- BFHNS clinics are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and on Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Individuals can call BFHNS at (671) 634-7408 for more information.
COVID-19 vaccines are now part of the routine vaccination schedule and covered by most insurance companies. DPHSS encourages the public to contact their primary healthcare provider and their insurance carrier to see if the COVID-19 vaccine is available.
