7 May 2021

Northern Marianas public told to continue wearing facemasks

3:58 pm on 7 May 2021

People in the Northern Marianas are being advised by the ocal health authgority to continue to wear masks whether vaccinated against Covid-19 or not.

That's despite a new advisory from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that loosens the rules on the use of coverings.

The Commonwealth Health Care Corporation chief executive officer Esther Muña said people should continue to wear facemasks since the islands had not yet reached herd immunity.

Herd immunity is when a large number of people in a community is vaccinated enough to provide indirect protection for the unvaccinated ones.

The number varies among different infectious diseases and different jurisdictions but the typical target is between 50 and 90 percent, depending on how infectious a disease is.

There is no fixed number yet for Covid-19 as it is a new kind of disease.

As of five days ago, the CNMI had fully vaccinated 18,859 persons, representing approximately 50 percent of the eligible population.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently came out with an advisory, essentially saying that fully vaccinated people don't need to wear facemasks outdoors.