JIC RELEASE NO. 297 - Food Commodities Distribution Through Village Mayors Begin This Week;Asan-Maina Mayor’s Office Remains Closed until Further Notice; Notification of COVID-19 Test Results Delivered by Medical Provider

COVID-19 test results are reported from multiple labs at varying times of the day. The Joint Information Center will report cumulative COVID-19 test results once a day, unless unavailable. 

For information on COVID-19 cases, visit the COVID-19 Dashboard and Situation Report at http://dphss.guam.gov/covid-19/. The COVID-19 Dashboard is updated on business days.

Food Commodities Distribution Through Village Mayors Begin This Week
The Guam Department of Education (GDOE), State Agency for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Nutrition Service (FNS), will begin the distribution of food commodities for the month of September in partnership with the local mayors.

Instead of the COVID-19 pandemic distribution model, where commodities were provided at designated locations such as the GDOE TEFAP warehouse in Piti, Tiyan baseball field or Dededo Farmers’ Market, commodities will be distributed through each mayor at the village level. This distribution method will be a drive-through or door-to-door delivery to provide easier access to food commodities for residents while also minimizing traffic-related issues.

Recipients will receive one bag of TEFAP food commodities per household to include egg noodles, elbow macaroni, cereal, instant milk, canned pears, peaches, beef stew, and lentils to include additional commodities as they arrive. Commodities will be distributed on a first come, first served basis, while supplies last. Commodity distribution in each village will be available to village constituents only and residents should call each mayor’s office for more information. The distribution schedule for the next two weeks is as follows:

Participants are reminded to wear a mask, maintain physical distancing, and follow all traffic directions and signage.

Asan-Maina Mayor’s Office Remains Closed until Further Notice
Upon notification of a positive confirmed COVID-19 case, the Asan-Maina Mayor’s Office has been completely sanitized and deep-cleaned over the weekend but will remain closed while contact tracing and testing of all its personnel continues. 

In the meantime, any Asan-Maina residents that need assistance can contact the Asan-Maina’s Mayor’s Office by email at asanmainamayor@gmail.com. Until the Asan-Maina Mayor’s Office reopens, the Piti Mayor has offered to assist Asan-Maina residents. Asan-Maina residents can also reach out to the Piti Mayor’s Office at 472-1232/3 or by email at jesse.alig@pitiguam.com. Residents can also contact the Mayors’ Council of Guam at 472-6940 or 477-8461 or by email at mcogadmin@teleguam.com. 

Notification of COVID-19 Test Results Delivered by Medical Provider
The Guam Public Health Laboratory (GPHL) of the Department of Public Health and Social Services (DPHSS) has processed all of the specimens from the community outreach test sites in the month of August. The DPHSS nurses have delivered hundreds of test results to patients and continue to deliver test results from COVID-19 testing conducted for contact tracing and those with appointments at the Northern Region Community Health Center (NRCHC). While DPHSS makes every attempt to call patients with their results, there are some with whom DPHSS has not successfully contacted. DPHSS patients awaiting their COVID-19 test results from NRCHC may call (671) 635-7525/6 or email covidresults@dphss.guam.gov to subscribe to the Guam Community Health Center (CHC) secure email service. This email service is also available to patients who prefer to receive their results through email only.

Tier 2 Private Clinics and patients are advised that if a patient was swabbed for COVID-19 at a Private Clinic, the patient will be notified of their test results by the Private Clinic and not by DPHSS. Patients who were tested at a Private Clinic and who still have not received their COVID-19 test results within seven days should contact their medical provider. DPHSS Tier 2 Clinic Partners include:

• American Medical Center Mangilao: (671) 647-8262 or (671) 647-8258
• FHP Health Center: (671) 646-5825
• Seventh-Day Adventist Guam Clinic (671) 646-8881
• One Love Pediatrics (671) 588-1588
• Guam Regional Medical City (671) 645-5500
• Guam Medical Care (671) 647-4174

DPHSS reminds patients who are waiting for COVID-19 test results to remain in quarantine until they receive their results. This means that patients should limit their activities in public to only essential activities, such as, but not limited to, obtaining groceries or seeking medical attention, and should not have any visitors or visit other households or public places until results are returned.

What to do if your results are:

1. Positive.

   1. For patients who are asymptomatic or with mild to moderate symptoms: Isolate yourself from others in your home. Make sure you are in a separate room with its own bathroom and that you do not share this space with others. It’s important that you avoid contact with other people in your home. DPHSS will contact you to discuss options for isolation and explain next steps.

   2. For patients who are severely ill: Advise your physician or DPHSS nurse of your symptoms or call 911.

2. Negative.

   1. If you were identified as a close contact to a COVID-19 positive patient, you are still advised to remain in quarantine for the remainder of the 14-day quarantine period.

   2. If you were not identified as a close contact to a COVID-19 positive patient and are symptomatic, you should consult with your physician or medical provider on next steps.

   3. If you were not identified as a close contact to a COVID-19 positive patient and you are not symptomatic then you may return to your normal activities.