GVB to recommend augmenting COVID strategy

The Guam Visitors Bureau says, "the current test and tracing strategy for containing COVID is not making any significant impact."  And GVB says it has a plan to augment the effort that will be more effective, and show results within weeks.

GVB Vice President Gerry Perez presented the plan during a meeting with board members, who gave their approval to present it to the governor.  Perez began his presentation by pointing out some of the flaws in the current strategy.

“The PCR test that's been in wide use here is obviously the gold standard,” he said. “It is accurate. But it is lab processed and you don’t find out results until three days later. What this means is that you can miss the most infectious stage which is two to three days before symptoms even appear. This is significant.”

Simply put, Perez says, the tests come too late. He cites a study by a Harvard medical expert that indicates that "the PCR strategy catches less than 3-percent of cases early enough to affect action." He also offered anecdotal information that the follow up may not always be effective.

“We have a GVB employee that's been holed up at home for two weeks now and he is very complimentary about public health over the phone,” he said. “But he still has not received a home visit, and this is the most alarming thing, this contact tracer did not know about the COVID alert app. Now that's very disappointing. After all is said and done, clearly, the current strategy is not only costly and logistically inefficient, but the slow turnaround time make it an ineffective strategy for the broader goal of curbing community transmission.”

So what's the answer? GVB will not propose replacing the current public health strategy, but rather augmenting it with an early detection strategy.

"The concept is direct and instant intervention to interrupt the virus transmission using rapid antigen tests which are less expensive, more plentiful, and can deliver faster results,” he says.

The rapid tests can be given to employees when they come to work, if they don't clear they go home, he says. And they can repeat it a couple of days later. The key is it detects infected people before symptoms even show. Perez says they will ask the governor for support, and to secure cares act funding to prepare, implement and even pay for the instant testing. He adds that its a community action plan in which everyone needs to get involved.

“It’s not a perfect solution, but like I said, if we're waiting for perfection, nothing will ever get done,” he says.