As we wait for the new quarantine protocols to take effect after midnight tonight, today the Department of Public Health and Social Services was staging at the Guam International Airport preparing to do on-the-spot vaccine verifications for returning residents who were immunized locally.

If you're a returning Guam resident all you need is your vaccination card, and Public Health will do the verification after you land at the airport.

"We want to assure the community especially our Guam residents that are returning, we do have access to Web IZ," DPHSS Director Art San Agustin said. "They do though need to still fill the declaration form out which is to attest they've been fully vaccinated and that would be required for everyone saying that they are coming to Guam and they are fully vaccinated with approved U.S. FDA vaccines."

"There will be five tables in the processing site," he said. "The first table will be for airline crew and those that are fully vaccinated from Guam. The second two tables will be for our passengers who are not fully vaccinated, and the third, fourth, and fifth table the last two will be for families or persons with disabilities."

When you're cleared from quarantine you will still have to comply with symptom monitoring for 14 days via what's called the Sara Alert. All incoming travelers are encouraged to visit the DPHSS website to familiarize themselves with the recent guidance in order to prepare and ensure a smooth process.

By DPHSS positioning itself at the airport, this negates the need for residents to request for printout verifications prior to departure.

Acting Chief Public Health Officer Chima Mbakwem, the operation at the airport will be staffed at all times ready for returning residents. "Already today, we've trained 20 Public Health staff to access the Web IZ on-the-spot, so what we did was have them train so that at the point of entry we have people who are able to access the Web IZ to confirm if those people actually had their shots and they're fully vaccinated," he said.

If you are fully vaccinated but didn't receive your shot on Guam, then you must have secondary proof of verification in order to be exempt from quarantine. This could include a letter from the provider or health authority you received your vaccination from.

DPHSS Deputy Director Terry Aguon says the recent lifted restrictions are an opportunity to celebrate, but we're still not in the clear.

"As long as we pull together as a community clearly these are the milestones that we can be appreciating and that is the opportunity to open up a little bit more to be able to not necessarily relax the system but encourage people to be vaccinated and see the positive results that can occur," he said.

Also effective on the 15th, Public Health will no longer accommodate pre-arrival requests for critical and essential workers. Requests for exemption from the government quarantine facility will also no longer be necessary for essential travelers coming to Guam.

Public Health will continue to accommodate requests for travelers with medical referrals or acute medical conditions that prevent quarantine in a hotel.