In regional news, CNMI Governor Ralph Torres shut down all public and private schools and colleges in the Northern Marianas for the next 10 days after at least three confirmed COVID-19 positive community cases were reported yesterday involving individuals at at least two schools on Saipan.

The CNMI went without confirmed COVID-19 positives through community transmission for over 200 days. 

“I want to personally assure the educational community, staff, parents, families, and students that we will do everything as a government to protect the Commonwealth as we have successfully done throughout the course of the pandemic. We have the tools in place to contain this,” Torres said in a statement early Friday morning.