RMI Government Implements 0 day pre Travel Quarantine

Kin recommendations ko jen National Disaster Committee (NDC) eo, emoj an Cabinet eo an RMI jolok aikuj eo bwe en wor quarantine mokta jen an juon armej naj ketok nan Majol in. Karok in emoj an ella jen Cabinet ilo kweilọk eo an ine, Monday, 30 May 2022.  NDC ear komelele non Cabinet ke United Airlines ekar kalikar non NDC ejab maron wonmanlok wot kin karak in ‘bubble travel’ eo ibben United Airlines.  Kin menin, ejako an UA kajenolok juon jikin an paajinjia ro an RMI make check in, security check line ejenolọk ilo TSA, etc.  Aolep armej ekopa tourists ro im ro rej ekake nan jikin ko jet, rej koba ibben dron ilo airport eo Honolulu kio im emakitkit ibben dron.

Protocol kaal in ilo an naj ejelok quarantine ilikin Majol ej effective ak jino ilo Monday, 30 May 2022.

PROTOCOL NAN zero (0) days pre travel quarantine:

Mokta jen ekaake im kakolkol ko (Pre-travel staging and testing):

• Registration nan am maron drelone RMI Safe Travels Program eo
• Aolep ro rej travel iuṃwin STP eo rej aikuj in moj im dredrelok aer boki wa in bōbrae COVID-19 ko ekoba booster ko [wa ko im booster ko rej aikuj ko im rej ekkeijed ilo recommendation ko an CDC, FDA, im RMI vaccination task force eo)
• Teej ak Kakolkol ko nan COVID-19: PCR teej eo eñoul rualitōk (48 hours) awa mokta jen ien ekkāke to nan RMI.
• Rapid Antigen teej eo (Ag-RDT) joñoul ruo (12) awa mokta jen ien am ketok nan RMI.

Maaj ko im ikkutkut kwal peim rej jet bunton ko im rej aikuj bok jikier ilo aolep tureen makitkit ko an juon riTravel, jen airport eo ilo HNL nan ion baluun eo tok.

• Jikin Quarantine eo ilo RMi ej Kwaj Lodge im Garrison Housing ko ion Kwajalein, Arrak CMI Campus, kab Isolation Ward eo ilo Hospital eo Majuro. Jikin ko jet nan quarantine ej ilo Airport eo im emoj kajenolok e nan Flight Crew Rest im rijerbal ro rej itok nan essential work ko.

• Ilo Majol in, ej bed wot ilo an joñoul emen (14) raan ilowaan jikin quarantine ko. 

• Teej ak kakolkol ko nan COVID-19 ilo torean quarantine ko rej rapid antigen (Ag-RDT) ne konaj topar tok Majol im PCR teej ko ilo ien eo konaj topar to Majol ekoba raan jilu (3), raan jijilimjuon (7), im raan joñoul emem (14)

• Nan lale ne enaj wor kokalle in COVID-19 ko ipan ro ilo quarantine enaj kon juon system na etan SeraAlert Sytstem.

• Elanne enaj wor nañinmej in COVID-19 ilo quarantine, innem aolep ro im raar epaak case eo ak ro rej jokwe ipan armej eo e positive, naj bed wot ilowaan quarantine joñoul emem (14) raan alikin an kar walok positive case eo.

• Enaj wor unokan COVID-19 lilok nan ro im ewor border case kein ipper (uno rej anti-retroviral im monoclonal antibodies im rekkar nan case kein)

END//

At its meeting yesterday, 30 May 2022, Cabinet approved the NDC’s recommendation to eliminate pre-quarantine requirements outside the RMI.  The 'travel bubble' that GRMI had in place at the Honolulu airport i.e. dedicated check in counter, processing through TSA, and dedicated flight for RMI bound passengers only, are no longer in place as United had advised NDC they could not sustain these operations and were stopped a few months back. Members of Cabinet, Nitijela and NDC who have been on recent official travel and returned, advised and confirmed that there is no “travel bubble" at the Honolulu airport as normal operations at the airport have resumed with lots of travelers mingling and mixing in the terminal, through TSA screening, etc.

The outlined protocol below, put together by Director of Public Health (MOHHS) and supported by NDC, is designed to detect border quarantine cases and keep COVID-19 out of the RMI community. These protocols complement operational protocols for running a COVID-19 quarantine and isolation facility.  The following protocols will be applied with the elimination of pre-quarantine outside the RMI, effective Monday, 30 May 2022.

• Registration with the RMI Safe Travelers Program (STP)
• All travelers under the STP will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID19 (primary series vaccines and boosters per CDC, FDA and RMI COVID-19 vaccination task force recommendations).
• COVID-19 testing: PCR within 48 hours of planned departure.
• Rapid antigen test (Ag-RDT) tested within 12 hours of planned departure.

Face masks and good hand hygiene practice are required to be maintained throughout airport transit and air conveyance.

• Current designated quarantine facilities in the RMI include the Kwaj Lodge and Garrison houses on Kwajalein, the Arrak CMI campus (east and west wings) and the Majuro hospital’s COVID-19 isolation ward. Special quarantine facilities include the Amata Kabua International Airports crew rest facility.
• In country quarantine remains at 14 days of secured and monitored quarantine.
• COVID-19 testing during this quarantine period includes a rapid antigen test (Ag-RDT) on arrival and PCR tests on days 3, 7 and 14.
• Symptom monitoring of persons under active surveillance is managed using the SeraAlert system
• The detection of active cases of COVID-19 in border quarantine will trigger a 14-day period for isolation and quarantine for close contacts.
• COVID-19 therapeutics will be offered to border cases of COVID-19 (anti-retroviral and monoclonal antibodies as appropriate)

Pacific Resilience Program (PREP) II RMI Impact Story 1: Development of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP): Connecting the Youth in the NAP Process

The Pacific Resilience Project is supporting the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (GoRMI) to strengthen the integration of the climate and disaster resilience agenda, and to embed it into the national and subnational planning and resource allocation systems.  Through this NAP Impact Story, awareness of the project, knowledge and youth inclusivity is captured describing the important role of youth in the RMI NAP development process.

In September 2018, as part of its 2050 Climate Strategy, the GoRMI committed to the development of a NAP to sit in parallel with its commitment to reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions through its Electricity Roadmap. The NAP focuses on contributing towards enhancing the resilience of RMI to climate change under the PREP II Project.

The NAP is recognized as a ‘plan for survival’ under the expected impacts of climate change and its primary driver is a focus on self-determination supported by observation, knowledge, and science.  It serves as the acting instrument to mobilize financial resources, focusing on climate change activities.

 “The “Survival Plan” will help the RMI by providing a pathway for the people and multiple stakeholders all over the country through information; by listening to their concerns and putting their voice into the plan. The NAP is the benchmark that sets the scene for the future and how we will go about getting there for example, how to finance the implementation of the NAP, and how to make that vision come to life” says Mr. Broderick Menke, who is the National Adaptation Plan Coordinator from the RMI. 

When asked how the NAP will reduce the climate risks that Marshallese face, Mr. Menke went on to say, “If we were to mobilize financial resources, we would be able to address the needs that RMI people face and address the gaps that are in the Government that could help the people of the RMI better tie in their issues and tie in what they need. This also prioritizes climate change activities as indicated by sectors across the RMI so we would be able to prioritize and then finance these adaptation needs. We'd be able to put vision into implementation, by implementation we took what the people and key sectors of the Government prioritized and put it into reality.”

The NAP’s consultative process is a specific process building on existing strategies.  The RMI’s NAP document adopts a bottom-up approach mainly focusing on the priority of climate change adaptation activities that we want and would like to establish as priority in the RMI. “We would be able to set out aspects of what the NAP entails and tell them this is what we want so they can use that as a guide to move forward” added Mr. Menke. The NAP will be the information guide for big policymakers.

The youth of RMI are one of the important stakeholders in the development of the NAP.  They are the ones that are highly vulnerable to climate change and they will be the future decision makers when it comes to adaptation measures being taken by RMI. Their involvement in the implementation of the NAP will benefit their understanding of effects of Climate Changes with regards to RMI, and their future roles as future leaders as they will one day be implementing the measures detailed in the NAP.

Mr. Broderick Menke National Adaptation Plan Coordinator

 Mr. Menke added “We want our youth to be better than us and always be interactive and be the face of change in our society through the adaptation process (and more) and we want to make that as transparent as possible and give them that ability to transform themselves into what we want them to become. And being that we all were youth once, it’s important to give them the same opportunities, experiences, and the type of exposure that we were given in our early years and to pass on the torch to our future generations.”

Mr. Menke recommends that not just the youth but all vulnerable groups should be able to read and understand the NAP, to ensure that they’re included and that their voices will be heard. “The NAP is a living document, so we should try and put things where they need to be and put their perspective in too. And I always encourage everybody to pick something up and put in their two cents if necessary” Mr. Menke says. 

A lesson learned throughout the NAP process is that community engagement is very important. Involving vulnerable stakeholders, everyone, and the youth specifically in the implementation of the NAP is crucial in resilience building.

The PREP II RMI project is an initiative of the GoRMI in agreement with the World Bank and the Global Climate Fund (GCF) which aims to support RMI in strengthening early warning and preparedness, resilient investments, and financial protection against disasters.

Towards the end of the interview, I asked Mr. Menke what makes his work day successful, to which he answered: “A successful work day is working through a conflict. Mitigating yourself and waiting through a conflict and making sure you don’t leave the workplace unanswered. You want to always ensure that you get to a resolution prior to leaving so that you don’t bother yourself at the end of the day and do work at home and get your personal life, business life, professional life intertwined.”