After easing travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travelers, the Philippines and South Korea are now more open to leisure travel. 

According to the website of the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, fully vaccinated individuals no longer have to undergo a mandatory facility-based quarantine upon arrival. However, arriving travelers must present proof of vaccination and negative RT-PCR results from a test taken within 48 hours of departure from the country of origin.  

 In addition to the requirements above, foreign travelers must have a valid ticket to depart the Philippines within thirty days of arrival, a passport valid for at least six months from the date of arrival, and proof of travel insurance with a minimum coverage amount of $35,000 to cover COVID-19 treatment for the duration of the traveler’s stay. 

Balikbayans, or foreign nationals who have old Philippine passports, are allowed to stay in the Philippines for up to six months. 

On the other hand, starting from April 1st, fully vaccinated travelers who register their vaccination history in the Quarantine COVID19 Defense (Q-Code) system before arriving in South Korea will be eligible for quarantine exemption.  

A negative COVID-19 test taken within 48 hours of departure to South Korea is also required for entry. Unlike the Philippines, travel insurance is not a requirement for entry into the Republic of Korea. 

Travelers to the Philippines and South Korea can buy their plane tickets online. People traveling to the Philippines can choose to book their flights in person at the Philippine Airlines ticket office managed by Goodwind Travel & Tours located in Micronesia Mall in Dededo.  

It is important to remember that the travel requirements to the Philippines and South Korea are subject to change at short notice by the local government.  

For the latest updates, travelers can check the current requirements on Philippine Airlines’ website, philippineairlines.com/en/covid-19/arrivingintheph; the U.S. Embassy of the Philippines’ website, ph.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/; and the U.S. Embassy of the Republic of Korea’s website, https://kr.usembassy.gov/022420-covid-19-information/.

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Guam continues to move toward a post-pandemic reality. Due to the collective progress and involvement of the people of Guam, we are able to make this step forward. 

Governor Lou Leon Guerrero announced that she will be lifting the mandated COVID-19 vaccine requirement for government workers and student-athletes.  

“Effective immediately, there no longer will be a limit on outdoor social gathering numbers and, other than health care workers, our government will no longer mandate proof of employee vaccination and weekly testing requirements,” Governor Lou Leon Guerrero stated in a video message on March 21, 2022.  

In other words, unvaccinated GovGuam employees will no longer be required to undergo weekly Covid-19 testing. 

More action was implemented by the Governor on March 11, as she signed an executive order that lifted the restrictions on crowds for outdoor social gatherings.  

Outdoor social events were previously restricted to a maximum of 100 individuals.  

However, the restrictions still apply to indoor social gatherings where it is capped at 100 individuals.   

The mask mandate and other limitations remain in place because the island is still at “high risk” for COVID-19 exposure, and the island is still seeing an omicron-driven spike, Post Guam reported on Tuesday, March 22.  

According to Guam statistics, Governor Lou Leon Guerrero stated that as of Friday, about 96% of Guam’s vaccine-eligible residents, or those aged 5 and up, are fully immunized.   

A total of 88%  of the population has been fully vaccinated. About 95 percent of executive branch staff have been vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the governor. 

Pacific Daily News reported that data collected from the Department of Public Health and Social Services states that the number of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in Guam continues to decline with a seven-day average of roughly 644 instances per 100,000 people.   

We are still encouraged to continue our COVID-19 practices as a solution to keeping our numbers down and our island safe.  

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With the COVID-19 vaccine mandate lifted on Guam, restaurants, bars, gyms, and public events will no longer require people to present proof of vaccination. According to Guam COVID-19 vaccine tracker on the data news-leader website in February 2022, more than 95% of the island’s residents are fully vaccinated;  about 134,754 age-eligible Guam residents.  

With the decline of coronavirus cases in several places in the United States, government officials have re-evaluated the mask mandate. Following this, many students in the U.S. no longer wear face masks in class or on school grounds.  

Due to the release of new information about the coronavirus and decline in positive cases, the University of Guam started offering more face-to-face and hybrid classes. They are also aiming to transition into having a majority of face-to-face classes in the semesters to come. For workers, students, and guests at the university, social distancing and mask wearing is still required on campus.  

Angelica Pangelinan, a current college student, expresses her thoughts on the mask mandate. 

“If the mask mandate is ever lifted, I wouldn’t mind the idea of having students choose whether or not they want to wear a mask, considering the amount of people vaccinated and the availability of vaccinations,” states Pangelinan. 

Pangelinan attends face-to-face classes and has received her COVID-19 vaccination. When asked about mask-wearing on campus and in the classroom, she shares her thoughts on the matter. 

“I wouldn’t mind seeing students walk around campus or in the classroom without masks.” 

Outside of campus, the mask mandate has been lifted in the Andersen Air Force Base. It was effective immediately on March 3rd, 2022, allowing federal employees to choose whether or not they wear a mask on the base. However once these employees go out of the Air Force Base grounds then they will need to follow the local government mask mandate. 

Recently Guam has gone from a high risk of getting COVID-19 to a medium risk level according to the Center of Disease control and Prevention community guidelines. This is a step towards lifting the mask mandate on the island.  

University of Guam is slowly getting back to normal with a number of hybrid and fully face-to-face classes and some students walking and hanging around. How do you feel about the mask mandate being lifted?

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The COVID-19 outbreak has caused extensive stress for all of Guam. The pandemic has affected schools and other businesses around the community. Through shutdowns and multiple quarantines, it has been hard for many of us to sustain a job or get the full potential of our education for ourselves and our children.  

Since the start of COVID-19 hitting our island in 2019, many of us have been worried about getting infected with COVID-19 or infecting others with it.  

Although our numbers are up and down, the recent rise in COVID-19 has taken a toll on us again. It is best to provide some information and guidance from our own Public Health department and CDC on how to stay safe and healthy.  

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, better yet known as CDC states that “ Getting vaccinated is the best way to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.”  

In addition to getting vaccinated, the public is still encouraged to follow these guidelines to help prevent the spread of COVID-19; wear your mask in public, stay 6 feet apart from each other, practice social distancing, and wash your hands often. 

The situation we are in is dynamic, unstable, and is always changing very rapidly. We have to be extra cautious in order to keep ourselves and our community safe.  

Guam Public Health tells us some steps we can take if you are feeling some early on symptoms of COVID-19 but are not vaccinated, vaccinated, or even if you have a booster.  

Provided below is a flowchart from the Guam Public Health department on some safety guidelines that we can put into practice.  

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After two long years of COVID-19 affecting everything we do, the wrench it threw into the gears began to loosen itself these past few months. Since the semester of Fall 2021, face-to-face classes are being offered again, and life has been returning to campus almost back to the way it used to be. This transitional phase of returning to normal is a huge relief to most, but it does bring concerns up as cases still occasionally rise.  

For faculty especially, classes must adhere to the rules of social distancing and wearing masks, sometimes even face shields depending on the number of students. This can lead to a handful of difficulties for faculty in handling their courses. Some courses offered by UOG take a more hands-on approach, creating a greater need for face-to-face meetings.  

These courses include those taught by Raymond Anderson, that require a lot of hands-on experience with equipment and software for students to learn more effectively.  

Anderson voiced his initial concerns of last semester’s transition back. “It was a little nerve-wracking teaching a full class when you can’t be six feet apart, so the students had to wear face shields along with their masks, and we did have some online. But on the days we were working with cameras, we were fully in the green screen room or outside.”  

Larger in-class activities were difficult to organize as everyone had to be mindful of social distancing. Grouping a large group of students in a room, or even having smaller groups of students come into class for equipment training became difficult due to the risks.  

Although lectures have somewhat become easier by simply screen sharing teaching students how to use programs like editing software did not have the same effect as it did face-to-face.  

“It’s a little easier to show Premiere or After Effects online, but it’s still not quite the same because they’re all dependent on me- if students need help they can’t just put up their hand and ask the TA, so it slows the whole class down because we would have to stop and figure it out together.” Anderson explained.  

With things on its way to go back to normal though, some professors have started to go back to fully face-to-face instead of the hybrid options students had last semester. 

According to Anderson, there are plans to continue with this transition, offering more face-to-face classes for Fall 2022.  

The general response of students to things going back to normal has been very positive. Many are relieved to be free from an online learning environment, returning to the old routine of going to campus and physically attending their classes. There is also a social aspect of being on campus that students missed in the two years of remote learning, and a sense of school spirit begins to return.  

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To lessen this strain, financial support of up to $3,000 is now available for qualifying students as a result of the University of Guam Cares Emergency Grant.

Applications for the emergency aid grant began earlier late January with applications being accepted until Feb. 25 or until all of the allocated funds are expended.

Students must meet or demonstrate the following eligibility requirements to receive funds:

· Demonstrate financial hardship

· Demonstrate need

· Must be enrolled as a full or part-time student at the University of Guam anytime since Mar. 13, 2020

The awarded funds are intended for use by the student to cover any financial obligations disrupted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Examples of uses of the funds extends to tuition, childcare, food, housing or mental or physical health care.

In a statement made by Anita Borja Enriquez, the senior vice president and provost at the University of Guam, she wants students to succeed despite any financial hardship.

“We want every student, regardless of financial ability, to cross that stage at commencement,” said Enriquez.

It is important to note that all other financial aid available to the applicant will be utilized first before funds from the UOG Cares Emergency Grant can be paid out.

Payments will be made 7-14 days after the applicant notification of their reward.

Funding

Funding for the UOG Cares Emergency Grant was provided through the Higher Education Relief Fund (HEERF III). The funds for HEERF III were authorized through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 which was signed into law by President Joseph Biden on Mar. 11.

The University received $6.09 million in total from the American Rescue Plan.

In the past, the University paid a total of $2.03 million to 3,498 students with another 495 students receiving $1.24 million in other additional emergency aid grants during the Fall 2021 semester. During the Summer 2021 semester, the University paid $704,800 to 901 enrolled students.

Higher Education Relief Fund

The Higher Education Relief Fund is an economic aid grant provided by the federal government directed towards the assistance of postsecondary education institutions and their student populations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So far, there has been three instances of the HEERF grant.

In 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) which awarded the Office of Postsecondary Education $14 billion as HEERF I.

For HEERF II, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021(CRRSAA) authorized $81.88 billion to postsecondary educational support. Congress signed CRRSAA into law on Dec. 27,2020.

HEERF III provided $39.6 billion in financial support to all national postsecondary educations.

UOG received $4.56 million from HEERF I. Half of these funds ($2.29 million) were directed disbursed to 3,254 students in 2020.

UOG also received $2.28 million from HEERF II where all of the allocated funds were paid out to 3,061 students in 2021.

Students looking to seek more information regarding HEERF III or the other direct aid grants can visit https://www.uog.edu/cares-act.

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