manager did not have a certificate on sanitation and safety. this certificate has been required since august 2018, but has been stringently enforced during the public health emergency. eleven of the 15 bars had reopened after managers were certified. july 27: of nine new positive cases, seven reported recent travel from the continental united states and six were identified while in a government quarantine facility. july 28: the guam education board pushed the first day of classes from august 11 to august 17, in order to provide more training to teachers on the new options. the plan is to divide the students population into three groups, with each group having no more than two days on campus. students will also have the option of learning from home using either the internet or printed material. july 30: the archdiocese of agana announced that catholic schools will open in the first two weeks of august. students in some schools and grades will be required to stay within designated cohorts, and teachers will move between classes, rather than students. student temperatures will be taken for entry into schools and individual classrooms. students are required to wear masks, regularly wash their hands, and use hand sanitizer. of the three new cases, two were identified in mandatory quarantine after travel: one reported travel from the continental united states and one reported travel from the philippines. the third was identified via contact tracing in the community. august 2020 august 2: incoming travelers from designated at-risk areas may avoid mandatory quarantine in a government facility by presenting the results of a usda-approved antigen or abbot id now test. previously, only pcr results were accepted. august 3: of the nine most recent cases, four had recent travel from the united states. the university of guam announced that dorm housing will be limited to single occupancy rooms only. august 6: father dueñas memorial school closed after a positive case. united airlines announced that it will increase flights to guam starting in september. all department of corrections staff and prisoners are expected to be tested in the next several weeks. august 7: gov. leon guerrero announced the bars would be closed, gatherings would be limited to 25 people, and funeral services limited to 10 people for two weeks starting on august 8. this, the first new limitations in months, was implemented after 52 new cases in the previous week. she stated, "while our positivity rate still remains below 2%, we are acting now to prevent a health care crisis before it begins." guam election commission executive director maria pangelinan reminded the public that curbside, stay-in-your car, primary voting is meant for the elderly, infirm, and ill. august 10: governor lou leon guerrero announced that she had tested positive for covid-19 after being exposed by a close relative, stating that she was experiencing moderate symptoms. august 12: lieutenant governor josh tenorio announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus, stating that he was experiencing moderate symptoms after testing negative two days earlier. meanwhile, gov. leon guerrero stated that she was feeling much better and able to work from home. august 13: with an additional 26 covid-19 cases confirmed, gov. leon guerrero was expected to meet with her medical advisory group in the afternoon with the anticipation of moving the island back to pcor 2. leon guerrero stated that the spike in cases has been traced to people at bars and funerals weeks previously, and said that if the island went back to pcor 2, "we will probably close other social gathering places. i'm very concerned about the dining restaurants." dr. hoa nguyen, a member of the medical advisory council, stated, "we are spiraling. most likely we will go back to pcor 2, but i think that – for at least one to two weeks – because the virus only has a cycle of two weeks. if you let everyone hunker down for two weeks, you will break the cycle. she has a tough decision to make." the first day of on-campus face-to-face classes in schools was delayed by two weeks until august 31, because of pandemic safety concerns. the 62% of public school students who opted for either online or hardcopy "grab and go" course materials will start as scheduled on monday the 17th. the island's one-week rolling positivity rate rose above 2% as a result in the spike in cases. the governor's complex, guam congress building, and guam international airport authority administrative offices were closed until further notice as a result of infected employees. august 14: gov. leon guerrero placed guam under pandemic condition of readiness (pcor) 1, the highest level, for a minimum of two weeks. from midnight on saturday: all non-essential businesses will be closed; all public gatherings will be prohibited; in-person instruction at public and private schools will be prohibited; parks and beaches will be closed; and non-essential businesses will be allowed to conduct curbside delivery. the university of guam announced that it would delay the start of classes until august 26. guam community college announced that it would transition to remote learning on august 17. august 15: the attorney general filed misdemeanor criminal charges against a resident, alleging that he violated quarantine orders while at a government quarantine site. the guam chamber of commerce protested the reinstatement of pcor 1, stating, "the additional costs of keeping up with sanitation protocols and low sales revenue have meant the life and death of one company after another over the past several months. as many have tried their best to hang on, we are deeply afraid that many more businesses will not survive this two-week mandatory pause. the very companies that have served our island for many years are in grave danger of closing their doors forever." august 17: stores on guam experienced a rush of shopping after the announcement of a two-week pcor 1 lockdown. one store estimated a 30% increase. stores reported shoppers were calmer than in march, with one manager noting, "people learned the first time around, i think. they found out that the products will still be available." thirteen covid-19 patients are hospitalized, with four in intensive care and one on a ventilator. in person absentee-voting for the august 29 primary election continues, having been declared an essential government function. august 20: gov. lou leon guerrero announced that guam had 105 new covid-19 cases and that she was implementing a one-week escalation of restrictions from the previously announced pcor 1: "all businesses will be closed with the exception of grocery stores, healthcare operations, including pharmacies, gas stations, convenience stores, hardware stores, and those operations critical to health, shelter, and the preservation of life." of these cases, 71 came from samples from the military, including national guard, done at naval hospital. dphss postponed scheduled mass testing in yona because it is running out of storage capacity for tests and needs more time to run existing samples efficiently. the joint information center also announced that it was changing from mass testing to target testing on high risk groups, contact tracing, symptomatic patients, travelers, and quarantined individuals. guam's sixth covid-19 fatality was recorded. the 70 year old died soon after hospitalization and was not a known case, but was tested after death. guam senator wil castro, the republican candidate for guam's at-large congressional district in the 2020 united states house of representatives elections, announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus and experienced symptoms two days after a legislative staffer tested positive. joint region marianas and its installations moved to health protection condition (hpcon) c in reaction to the increase in cases, but stated that it would affect base access for eligible individuals. august 21: the guam election commission recommended canceling or postponing the primary election scheduled for august 29. several precinct officials have dropped out because of covid-19 concerns and some vendors supporting the election have not been able to work because of the ban on non-essential business. use of untrained backup precinct workers may violate the governor's orders restricting government operations during the lockdown. august 24: effective august 23 through august 28, all incoming travelers were required to quarantine at a government facility for two weeks. the only exceptions are pre-approved essential health care or critical service workers who present a valid negative covid-19 test from within five days of arrival. guam continues the quarantine despite the cdc dropping its recommendation for travelers to self-quarantine for 14 days. a group of protesters against the governor's stay at home order planned a protest for august 25. january 2021 guam national guardsman directing crowds on the first day of vaccinations on december 17, 2020 january 15: guam moved from pcor 1 to pcor 2 for the first time since august 2020, allowing indoor dining up to 50% capacity, from 25%. up to six people may be seated together indoors and up to 15 people at outdoor dining. bingo halls, game rooms, movie theaters and similar businesses moved to 50% capacity. public and private schools were allowed to hold in-person classes. government operations, such as walk-in services, that had been suspended were resumed. however, bars remained closed. february 2021 february 14: three sailors from the uss theodore roosevelt tested positive for covid-19 and were flown to naval base guam for their isolation period. they were not included in the guam case count. february 21: guam moved to pcor 3. retail and hardware stores, and other businesses "that primarily supply other businesses with the support of supplies necessary to operate", are allowed to operate at 75% capacity and bars may open to 50% capacity. social gatherings remain limited to 25 people, and other businesses and houses of worship remain limited to 50% capacity. march 2021 u.s. army personnel assist the vaccine clinic at the university of guam, april 15 march 9: the cdc lowered guam's travel risk from level 4 ("travelers should avoid all travel to these destinations") to level 3 ("travelers should avoid all nonessential travel to guam"). vaccine eligibility was expanded to prisoners, effective immediately, and announced for persons 50 years old or older in the next week. march 10: major japan tour groups which had packages open for the beginning of april in february pushed packages to mid- and late-april amid uncertainty. united airlines, philippine airlines and jin air continue limited flights; japan airlines extended its flight cancelation through may 31. march 22: the eligible age for vaccinations was lowered to 16. the california variant was confirmed on guam. it is believed to have been present on guam for at least two months. pandemic condition of readiness (pcor) recovery plan on april 30, 2020, guam governor lou leon guerrero, signed executive order 2020–11. in this executive order, a plan for recovery for the guam is outlined and contains a pandemic conditions of readiness (pcor) system dictating the conditions for gradual reopening of the territory and lifting of quarantine mandates. per the plan mandated in the executive order and outlined in a presentation by artemio "ricky" hernandez, deputy administrator of the guam economic development authority, there are four pcor levels with corresponding degrees of quarantine restrictions and mandates: pcor 1, maximum restrictions; pcor 2, moderate restrictions; pcor 3, minimum restrictions; and pcor 4, no restrictions. the plan also includes provisions for what metrics will be considered prior to any transition from one pcor level to the next. first, medical data, including the number of positive cases of covid-19 and number of hospitalizations due to covid-19 are considered. the second criteria pertains to public health preparedness including guam's covid-19 testing and contact tracing capacity. measurements of these metrics will be provided for the governor and recovery panel of advisors' consideration by the guam department of public health and social services. transition from pcor 1 to pcor 2 as the plan was announced, guam was currently at pcor 1 with plans to transition to pcor 2 by may 9. authorized non-governmental activities under pcor 2 guam transitioned to pcor 2 on may 10. at pcor 2 the following business and non-governmental organizations are authorized to open at a limited basis after such organizations receive an approved adjustment of operations from the guam department of public health and social services: all essential organizations in operation under pcor 1; retail stores; real estate and automotive sales; beauty salons, cosmetic stores,