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Army Capt. Owen Caron, left, a critical care nurse, reviews procedures with staff at Guam Memorial Hospital, Sept. 28, 2020.

Army Capt. Owen Caron, left, a critical care nurse, reviews procedures with staff at Guam Memorial Hospital, Sept. 28, 2020. (MacAdam Kane Weissman/U.S. Navy)

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Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has signed an executive order that gives yet another 30-day extension to a coronavirus public health emergency set to expire at the end of the month.

The order, announced Friday afternoon by the Guam governor’s office, came a day after the island reported its 111th virus-related death, a 61-year-old woman with underlying health conditions who’d been battling the illness at Guam Memorial Hospital since Nov. 8.

Earlier Thursday, a 61-year-old man succumbed to the virus at the same hospital.

As of Thursday evening, Guam had recorded a pandemic total of 6,748 cases, of which 1,680 are active, according to the governor’s office. Forty-five are hospitalized, nine are in intensive care and some are on ventilators.

“Today, I ask the people of Guam to pray for all those we lost to this virus, for those receiving care in the hospitals, our front liners who are doing everything they can to keep us safe,” the governor said in a statement Thursday announcing the latest deaths. “Reach out to those close to your heart and mend wounds wherever they may be.”

Guam, a U.S. territory, has been under a government-mandated “Pandemic Condition of Readiness 1” since Aug. 15. The updated order, which is now set to expire Dec. 29, forces schools to shift to virtual instruction; mandates businesses to enforce mask wearing and social distancing; and limits social gatherings and congregations to five people.

A “Safer At Home” advisory also remains in effect that encourages all residents, especially those 65 and older with serious health conditions like high blood pressure, chronic lung disease, diabetes, asthma and obesity, to minimize travel outside the home.

news@stripes.com Twitter: @StarsAndStripes

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