Sitka’s coronavirus count reached 14 last week. City officials announced two new cases in a press release on Friday (6-19-20) evening.
The first, a man in his forties, took a test on June 16 after exhibiting symptoms. A woman in her forties with symptoms also tested positive.
In an email to KCAW, Public Health Nurse Denise Ewing said the two patients came to the SEARHC tent for a test separately. Neither patient had traveled, and neither patient had been in contact with a person who had knowingly tested positive for COVID-19, which means they’re likely cases of community spread.
Both new patients are Sitka residents. Only two of Sitka’s 14 cases are non-residents.
Two more patients recovered last week. Nine cases are active, and there are no current hospitalizations.
As with other cases, health officials are performing contact tracing to determine the source and will notify anyone who has been in contact with the new patients. Ewing asks that Sitkans continue practicing social distancing, wearing a mask when around others and keeping social bubbles very limited.
Additionally, KCAW News has learned that one of the cases detected earlier this month — on June 12 — is an employee of the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association. In a news release, NSRAA reports that the individual began to feel unwell at work on June 9 and went to get tested. When the positive result came in, NSRAA shutdown all nonessential operations, notified and isolated all close contacts of the employee, and began screening all critical workers.
Note: This story was updated at 3:22 P.M. on 6-22-20 to include information from Denise Ewing, and the detail about the NSRAA employee.
