Six Sitkans have tested positive for the coronavirus since Sunday (11-1-20), prompting the city and Sitka School District to shift to a “high” alert level.
Three of the new cases were announced today (11-3-20). A male in his forties and a female between the ages of ten and nineteen were both experiencing symptoms when they were tested on November 1. Both cases are classified as “secondary,” meaning they each had known contact with a person who tested positive.
The third patient is a woman in her twenties. It’s unclear when she received testing or if she was experiencing symptoms at the time she was tested, according to the city’s COVID-19 dashboard.
The other three cases were announced on Monday (11-2-20). All three of those patients were symptomatic and classified as “community spread.” Two are men in their fifties, and the other patient is male, but his age has not been disclosed.
This makes 90 total cases over the last eight months. Twelve of those cases are considered “active.” On Monday, the city tracked another local hospitalization– the third since the beginning of the pandemic.
Due to the increase in community cases over the last two weeks, the Sitka School District’s alert level has shifted to “high.” Hitting the threshold of 12 cases over a 14-day period prompted the shift. According to the city’s COVID-19 dashboard, school buildings will remain open for the time being, with additional health and cleaning protocols in place, and families are being advised to “be ready to go to virtual instruction on short notice.”
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and may be updated as more information becomes available. Raven News uses local data when reporting on the coronavirus. These numbers sometimes differ from the state’s official tally, and the discrepancies are often due to a lag in reporting time.
