Sitka reported its first coronavirus-related death last week.
The city’s COVID dashboard was updated on Friday, Feb. 26, to reflect the casualty — Sitka’s first since the pandemic began last spring. The national death toll reached 500,000 in mid-February. In an email to KCAW, Public Health Nurse Denise Ewing confirmed that the patient’s death was reported last week, but did not give further information.
According to a press release from the local Emergency Operations Center, the Sitkan had been traveling out of state at the time. The death has not yet been reported on the DHSS website.
The city’s coronavirus alert level remains at “low,” with only three new cases of the virus reported in the last week. A man in his 60s, a woman in her 40s and a young person under the age of 19 all tested positive between Feb. 24 and Feb. 27, according to city data.
Two of the patients are non-residents, and one of the non-residents was not experiencing symptoms when he received testing. The other two patients had symptoms. All three cases are tied to community spread.
Since last March, Sitka has reported 325 coronavirus cases. As of Monday (3-1-21) afternoon, three of those cases are considered ‘active.’ The city’s COVID dashboard now tracks Sitka’s vaccination rate– according to city data, nearly 57 percent of Sitkans have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.
While Sitka’s vaccination rate is promising, the city still recommends social distancing, remaining six feet apart and masking in public, regardless of vaccine status, as it is still unclear how the vaccine affects transmission rates.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 5:52 p.m. on Mar. 1 to reflect new information from a city press release that was issued this evening. This is a developing story and may be updated.
