Local health officials reported five new coronavirus cases in Sitka over the weekend.
Four of the new cases are Sitka residents, according to the city’s COVID dashboard. One child between 10 and 19 years old tested positive, along with two people in their twenties, a man in his 40s, and a non-resident in his 70s. Three of the cases were not experiencing symptoms when they tested positive, and three are “secondary” meaning the patients had close contact with a person who tested positive for the virus. Contact tracing is still in progress for all of the new cases.
So far today (8-23-21) seven more people have tested positive, including six residents and one non-resident. The city now publishes new coronavirus case information by 8 p.m. daily.
Just over 79 percent of Sitkans have received at least one COVID vaccine shot, an increase of around 5 percent since Sitka’s outbreak began in July. On Friday, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services announced that third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are now available statewide for Alaskans with compromised immune systems. Earlier today, the US Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the Pfizer vaccine — the first of the major vaccines to be upgraded from “Emergency Use.”
