Angoon reported 29 new coronavirus cases over the last week. It’s the biggest outbreak the Southeast community of around 500 people has experienced since the pandemic began.
As of October 8, Angoon had ten active cases, but that number doubled over the weekend, according to Mayor Doris Williams.
“We had 24 last week and then over the weekend we got five more, so yes, we have 29 cases,” Williams said in an interview with KCAW on Monday (10-11-21).
“As far as I was told this morning there those are active cases and they haven’t reported to us that any of them have recovered,” she continued.
While the outbreak has not been traced to any single event, Williams said the majority of positive cases were tied to close contact.
“It’s basically the five families, and they’re all friends, and they all get together, go camping together, do everything together,” she said.
Williams suspects there may be more people in the community who are positive for the virus but have yet to get tested. She said while most of the positive patients have been following COVID safety guidelines, she’s concerned others have been less careful.
“As of now there’s a bunch of them that are quarantine and because they want to keep people safe. Then there’s some that are out and about, and I only know that because people are calling me telling me,” she said. “There are a few that are really doing good and really staying to themselves but there are a few that are not listening.”
The city has yet to implement a formal COVID mitigation plan, but is asking the community to mask up and follow strict social distancing guidelines, especially in anticipation of Halloween.
“I hope everybody stays safe. And I hope everybody stops moving so that this can go away. Because Halloween is coming up,” she said. “Our kids deserve a Halloween.”
Since the beginning of the pandemic Angoon has seen a total of 51 positive cases and one death.
