The COVID-19 outbreak at a local seafood processing plant has expanded. Testing of more than 100 employees at Alaska Glacier Seafoods revealed that 26 more people have the virus, according to a press release from the city and Juneau district.
Nine plant employees tested positive last week. It is unclear how many of the new cases are residents and how many are nonresidents. But all are currently isolated, according to the city.
Not all test results have yet been reported from the 113 employees who were evaluated Wednesday. According to Robert Barr with Juneau Emergency Operations, they are waiting for the results of 10 to 15 tests.
Statewide, there was a record 121 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, although Juneau’s 26 new cases are not included in that total. The city reported the above to the state.
That number includes 36 non-resident shellfish workers in the Aleutians West census area, according to state data.
That area includes the country’s busiest fishing port, Unalaska, where many shellfish processors are found. It is currently unclear where the outbreak was based and whether it was limited to one processor.
The cases also included 82 resident cases, the second highest number of residents who tested positive in one day.
Anchorage continues to lead the state in the number of cases, with 36 resident cases reported there and four more cases in Eagle River. But the Yukon-Koyukon Census Area, which has a population of approximately 5,230, had 10 new cases. That put the area at the top of the average case count for the past week, averaging 15.8 cases per 100,000 residents.
Fairbanks North Star Borough was nine, and Wasilla was seven, Juneau had four, and other smaller communities made up the rest of the new cases.
And another person was hospitalized as doctors warn that number is likely to increase in the coming weeks and experts warn that cities may reach hospital capacity earlier than expected based on current trends. That brings the total number of Alaska residents currently hospitalized with COVID-19 to 27, only one of whom is on a ventilator.
While Anchorage has had most of the new cases, Fairbanks has a higher case rate based on population size in the past two weeks, averaging 9.38 cases per 100,000 people. The Kenai Peninsula district, which had seven new cases yesterday, is even larger, at 9.79 cases per 100,000 people.
Note: This is a developing story and will be updated when additional information becomes available.
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