The two people in the Bristol Bay Borough tested negative in Seattle before chartering to Naknek, where they were in quarantine, while the newest case in the Lake and Peninsula Borough was a contact from an earlier case, according to the Camai Health Center.
Two seafood workers have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Bristol Bay Borough. Both individuals are asymptomatic.
The Camai Community Health Center announced Saturday that an individual tested positive for COVID-19 as part of a processor’s protection plan. Late yesterday it reported that another non-resident processing worker tested positive.
That second case was identified during contact tracing for the initial case. Camai Executive Director Mary Swain said in an update that they were part of a group that tested negative for COVID-19 in Seattle. They then chartered to Naknek, and have been in quarantine since arriving in the borough. Both are currently in isolation. The other close contacts have tested negative and are now quarantining in a separate location.
The Camai clinic's update also stated, "We feel confident that the community is not at risk of community spread from this case."
The statereported on Thursday that another person from out-of-state tested positive for COVID-19 in the Bristol Bay-Lake and Peninsula region. That person also works in the seafood industry. According to an update from the Camai clinic, that individual is a contact of an earlier case in the Lake and Peninsula Borough.
The Bristol Bay/Lake and Peninsula region has seen a total of nine cases of COVID-19. Six of the positive cases in the region have been out-of-state seafood workers. Only one resident has tested positive so far. That person was tested and isolated in Anchorage.
Last week Camai performed 777 tests. They’ve administered a total of 2,023 since May.
People in the Bristol Bay Borough who are sick or may have been exposed to coronavirus should remain at home and call the Camai clinic at 907-246-6155.
Contact the author at isabelle@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200.
