After the number of people taking COVID-19 tests in Wrangell slowed down earlier in the summer, the volume doubled in August as the community reacted to the surge of new infections in town.

The borough reported 48 cases of COVID-19 in Wrangell in August, the highest monthly total since the pandemic count started in March 2020 and more than one-third of all cases in the community since the coronavirus tally began.

The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, which provides tests at the airport and the Wrangell Medical Center, administered 753 tests in May, then 580 in June and 488 in Jul...