Petersburg hit by COVID outbreak

While Wrangell has counted 11 new COVID-19 infections in the past week, Petersburg was at 69 active cases as of late Monday, with a mandatory face mask order in place and public buildings closed.

Almost 20% of COVID tests administered in Petersburg in the past seven days had come back positive, the borough reported on its website Monday.

The active case count set a pandemic record for the community, going past the old record of 68 from March 3. Petersburg was hit with 85 cases from mid-February to the first week of March, its highest numbers of the pandemic.

The community reported 17 cases last Friday alone. Petersburg has counted 326 cases during the pandemic, the state health department reported Monday, twice the number of Wrangell.

Wrangell borough officials reported 11 cases between last Tuesday, Nov. 1, and Monday. All 11 are residents, most were close contacts of recent positive cases,” and five had recently traveled.

The Petersburg borough assembly at a special meeting last Friday ordered a mask mandate, effective immediately and lasting to Dec. 7. The emergency ordinance requires face coverings in all indoor public settings, with the exception of children under age 3 and for some limited medical conditions.

The Petersburg borough last Wednesday ordered the immediate closure of all borough buildings and public activities in municipal facilities, including the library, pool and gym, in an effort to limit the spread of the Coronavirus.

The Petersburg School District reported 29 active cases among students and staff at the community's three schools as of Monday, and 30 individuals in quarantine.

Ketchikan health officials reported 48 active cases as of Friday, down from earlier in the week. More than 1,600 infections and a dozen deaths have been reported in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough since the pandemic count started, the state COVID-19 dashboard reported on Monday.

Three deaths have been reported in Petersburg; none have been reported in Wrangell.

Juneau reported 23 new cases over the weekend.

Statewide, the case count has declined from near-record highs in September, when Alaska averaged more than 1,200 new infections a day at its worst.

State health officials reported 870 new cases last Friday, and then just under 1,400 from Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

After its mid-October peak of more than one in 10 COVID tests coming back positive, state officials reported Monday the rate had fallen to one in 14 tests.

As of Monday, 71% of Wrangell residents 18 and older had received at least their first shot of a vaccine, slightly ahead of the statewide rate of 67%. Counting everyone in Wrangell, the rate is about 60%, but children ages 5 to 11 will not start getting their vaccination shots until Thursday.

The death toll across Alaska was at 794 as of Monday. The number is rising as officials continue to review death certificates from the fall.

Hospitalization rates are down significantly from a record 236 patients last month statewide. Health officials reported the number at 128 on Monday.

Despite the downward trend, Alaska still had the highest per-capita rate of new cases among the 50 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Monday.

 

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