Ketchikan now has two confirmed coronavirus cases — in the same household. The first individual to test positive identified himself on social media as Glenn Brown, Ketchikan’s borough attorney. He’s also a KRBD board member. The second confirmed case is his wife, officials said.
Emergency Operations Center spokesperson Kacie Paxton said Thursday evening that Brown and his spouse traveled to the Lower 48 this month.
In an email relayed to KRBD, Brown says he flew on March 6 from Ketchikan to Seattle, spending the night in Maple Valley.
The next morning, the pair drove to Yachats, Oregon, where they spent the next two nights. They returned to Seattle for a flight back to Alaska on March 9, but that flight skipped a scheduled stop in Ketchikan.
That forced them to spend the night in Juneau before returning to Ketchikan on March 10, the email said.
Officials said Thursday that Brown and his spouse are both in quarantine at home.
Local authorities strongly recommend that anyone returning from trips outside Ketchikan self-isolate for 14 days once they get back.
Thursday’s announcement brings the statewide total to at least a dozen confirmed cases. Two of those are in Ketchikan, the remaining are in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Seward.
