Sitka now has its first confirmed case of the coronavirus.
In a press release Saturday, the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, a tribal health-care provider, announced that the patient is a resident at the consortium’s 15-bed long-term care center. No other identifying information about the patient was disclosed.
The patient was transferred to Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center, Sitka’s hospital. SEARHC is currently investigating the source of the virus, the organization said.
Read all of Alaska Public Media’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic
All residents of the facility, which houses senior citizens and others in need of long-term care, were tested.
“This confirmed case showcases the persistence of this virus and the ability for asymptomatic people to spread it within the community,” SEARHC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Elliot Bruhl said in a prepared statement.
Read SEARHC’S full news release here.
Although Sitka now has joined a growing list of Alaska communities with confirmed cases of the virus, SEARHC has been taking preventative measures for weeks, cutting hospital visitation and screening all patients at the door.
More stringent measures have been in place at the long-term care center for the past two months, SEARHC said. No outside visitors are allowed — the facility has been using “virtual visitation” since March — and all staff are screened before entering.
Nursing homes and long-term care centers have been hit hard by COVID-19, and more than 10,000 residents have died nationwide, according to the Wall Street Journal.
SEARHC had administered 174 tests in Sitka through Tuesday, and is releasing weekly testing information. As of Saturday, there were 339 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Alaska, according to state data.
