The Northwest Arctic Borough village of Buckland has seen a large spike in positive cases of COVID-19.
On Monday, regional health care provider Maniilaq Association announced that 11 residents of the village tested positive for the virus on Thursday, September 17. Ten of the residents were close contacts of a previous positive case.
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Maniilaq officials say six of the residents are showing symptoms of the virus, and all of them are currently medically isolated in Buckland. The results came after a community-wide testing effort by Maniilaq health workers. Last week, five previous cases of COVID-19 were announced for Buckland residents, with four of them medically isolated in the village.
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Buckland is a village of around 500 people, located about 75 miles southeast of Kotzebue. The Maniilaq service area comprises the Northwest Arctic Borough and the North Slope village of Point Hope.
Maniilaq also announced a new case of COVID-19 at Red Dog Mine. A resident of Noorvik is currently medically isolated at the mine after testing positive for the virus on September 17.
Wesley Early is a reporter with Alaska Public Media, covering municipal politics and Anchorage life.
