ruralcovid

Details about the patient haven't been released.

Officials are worried that without the power to force people coming into the community from outside, they may be missing cases of the coronavirus.

The positive case was discovered during routine testing.

The first Alaskan from the Bristol Bay-Lake and Peninsula region has tested positive for COVID-19. The state has not disclosed which community they are from because it has less than 1,000 residents.

Residents in the village of 500 can only leave to visit neighbors for essential visits. Even the gas station is closed.

The patient had traveled from outside the city on Tuesday and immediately began self isolating, according to the regional healthcare provider.

The state also announced that an 11th staff member of Juneau's Lemon Creek Correctional Center has tested positive for the virus.

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation said that the person was traveling from Anchorage when they tested positive at the Bethel airport before heading to a nearby village, Nunapitchuk, the same day.

With the borders closed, Skagway, Haines and Hyder residents who depend on neighboring Canadian towns for necessities are struggling with new restrictions caused by the pandemic.

Biologists have to figure out how to monitor salmon populations in rural communities without the danger of bringing the coronavirus into those communities.