3 new COVID-19 cases on peninsula

One resident and two workers employed by a seafood processor in the borough tested positive.

By Brian Mazurek • May 25, 2020 2:30 am
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This 2020 electron microscope made available by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention image shows the spherical coronavirus particles from the first U.S. case of COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-C.S. Goldsmith, A. Tamin/ CDC via AP
This 2020 electron microscope made available by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention image shows the spherical coronavirus particles from the first U.S. case of COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-C.S. Goldsmith, A. Tamin/ CDC via AP

The Kenai Peninsula reported three new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. One is a resident of the Kenai Peninsula Borough. The other two are nonresidents employed by a seafood processor in the borough, according to a May 25 press release from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.

Monday’s report reflects data that was collected from midnight to 11:59 p.m. the previous day.

In an email to the Homer News, Southern Peninsula Hospital’s Public Information Officer Derotha Ferraro said the new Kenai Peninsula resident case is someone who lives on the southern peninsula who was recently tested at SPH as part of pre-procedure requirements. The person reported no symptoms at time of testing and is not currently hospitalized, Ferraro said. The peninsula resident is a man between the ages of 30 and 39, according to the release from DHSS.

When it comes to the nonresident cases, the two seafood industry workers who tested positive Monday are employed by the same company on the Kenai Peninsula Borough. The workers were screened in Anchorage upon arrival to the state, traveled by private bus and were tested at a quarantine location along with about 35 other workers with the same company.

All employees then quarantined upon arriving at their final destination. The two workers who tested positive were moved to a separate building. Both were asymptomatic, according to the release.

These protocols are required by the State of Alaska under Health Mandate 10, which requires that all residents and nonresidents who enter the state self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

Nurses with the Division of Public Health have already begun investigating the three new cases and are reaching out to anyone who may have been in contact with COVID-19 patients.

With the new Kenai Peninsula case reported Monday, the total case count for Alaska residents is now at 409. Fifteen nonresidents have tested positive, including the two reported Monday.

No new hospitalizations or deaths were reported Monday. Three additional recoveries brings the total number of recovered cases to 361.

Statewide, there have been 44,472 COVID-19 tests conducted. At Southern Peninsula Hospital, 893 tests have been conducted with a total of six coming back positive, 844 coming back negative and 43 pending results.

A total of 2,420 Kenai Peninsula Borough residents have been tested for COVID-19, according to the state’s COVID-19 Information Hub. Of the 27 cases identified on the Kenai Peninsula, two are from Anchor Point, four are from Homer, six are from Kenai, three are from Seward, six are from Soldotna, three are from Sterling and three are from communities with fewer than 1,000 people.

For the latest information on Alaska’s COVID-19 response, visit covid19.alaska.gov or email covidquestions@alaska.gov.

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