By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Just under 200 Sitkans lined up over the weekend to be tested for the COVID-19 virus, even if they didn’t have symptoms, SEARHC reports.
“People were thankful of the opportunity for asymptomatic testing,” said Maegan Bosak, marketing and communications director for the health consortium.
The free testing was available 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at a drive-through tent next to Sitka Long-term Care, the old Sitka Community Hospital building. The hours will be the same next weekend.
The total number of residents tested was 189, SEARHC said.
“It was definitely a success, and we will continue providing the service through the end of the year,” Bosak said.
The COVID-19 testing tent is pictured on Sunday while SEARHC was offering free tests. (Sentinel Photo)
Tests were by “self-swab nasal collection” and sent to the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage and to one of the labs operated by the national company LabCorp, whose nearest offices are in Anchorage and Washington state.
Results are expected within a week of when the tests were conducted, Bosak said.
The public testing program in Sitka is funded by a grant from the U.S. Indian Health Service. It’s also being offered to all residents of Wrangell and to Indian Health Service beneficiaries in Juneau.
SEARHC plans to extend the free testing service to other Southeast communities later this month, including Haines this weekend.
Bosak said SEARHC couldn’t predict how many people might show up for the weekend testing since it was the first time the testing has been offered to those without COVID-19 symptoms, or other reasons for needing a test, such as work or travel. As it turned out, the on-site staff was able to keep up with the drive-through traffic without difficulty.
“I think it went really well,” Bosak said.
“We will continue to encourage people to visit the asymptomatic testing locations as it’s important to our community to identify cases as quickly as possible,” she said.
In the SEARHC announcement of the new program last week Dr. Elliott Bruhl, SEARHC vice president and chief medical officer, said:
“Quickly identifying and responding to positive cases in our communities is the most effective way to combat the pandemic. Asymptomatic testing will be a reality in the coming weeks and paint a clear picture of how COVID has penetrated our region.”
The cumulative number of positive cases in Sitka since the pandemic began is 14 resident cases, 7 nonresident, and 16 “recovered.”
No new positive test results in Sitka have been reported since last Tuesday and Wednesday, when two nonresidents tested positive, Public Health Nurse Denise Ewing reported.
A box on this page shows the latest figures on COVID-19 in Alaska as reported by the Department of Health and Social Services.
While Sitka, so far, has not been overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases, the number of infections is growing elsewhere in Alaska. Ewing said contact tracing is being conducted 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, and public health authorities are enlisting help from the National Guard and the University of Alaska. The necessary “onboarding” steps are now under way for putting those new employees to work in contact tracing, she said.
“As we increase in testing capability we’re going to have more positive cases,” she said.
Ewing noted the increase in summer activities and social gatherings in recent weeks which may be leading to the uptick in cases particularly among the “younger crowd.”
“Travel is still in there (as a factor) as well,” she said.
