By Sentinel Staff
Sitka saw another big bump in its COVID-19 positive test results with a total of eight cases added to the city dashboard Wednesday, and two before press time today.
Not all information was logged into the city webpage by early this afternoon since contact tracing is in progress on four of the 10 cases. The dashboard also shows the turnaround for the tests and results was two days or fewer.
The dashboard is typically updated around 5 p.m., but occurred a few hours earlier in the day today.
By press time today the information on Wednesday’s positive test results were for:
- a symptomatic woman, age 30-39, tested Nov. 18, transmission classification is “secondary.”
- a symptomatic boy, 0-9, tested Nov. 18, “secondary.”
- a woman, 60-69, tested Nov. 17, contact tracing in progress
- a symptomatic male, 10-19, tested Nov. 16, secondary.
- a symptomatic boy, 0-9, tested Nov. 16, “secondary.”
- a symptomatic girl, 0-9, tested Nov. 16, “secondary.”
- a man, 50-59, tested Nov. 16. Contact tracing is in progress.
- a symptomatic man, 50-59, tested Nov. 16, “secondary.”
Today’s test results were for a man, 50-59, tested today; and a woman, 50-59, tested Nov. 17. Contact tracing is in progress for both.
Sitka currently has 131 cumulative cases for residents and 21 nonresidents. The number of active cases is 25, with three cumulative hospitalizations.
The 14-day rolling average posted by 5 p.m. Wednesday was 4.21 cases per day. The rolling case rate chart over time, starting August 2, shows Sitka hovering around a half case a day, dipping to its lowest point around October 18 (.07 cases per day), but has been on a steady climb since then.
Sitka went to “moderate” risk in late October and has been in the “red” alert level since Nov. 3.
The state’s weekly update from the Department of Health and Social Services shows a different timeline but similar trend. The state went into moderate risk in early July, with a small spike into “high” in early August. Since late September, the state rolling case rate average has been on a steady and steep climb for seven weeks.
The state summary for Nov. 8-14 notes a number of trends, including an increase of 28 percent in cases. Also:
– hospitalizations for COVID-19 continue to rise. “Hospital capacity and staffing have become a significant concern,” the Department of Health and Social Services says.
– positivity rates for arriving travelers getting tested at Alaska airports have nearly doubled over the last two weeks, illustrating an increased risk of travel.
– testing is not keeping up with new cases.
The state DHSS weekly update says: “Alaskans should get tested immediately at the first sign of any symptoms. Testing is our best tool for understanding virus transmission and risk in our communities.”
The status report adds: “Most Alaskans get COVID-19 from a friend, family member or coworker. Alaskans should avoid indoor gatherings with non-household members, avoid crowds, wear masks when around non-household members and stay six feet from anyone not in their household.”
The summary says many Alaskans who are diagnosed with COVID report they went to gatherings, community events, church services and other social venues “while they were contagious but didn’t know they had the virus.”
The DHSS says many cases don’t have a clear source, although Sitka’s dashboard for the past week has bucked that trend, with the majority of the cases attributed to either travel or “secondary.”
The city website for COVID is cityofsitka.org.
