By Sentinel Staff
With fewer positive COVID-19 tests being added to the city dashboard, Sitka on Sunday moved to the moderate – “orange” – risk level.
One case was added on both Friday and Saturday, and the number of current active cases is down to two. The 14-day rolling case rate average went to .79. A rolling case rate above 1 is “red” – or high – and below .5 is “yellow” or low.
Sitka saw a slowdown in new positive test results last week, with no new cases in four of the days. If the current trend continues, a few multiple-case days will drop off the dashboard in the next few days, driving the case average down further.
The new cases added over the weekend were an asymptomatic woman, age 30-39, tested Jan. 21, and a transmission classification of “community spread.” The other new case is a man in his 30s, tested Jan. 12, with contact tracing in progress.
The Sitka School District went to “yellow” – medium risk – with nine cases on the 14-day dashboard and two current active cases. Unlike the city, the school district lists cases by when the test was taken, not when the results were received, and does not count nonresidents. The school district uses red, yellow and green for risk levels.
The school district went to in-person instruction after the holiday break.
Mt. Edgecumbe High School also went to moderate risk today, which will be reflected soon on the dashboard, Superintendent Janelle Vanasse said. The students went to in-person instruction Thursday, after testing and quarantine, in line with their return-to-school plan.
