A slight bump in coronavirus cases in Sitka may be the result of holiday gatherings.
Sitka has reported nine new cases of the coronavirus since Friday (1-8-21). And that doesn’t include any cases that may be logged after 5 p.m. on Monday. That’s after Sitka experienced a brief dip in new cases around New Year’s, and the city lowered its alert level.
The city’s alert level is now back to high. In an email to KCAW, public health nurse Denise Ewing wrote that she thinks holiday gatherings are to blame.
All of the people who tested positive are Sitka residents. Four of them are women and five of them are men. Two of the patients had symptoms at the time of testing and their cases are classified as secondary, meaning they had known contact with someone who tested positive for the virus. Symptom and transmission information for the other seven cases is not yet available on the city dashboard. All of the patients received testing in the last five days.
As of Monday, Sitka’s cumulative case count was at 290, with 11 active cases.
