Sitka’s COVID-19 alert level shifted to “high” today (7-6-21), after local health officials tallied more cases over the long holiday weekend.
Between June 29 and July 6, the city reported 16 new coronavirus cases. The six newest cases, reported on Monday and Tuesday (7-6-21) included two patients between 10 and 19, two men in their 50s, one in his 60s and one in his 70s. Contact tracing is in process for most of the new patients, so it’s still unclear how they transmitted the virus. Three-quarters of the Sitka residents diagnosed in the last week with COVID-19 are male.
In an email to KCAW, Public Health Nurse Denise Ewing said the majority of patients diagnosed with the coronavirus over the last week were unvaccinated.
Sitka shifts into “high alert” when 15 cases have been diagnosed over a rolling two week period. Since June 22, 19 cases have been reported. Under high alert, the city recommends reducing gatherings to fewer than 50 people, maintaining social distance, masking in indoor and outdoor public spaces, and reducing restaurant and bar capacity.
