Sitka is in the middle of the second biggest coronavirus wave it has seen to date, and local medical providers are taking extra precautions.
When the Unified Command met on Wednesday (1-12-22) SEARHC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Elliot Bruhl said that, while Alaska is lagging a few weeks behind the lower 48, the highly transmissible omicron variant is now “rolling along” in the state, making up the majority of new cases. And while the variant has developed the reputation for being somewhat milder Bruhl cautioned that Sitka should still be vigilant to protect the vulnerable.
“It is less virulent, meaning it doesn’t make people as sick in general, although for people that are susceptible, they still get can and do get very sick and even deathly sick,” Bruhl said. “So it continues to be a real threat to human health, and especially for people that have chronic medical problems, people over age 65. This is a vulnerable group and it’s important that we as a community protect them.”
Bruhl stressed masking around others, social distancing and washing hands frequently as the most effective means of protection, and said Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center is changing some of its procedures to reflect “an increased level of caution.”
“We have restricted the use of the cafeteria to people who are just people who are in the hospital or directly associated with the hospital and we’re not having people congregate there,” he said. “Our staff in the hospital is using an N95 mask for all direct patient to patient contact.”
While the state has not updated its COVID hospitalization count for Sitka in several weeks, according to SEARHC representative Maegan Bosak, as of Thursday morning (1-13-22) there were three patients hospitalized with the coronavirus at Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center.
