PortandTerminal.com, July 19, 2020

Seafood workers in Alaska are driving new COVID-19 case counts higher | Juneau announced another 26 cases among Alaska Glacier Seafood employees on Sunday

ANCHORAGE – The fact that COVID-19 is spreading among seafood workers shouldn’t come as any surprise. We’ve seen this same story play out at meatpacking plants across the country.

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Alaska reported a record 121 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, including 36 nonresident seafood workers in the Aleutians West Census Area, according to state data.

That area includes the nation’s busiest fishing port of Unalaska, where many seafood processors are based. It is currently unclear where the outbreak was based and whether it was confined to one processor. This story will be updated with that information if and when it becomes available.

Another cluster based at a seafood processor in Juneau of 26 cases was reported Saturday, according to the city of Juneau, though only two cases were reported in Juneau in the state’s numbers.

The 26 cases resulted from mass testing after an outbreak at Alaska Glacier Seafoods in Juneau last week. While 113 tests were conducted, the city said that not all of the test results returned. According to Juneau’s Emergency Operations Section Chief Robert Barr, the number of test results remaining is estimated to be from 10 to 15.

The cases also included 82 resident cases, the second-highest number of residents to test positive in a day.

Find out more.