As of Jan. 13, there are 125 active cases of COVID-19 in the Norton Sound region. More than half of those individuals are located in Nome.
Forty new cases were identified between seven regional communities, according to a press release from Norton Sound Health Corporation. Seventeen were in Nome, 14 in Unalakleet, five in St. Michael and one each in Elim, Golovin, Shishmaref and Shaktoolik. All of these cases were identified on Jan. 12 and announced the following day. The regional health corporation did not say how many positive cases were vaccinated and how many were not.
This followed an earlier surge of cases NSHC identified in the region on Jan. 10 and 12. That brought the current count of active cases to 70 in Nome, 16 in St. Michael, 14 in Unalakleet, 13 in Elim, four in Stebbins, three in Shishmaref, three in Golovin and one each in Teller and Shaktoolik.
NSHC’s testing center at the Operations Building in Nome is open for asymptomatic people to get tested for COVID-19 Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. Meanwhile, the Cough and Cold Clinic inside the regional hospital in Nome is available for symptomatic patients to get tested.
Also, the Nome Public Health Center has COVID-19 test kits available to the public for free. Individuals can pick up a test kit from the health center, located at 207 West 6th Ave. in Nome, from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Image at top: The greater Nome / Bering Strait area. Photo: David Dodman, KNOM.
