UPDATE: Five new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Nome within the past 48 hours. Norton Sound Health Corporation announced three additional residents tested positive last night.
Prior to that announcement, NSHC said two individuals in Nome tested positive for the virus on Wednesday. One of them is a resident of Nome while the other is a resident of the Norton Sound region but tested positive while in Nome.
Similarly, the three newest Nome residents to contract the disease are all believed to be travel-related. NSHC says the five latest cases were all identified through the City of Nome’s COVID-19 testing and quarantine requirements.
The regional health corporation is also urging residents to prevent community spread of the virus by continuing to follow local quarantine requirements. NSHC says, “while a full 14-day quarantine is the safest way to prevent COVID-19 spread from incoming travelers, a reduced quarantine time of seven days, coupled with a test upon arrival and a second test on the traveler’s seventh day of quarantine, would most likely stop any travel-related spread. One negative test upon a traveler’s arrival is not a sufficient method of preventing spread of the virus.”
The State Section of Epidemiology and Public Health Nursing are aware of the cases and will conduct contact tracing.
With these two latest cases, Norton Sound now has a total of 184 confirmed cases of COVID-19. 162 of those are considered recovered while 22 are currently active.
ORIGINAL: Two more positive cases of COVID-19 were found in Nome on Wednesday. Norton Sound Health Corporation announced the new cases yesterday.
One patient is a resident of Nome, but NSHC says the other individual is a resident of the Norton Sound region who tested positive in Nome. According to the regional health corporation, both patients tested positive through the City of Nome’s testing and quarantine requirements. The two individuals will remain in isolation in Nome until they recover.
The State Section of Epidemiology and Public Health Nursing are aware of the cases and will conduct contact tracing.
With these two latest cases, Norton Sound now has a total of 181 confirmed cases of COVID-19. 162 of those are considered recovered while 19 are currently active.
Image at top: Particles from the coronavirus. Photo in the public domain via Creative Commons.
