The State of Alaska Dept. of Health and Social Services is reporting a resident of the Norton Sound region tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday while they were somewhere outside of the region.
According to Norton Sound Health Corporation, they were notified of this new case on Wednesday evening but did not release a statement about it until today. Their update coincided with the state’s update of the online COVID-19 dashboard this morning.
Reba Lean, spokesperson for NSHC, says the location where the patient was tested is known, however that information is not being shared by NSHC or the state at this time. Lean did say that the newest positive case is currently not in the Norton Sound region.
This marks the 12th positive case for the region, with two of those being deemed as non-residents. NSHC says three of those total cases were regional residents who tested positive outside of the region, and two other cases were patients who have out-of-state primary residences but tested positive in the region.
The regional health corporation is recommending residents wash their hands frequently, wear masks in public places, and avoid traveling outside of the region, if possible, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Image at top: Sunset over the Norton Sound one summer day. Photo from KNOM file, July 2015.
