In the COVID case count, Wrangell has experienced a total of 16 positive COVID-19 cases with one case currently active in the community and that patient is in isolation. The state of Alaska has had 5,719 positive cases to-date including 472 more cases this week. 211 patients in Alaska have been hospitalized to-date with 23 new hospitalizations this week. There have been 37 COVID-19 deaths in Alaska. Five of those deaths occurred over the last week. More information is available at covid19.alaska.gov.
Wrangell Quarantines is a support group that provides assistance to those in quarantine. Services include grocery delivery, care packages and running errands. They can be reached at 874-3675 or 660-7790 and on the Wrangell Quarantines Facebook page. The EOC thanks this group of volunteers for developing a meaningful way to help.
Adult and child size masks are available at the library, call 874-5353. The Wrangell Fire Hall also has masks, they can be reached at 874-3223. Local businesses are also selling masks in a variety of sizes.
Free community testing is still going on at the SEARHC clinic on Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm free for anyone who does not have symptoms. You can get as many tests as you want. The turn around time for results is now about 3 days and it is great to know that more people in Wrangell are taking advantage of these free tests.
COVID will be with us for some time. The strategy moving forward is to test widely, isolate infected individuals, find their close contacts and get all close contacts into quarantine. You can help by getting tested, develop a family isolation plan, keep your number of close contacts to a small number. This strategy along with keeping hands clean and wearing masks when in public will helps prevent the spread of COVID-19.
