A traveler has tested positive for the coronavirus at a testing site that screens arrivals from Ketchikan’s airport. That’s according to a statement from Ketchikan’s emergency operations center.
Officials later clarified that the traveler continued on to Craig on Prince of Wales Island and did not remain in Ketchikan.
Ketchikan’s emergency operations center runs a testing site for arriving travelers in Ketchikan’s Revilla-side airport parking lot. (Courtesy of Ketchikan EOC)
The individual was tested as part of a new program that offers coronavirus testing as an alternative to a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Travelers are instructed to self-quarantine upon arrival pending their test results under the revised mandate.
The patient is being monitored by a healthcare provider and has been instructed to self-isolate as public health nurses initiate a contact investigation, according to the statement.
A drive-up testing site in downtown Ketchikan is open every Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Testing is open to anyone with symptoms of COVID-19, and certain high-risk groups can be tested even without symptoms.
Across the state, more than 570 people have tested positive for the coronavirus. At least 11 Alaskans have died from COVID-19.
Correction: The headline and body of this story were corrected on June 10. Ketchikan’s and Craig’s emergency operations centers now say the traveler continued on to the community of Craig on Prince of Wales Island. “This additional information was not readily available at the time of the initial contact and announcement of the positive case,” reads a statement from Ketchikan’s EOC.
