On June 12, YKHC was notified that a resident of a YKHC service area village tested positive for COVID-19 while in Anchorage at ANMC, tested in accordance with Health Mandate 15.
That same day, contact tracing began and YKHC’s village rapid response team was mobilized, arriving in the affected community in the afternoon of June 13. On June 13, close contacts of the person who tested positive were tested using both rapid and lab-processed tests. All rapid tests conducted were negative. Community-wide testing was also initiated and continued through the following day. On June 14, close contacts were rapid tested a second time and all tests returned as negative.
On June 15, YKHC tested an individual in Bethel, in accordance with Health Mandate 15, and the rapid result returned as positive. The individual resides in a YKHC service area village, but was in Bethel at the time of testing. Later on June 15, the individual was tested a second time using another in-house lab analyzer. The analyzer uses a higher standard of viral detection than the rapid test and the sample provided returned as negative. The second test returning as negative does not mean the person was free of the virus, it only means the sample did not meet the level required for the test to detect the virus.
That same day, on June 15, contact tracing began and YKHC’s village rapid response team arrived in the individual’s service area village. Close contacts of the person who tested positive were tested using both rapid and lab-processed tests. All rapid tests conducted were negative. On June 16, community-wide testing was performed.
Lab results for tests conducted during both community-based responses are still pending and an update will be provided at a future date.
Although the State of Alaska has eased restrictions on travel and moved to reopen Alaska’s economy, the pandemic and the public health risks it poses is not over. YKHC urges the public to continue practicing all known protective measures, which helps to prevent spread of the novel coronavirus. Protective measures include: avoid all non-essential travel, practice regular handwashing, remain physically distant (more than six feet) from anyone who does not reside in your same household, wear a mask when in public, and frequently disinfect high-touch surfaces in your home.
Get the latest information on COVID-19 from YKHC at www.ykhc.org/covid-19.