Health

Wassillie Alfred’s family is suing the federal government for its employees’ alleged negligence in treating him at the sobering center. The complaint states that the sobering center staff should have monitored Alfred throughout the night.

“We're seeing skyrocketing cases,” YKHC Chief of Staff Dr. Ellen Hodges said on Jan. 12. “It's the fastest growth of cases I’ve seen.”

For the second week in a row, newly announced cases in the region climbed, this week by 74%. This follows the confirmation of the presence of the omicron variant in the Y-K Delta by state epidemiologists on Jan. 7.

Local health officials are encouraging everyone to wear masks, and to get vaccinated and boosted against the virus.

During the Jan. 11 Bethel City Council meeting, the council is set to decide whether to vote to accept changes to the city’s personnel policy towards unvaccinated individuals.

The stormy weather carried into 2022. Because of it, the Alaska Air National Guard has had to step in to medevac patients out of Y-K Delta villages amid dangerous conditions.

The belief follows a recent spike in cases combined with contact tracing that links many cases to out-of-region travel.

YKHC has issued its own recommendation saying that you can stop isolating after five days if you get a negative COVID-19 test result on the fifth day.

“The community can count on us to do our part," said YKHC CEO and President Dan Winkelman. "And we have been doing that. We started omicron preparations on Dec. 20. But what we really need is the community's help, and that's for people to get vaccinated and boosted, and do not wait."

With the omicron variant in the backdrop of this holiday season, YKHC Chief of Staff Dr. Ellen Hodges issued these recommendations for holiday gatherings.