On June 29, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation confirmed an additional case of COVID-19 in a Y-K Delta village. The next day, the Lower Yukon School District announced that the positive case was one of its contractors working in Mountain Village.
In a press release, district superintendent Gene Stone wrote that one of its contractors had been in contact with another individual in Anchorage who tested positive. He said that all four contractors in Mountain Village are currently isolated, and are not in contact with the community.
Stone said that the test results were returned by a rapid test performed in the nearby hub community of St. Mary’s. He said that the contractor’s employer is making arrangements to transport the workers to Anchorage as soon as possible.
YKHC will be sending a response team to the village to conduct widespread testing the week of July 6. The health corporation says that follow-up testing is recommended five to eight days following potential exposure because on average, that’s when tests can most accurately detect the virus. YKHC says that this is not a new protocol, but that in previous cases of COVID-19 in villages, it had been unknown how long the case had been in the community.
