Health

Chevak is the latest village with evidence of COVID-19 “community spread,” according to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation. The announcement was made jointly with the Chevak Native Village and the City of Chevak in order to warn the public.

Community spread of COVID-19 is occurring in Toksook Bay, according to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation. YKHC announced the news jointly with the Nunakauyarmiut Tribe on Oct. 16, following three recent COVID-19 cases in Toksook Bay that cannot be linked to travel.

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation says that there is no more evidence of community spread of COVID-19 in the village. The news comes exactly a month after YKHC, in partnership with the Native Village of Nunapitchuk and the City of Nunapitchuk, announced evidence of community spread on Sept. 16. The village contained the virus after a long lockdown, during which some families quarantined for weeks.

The first person in the region has been hospitalized in Bethel for COVID-19. The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation admitted the patient on Oct. 15.

All results from the third round of COVID-19 testing at the Bethel’s Elder’s Home returned negative after a staff member tested positive for the virus last week. The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation runs the facility and tested all staff and residents for the virus on Oct. 9, 12, and 15.

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation is in Chevak conducting community-wide coronavirus testing. The Chevak Tribal Council declared a community lockdown on Oct. 12 after a resident tested positive for the virus. That resident is a student at the Chevak school, according to Chevak Superintendent David Lougee.

Two Transportation Security Administration agents who work at the Bethel Alaska Airlines terminal have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. The most recent employee who tested positive last worked at the airport over a week ago, on Oct. 6. No positive cases are listed among Anchorage's Ted Stevens International Airport workers.

Doctors are advising families to stay home on Halloween this year. At its Oct. 13 meeting, members of the Bethel City Council asked doctors from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation for guidance on whether trick-or-treating can happen later this month. The short answer was not safely, according to YKHC Chief of Staff Dr. Ellen Hodges.