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The Petersburg Medical Center discussed the delta variant's impact on Petersburg and the future of COVID-19 testing and vaccinations during Thursday's board meeting. According to Infection Prevention and Quality Manager Liz Bacom, all of the positive cases in Petersburg in August were travel related and there have not been any cases linked to community spread. Bacom said that an outbreak is not a matter of if, but when, and the earlier cases are identified through asymptomatic testing, the...
Breakthrough COVID-19 cases found in Alaska April 30 Between Feb. 1 and March 31, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services identified 152 positive cases of COVID-19 among people in the state who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a report from DHSS. About 74 percent of the vaccine breakthrough cases, or 112 individuals, were among people who had received the Pfizer vaccine, according to the report. Thirty-eight percent of the breakthrough cases had received the Moderna... Full story
The Petersburg Medical Center reported seven active cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, all of which are travel related. Three active cases are residents and four active cases are non residents according to PMC. The cases have not been linked to community spread. Hospitals across Southeast Alaska are seeing limited hospital capacity as the number of positive cases increases across the state. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reported 593 new cases, 121 hospitalizations, and 13 deaths...
Me, Myself and I To the Editor: Millions of people are sick and dying of covid, or as the unbelievers, uneducated call it "the Sniffles." I can't understand with 99% of the medical community saying covid, especially covid delta is making millions of us sick and killing us yet people refuse to get a simple vaccine approved by the FDA. It saves lives and keeps people from extreme illness. Why do people listen to talk show host Phil Valentine (RIP) who told his followers not to get vaccinated with...
There were eight active cases in Petersburg reported Monday according to the Petersburg Medical Center’s COVID-19 Dashboard. All active cases are related to travel and community spread is not currently being identified. Every Borough and Census Area in Alaska is on a high alert level as case numbers have reached their highest levels since December 2020 according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. Travel increases the risk of COVID-19 infection and PMC continues to encourage... Full story
Editor's note: The following letter is published as submitted, unedited. We just don't know To the Editor: Seems like a lifetime ago the consensus was to lockdown, shutdown, close schools, business we must stop this horrible virus. My question was, can man stop a virus. Not a great track record with the common cold. Dr. Fuacci, CDC, WHO, were convinced we could. Ok,well good luck with that one. School, sports, little league, jobs, dignity, self worth replaced with alcohol and drug abuse. Depress...
The Petersburg Medical Center reported three new active cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, all of whom are non-residents. One non-resident case was identified on Sunday and two non-resident cases were identified on Monday according to PMC. A total of 14 non-resident positive cases have been linked to travel since August 1 and PMC is advising everyone who comes to town to get tested both when they arrive and seven days later regardless of vaccination status. Free travel testing is available at the...
Palmer Haakon Thomassen Sr., 79, of Petersburg, Alaska, passed away suddenly on July 19, 2021 from pneumonia due to COVID-19 in Anchorage, Alaska. Palmer was born in Petersburg to Haakon Thomassen and Eleanor Stahl Thomassen on Aug. 31, 1941 and married Patty Thomassen on Oct. 27, 1961 in Petersburg. He started fishing on his father's boat at the age of 14 and from there worked as a carpenter, logger, owned Little Toot Construction, the F/V Sabra Raean as a troller, and worked for the City of... Full story
Eight non-residents on a private boat tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday after arriving in Petersburg according to the Petersburg Medical Center. The non-residents notified PMC of their symptoms upon arrival and all passengers tested positive. Those onboard the boat have begun isolating and are not at risk of spreading COVID to the community. According to the PMC COVID-19 Dashboard, there are nine active cases in Petersburg and a third death has been reported although details about it have...
The Petersburg COVID-19 dashboard is reporting one new case in the past week for a total of four active cases. According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services' vaccine monitoring dashboard, 65% of Petersburg Borough residents ages 12 and up have received one or more doses. Chief Nursing Officer at PMC Jennifer Bryner said that though there was much interest when the vaccine was first released, the number of people signing up for the vaccine waiting list at the hospital has...
The Petersburg School Board had a work session Friday to outline preliminary ideas for COVID-19 guidelines for when students return. The board considered an assortment of measures ranging from masking requirements and regular testing at school to travel precautions. Though some specific guidelines were discussed, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter stressed that these early ideas were not set in stone. "These are very rough thoughts," Kludt-Painter said. "These are very preliminary thoughts...
Eight non-residents on a private boat tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday after arriving in Petersburg according to the Petersburg Medical Center. The non-residents notified PMC of their symptoms upon arrival and all passengers tested positive. Those onboard the boat have begun isolating and are not at risk of spreading COVID to the community. Asymptomatic testing will be available at no charge to residents on Thurs., Aug. 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the respiratory clinic. Testing for... Full story
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A fully vaccinated passenger on an Alaska cruise tested positive for COVID-19 and received “private air transportation” home, according to Celebrity Cruises. A passenger on Sunday reported cold-like symptoms to the ship’s medical personnel and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, the cruise line said in a statement Tuesday. The person was isolated in the ship’s medical facility for monitoring. The company said it did contact tracing and tested the person’s close contacts, who were all negative for the virus. The pers...
TORONTO (AP) - Canada announced Monday it will begin letting fully vaccinated U.S. citizens into the country on Aug. 9 — without a 14-day quarantine requirement and with no restrictions on the reason for traveling — and will allow travelers from the rest of the world on Sept. 7. The open border will apply only to U.S. citizens at least 14 days past their vaccination shot, according to the Canadian government announcement. Travelers will be required to upload proof of vaccination to Canada’s web portal, and will be required to show proof of a...
Petersburg Medical Center reports four positive COVID-19 cases locally since July 9. On Fri., July 9 a resident of Petersburg tested positive for COVID 19 and is isolating at their home. On Sat., July 10 a guest from the American Cruise Lines Vessel American Constellation tested positive and is isolating in Petersburg with a family member who had tested positive previously. An American Cruise Lines representative is staying in Petersburg to assist them. On Mon., July 12 two new cases tested...
WRANGELL - As of last week, employees, contractors and volunteers with the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, which operates in 19 communities, must show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or risk losing their jobs or access to the facilities. Exceptions will be allowed for staff who are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a history of anaphylaxis or allergy to the vaccine, or "persons whose sincere religious observances and practices related to life, purpose or death oppose vaccines,"...
Petersburg Medical Center reports four positive COVID-19 cases locally in the past four days. On Fri., July 9 a resident of Petersburg tested positive for COVID 19 and is isolating at their home. On Sat., July 10 a guest from the American Cruise Lines Vessel American Constellation tested positive and is isolating in Petersburg with a family member who had tested positive previously. An American Cruise Lines representative is staying in Petersburg to assist them. On Mon., July 12 two new cases... Full story
Petersburg Medical Center will keep offering COVID-19 vaccines past the expiration of the Local Disaster Emergency Declaration at the end of the month. PMC Director of Nursing Jennifer Bryner said at the COVID-19 community update on June 11 that the hospital's efforts to vaccinate the community against COVID-19 have remained unchanged. While the hospital isn't anticipating large vaccine clinics in the future, like the ones held at the beginning of the year, smaller vaccination clinics are still...
SEARHC or not to SEARHC To the Editor: I listened to the representative from SEARHC at Monday's Assembly meeting. It was really nice of him to come and give an overview of SEARHC to the Assembly. I have only lived in Petersburg for 25 years. I am a firm supporter of the hospital and Phil the present director. In the 25 years I have lived here this is the first time we have had not only a good administrator, but an excellent hospital administrator. It had been pretty dismal for several of the...
The Petersburg Borough is offering $10,000 in prizes to be distributed throughout the month of June as part of a program to encourage local residents who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 to get the shot. The Sleeves Up Petersburg drawing is sponsored by the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, though the funds were distributed through the Alaska Chamber. The program is part of a statewide campaign to increase the state's vaccination rate by 25 percent. The drawing is open...
Just a couple weeks ago, Ketchikan reported 20 new COVID-19 cases in a single day and had more than 100 active cases in the borough. A week ago, the community still had more than 80 active cases and four people in the hospital. About 20% of all the cases reported in Ketchikan since the pandemic infected and inflicted its misery on the world more than a year ago have occurred in just the past few weeks. Many of the recent cases are people who did not choose to get vaccinated. Almost 40% of Ketchikan Borough residents 16 and older had not...
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter said at the COVID-19 community update on May 14 that kids as young as 12 years old had received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at a small vaccination clinic that same day. An advisory committee within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted in favor of recommending the Pfizer vaccination to children as young as 12 years old just two days before. The vaccine had previously been available for children 16 years old and older....
Cannery workers at Trident Seafoods are asked to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to work this season, while Tonka Seafoods is leaving that decision up to their employees. "Like last year, we are making the health and safety of our employees, fishermen, and community members our top priority," said Shannon Carroll, a representative of Trident Seafoods, in an email to the Pilot. He said both resident and non-resident employees will have to be fully vaccinated to work at the plant. Through...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska public health officials hope to begin vaccinating children 12 and up against COVID-19 as early as Wednesday. Parents were permitted Monday to sign up their children for appointments after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization to drug company Pfizer to provide its COVID-19 vaccine for people 12 through 15. Prior to the emergency authorization, the vaccine was approved for people 16 and older. The state was still awaiting final recommendations from the CDC, which are e...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska public health officials hope to begin vaccinating children 12 and up against COVID-19 as early as Wednesday. Parents were permitted Monday to sign up their children for appointments after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization to drug company Pfizer to provide its COVID-19 vaccine for people 12 through 15. Prior to the emergency authorization, the vaccine was approved for people 16 and older. The state was still awaiting final recommendations from the CDC, which are e...
