Sorted by date Results 26 - 43 of 43
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter spoke to the PMC Board about staff turnover and vaccinations during Thursday's meeting. The healthcare industry has seen turnover across the country according to Hofstetter's report and PMC is seeing its own ups and downs with staffing. Hofstetter said some departments in the hospital have faced challenges whenever departures occur, but PMC has been fortunate in retaining staff compared to national data. According to Hofstetter, in the past seven...
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
It seems like we've been here before. Mask use is low, positivity rates are low (3.3%), only 3 active cases in town and 55.6 % of us are fully vaccinated. The temptation is to let our guards down as COVID-19 fatigue sets in and makes us forget about masking, social distancing and hand washing protocols. That is all that needs to happen to allow a surge of cases to run amok in Petersburg. To avoid infection, get vaccinated. The much higher transmission rate of the delta variant is one of the...
The Petersburg School Board held discussions about what protocols should be enacted for the upcoming school year during Tuesday's meeting. The talks were a continuation of those held during a work session on July 30 where the board tried to determine what guidelines best fit the Petersburg School District while weighing potential risks such as the spread of the delta variant. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said that two of the main points of the discussion would be masking and travel...
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...
Petersburg recorded its second COVID-19 death on Friday according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Service's COVID-19 Dashboard. The Alaska COVID-19 data summary reported that the death in Petersburg was a male in his 70s. The Petersburg COVID-19 Dashboard has listed that there are five active cases in Petersburg as of July 28 with 55.0% of the population fully vaccinated. Alaska reported 562 new cases between July 23 and 25, which has also seen the statewide alert level remain high...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board reviewed the recent COVID-19 outbreak during their July 22 meeting. Infection Prevention and Quality Manager Liz Bacom presented a report on the increase of COVID cases in July. According to Bacom’s report, the two contributing factors were the arrival of the American Cruise Lines vessel Constellation and the Independence Day celebrations. Four passengers and two crew members from the Constellation with positive tests isolated in Petersburg while recovering f...
The Petersburg Medical Center is advising residents to get tested early if experiencing symptoms amid community spread of COVID-19. The Petersburg COVID-19 Dashboard has been updated to reflect that there are eight active cases in Petersburg as of July 22. Seven of these cases are Petersburg residents while one is a non-resident. PMC says that recognizing symptoms early on and getting tested helps their ability to treat COVID-19 illness. Free asymptomatic testing is available and can be... Full story
Petersburg recorded its second COVID-19 death on Friday according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Service’s COVID-19 Dashboard. The Alaska COVID-19 data summary reported that the death in Petersburg was a male in his 70s. The Petersburg COVID-19 Dashboard has listed that there are eight active cases in Petersburg as of July 26 with 54.3% of the population fully vaccinated. Alaska had 447 new cases reported between July 21 and 22, which has also seen the statewide alert level r... Full story
Petersburg Medical Center reports 10 active COVID-19 cases with one previous case being considered as recovered. Three additional cases have been confirmed in the past three days. All three cases are Petersburg residents who have been instructed to isolate at their homes. Alaska Public Health has received an update on the current numbers and will begin contact tracing. Of the 10 active cases, seven are residents of Petersburg, while three are non-residents. Each positive sample is referred to th... Full story
Two previously identified COVID-19 cases in Petersburg have been identified as the Delta variant according to the Petersburg Medical Center. One is a resident of Petersburg and the other is a non-resident. As of July 16, two additional cases have been identified, both of which are Petersburg residents, bringing the total number of active cases up to 13. They have been instructed to isolate and Alaska Public Health will begin contract tracing. Of the 13 active cases, seven are Petersburg... Full story
The Borough Assembly passed a resolution at a special meeting on Tuesday that will terminate the local Disaster Emergency Declaration at 11:59 P.M. on June 30, which will also bring an end to all the local health mandates and orders and disband the Emergency Operations Center. "The whole purpose of the emergency declaration and the standing up of the EOC was to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and protect Petersburg residents," said Incident Commander Karl Hagerman. "At this point in time, I...
Five cases of COVID-19 were reported in the community in the last seven days, one of which has been removed from the active local case count, according to the Petersburg Borough's COVID-19 Dashboard. The first four cases were reported on April 15. Three of the cases were limited to one household and were travel related, according to a joint press release between the borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The fourth case and fifth case, which was reported on April 16, are thought to have been...
The Emergency Operations Center reported four new cases of COVID-19 in Petersburg on Thursday, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. Three of the cases are limited to one household and are travel related, and the fourth case is still under investigation. All four individuals have been directed to isolate themselves. The four active cases are the first to be reported in the community in over two weeks. According to the press release, the... Full story
Sixteen infected residents were released from isolation on Wednesday, while just one new active case has been added to Petersburg's active COVID-19 case count, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. Additionally, Petersburg is only reporting 16 active cases of COVID-19 as of 4 P.M. on Wednesday. The current case count is the lowest the town has seen since Feb. 21 when Petersburg was reporting 13 cases. The Petersburg Operations Center has...
Public and private groups are looking at new ways to enhance the value of Alaska's seafood industry. The multibillion-dollar sector is of significant importance to the state's economy, and Southeast is among its largest harvesters of fish and shellfish. In 2013, Southeast fishermen brought in a record catch of 479 million pounds, worth $375 million. This was a 79-percent increase over the previous year, according to the 2014 By the Numbers report produced by Rain Coast Data for the Southeast...
