After last week's announcement of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Wrangell, two other cases were confirmed shortly after. Wrangell now has three total cases of the virus. One case has been declared recovered. However, there is some question about the source of the third case. Public Health officials state that Wrangell's third case was a contact with the first case, but the first case said she does not know how that could be.
The first case was announced on Sunday evening, June 7. A joint press release from the city and SEARHC did not name the patient, only identified her as an asymptomatic, unnamed female. After test results came back positive, according to that press release, the patient isolated at her home and contact tracing was conducted. In another press release, on June 12, it was announced that this case was considered recovered.
While the first patient was not officially identified, radio station KSTK announced the identity of the patient to be Wrangell resident Lisa Nelson. Nelson said, in an interview with the Wrangell Sentinel, that the whole ordeal was rather annoying.
"It definitely showed a lot of cracks in their protocol," she said.
Nelson said that, during her case, there was miscommunication between the hospital and Public Health, with each group telling her different information. She also said that, while the announcement of her having COVID-19 went out to the community very quickly, officials were much slower to announce her negative tests. She got many dirty looks from the community, and was also reported for breaking quarantine, when she first left home after she was declared COVID free.
"Now that I've come through, I don't think I was ever sick in the first place," Nelson said.
Despite the annoyances, Nelson said she was grateful to community members who watched out for her and her family, and dropped off food at her house during her quarantine. She is also thankful that her kids have not shown any signs of sickness.
Two more cases were confirmed shortly after the first. The second case was caught on Friday, June 12. According to a press release from city and health officials, this second case was an unnamed male, who arrived in Wrangell via Alaska Airlines from out of state. With new state guidelines, as previously reported in the Sentinel, out of state travelers are welcome in Alaska, so long as they either take a COVID-19 test shortly before taking off or upon arrival in the state. This positive case was identified from a swab taken at the Wrangell airport. The patient was instructed to isolate themselves until test results came back, and will remain in quarantine until they are found to be COVID free.
"While it is unfortunate that an additional case has been identified, it is encouraging that we were able to identify this person as part of the airport screening process," Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said in the June 12 press release.
The third case of COVID-19 in Wrangell was also confirmed on June 12. This patient is male and asymptomatic, according to the press release, and is currently isolating at home. The press release states that this person is presumed to be a close contact with the first case. However, Nelson said that this seems unlikely as she and the third case have not had in-person contact in some time.
"We actually have not seen each other in months," she said.
Public Health Nurse Erin Michael, in an email to the Sentinel, said that she could not provide many details, as it would breach patient privacy, but the first and third cases were indeed epidemiologically linked. Michael also explained that the term "close contact" covers a variety of situations. This can include living with someone who has COVID-19, caring for a sick person with COVID-19, being in direct contact with secretions from a COVID-19 patient, or being within six feet of a COVID-19 patient for about 10 minutes.
"Persons identified as contacts who do not meet the above criteria are assessed as General Population-level Risk and are not required to Self-quarantine and are not monitored beyond their initial interview," Michael wrote.
In other news, the City and Borough of Wrangell announced in a press release that they would no longer use the NIXLE text alert system to notify the public of confirmed cases of COVID-19. When the first case was discovered, the city made people aware via a number of communication avenues, including NIXLE. Moving forward, however, the city will make announcements through social media, their websites, local media, and public school administration and the Wrangell Cooperative Association.
"The EOC is concerned that as cases increase, people will turn off their Nixle notifications," a press release from the city reads. "Therefore, the EOC has made the decision to not use Nixle for the purpose of notifying the public when there is a COVID-19 case. The purpose of Nixle is to notify Wrangell residents of critical situations and other emergencies such as severe weather events or evacuation alerts, etc."
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