Metlakatla reports death linked to COVID-19 as community faces its worst outbreak to date
Posted by Eric Stone | May 24, 2021
A view of Metlakatla on Annette Island, south of Ketchikan. (File photo by Leila Kheiry)
The Southeast Alaska community of Metlakatla is facing its worst COVID-19 outbreak to date. Local authorities announced the second Metlakatla death linked to the disease on Monday.
At the beginning of May, authorities in Metlakatla had reported only 13 cases of COVID-19 on the island since the start of the pandemic. Strict travel protocols, a mask mandate and distancing rules seemed to be working.
But on May 10, five people in the community tested positive. And at first, Metlakatla Indian Community Mayor Reginald Atkinson says it seemed like authorities had a handle on the outbreak.
Alaska and British Columbia officials met virtually this past week to discuss results of a joint water-monitoring study undertaken in the transboundary watersheds of the Unuk, Taku and Stikine rivers.
The two years worth of data was collected by a program created by a 2015 agreement signed by then-Alaska Gov. Bill Walker and then-BC Premier Christy Clark. Back when the program was released in February, the Alaska and BC governments said the river monitoring program had finished its work, citing other sampling programs being planned by state, federal or provincial agencies.
During Wednesdayâs virtual meeting, Terri Lomax of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation noted existing monitoring being done by Alaska tribes, Canadian First Nations, the U.S. federal government and mining companies, according to a KTOO report of the meeting.
KETCHIKAN (KDN) â The Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center on Friday counted six new positive COVID-19 test results as the number of active cases in the community dropped to 76, according to an evening press release. Three individuals were determined to be close contacts to known positive cases, one case was related to a congregate setting facility, and two of the cases remain under investigation, the EOC statement read.
According to the EOC dashboard on Friday, three virus cases have been connected to a congregate setting facility in the past seven days. Of the pending cases from May 20, one was determined to be a close contact, three were determined to be community spread, and one remains under investigation, the release noted.
Secret Facebook groups are allowing Alaskans to gamble illegally by live-streaming pull-tab reveals. (Image: Casino.org)
Proxy betting is big in Asia. It’s popularity in America’s frozen northwestern extremity appears to be a more recent phenomenon, and one which has been driven by the coronavirus pandemic.
In the casinos of the Philippines, for example, proxy betting involves a customer, often based in China, providing betting instructions remotely to an agent (proxy) based on the casino floor or in a VIP lounge who physically places the wager.
In Alaska, where, like China, opportunities to gamble are scarce, it appears to involve hosts of Facebook groups collecting players’ money through payment apps and then opening pull tabs on their behalf. The process is streamed via Facebook Live.
KETCHIKAN (KDN) â The Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center recorded 11 new coronavirus cases between its Friday and Monday evening updates, and one individual was hospitalized in the COVID-19 unit at PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center on Monday.
âOne case was reported late evening on May 7; three cases were reported on May 8, and seven cases were reported today,â according to the EOCÂ release. âOf the 11, six were determined to be close contacts to known positive cases, and five remain under investigation.â
In total, 10 cases were under investigation as to source on Monday evening.
âDuring the contact investigations, Public Health will coordinate with the positive person to reach out to anyone who may be a close contact and instruct them to quarantine,â the EOC statement read. âIn the event of a positive case associated with the school district, Public Health will coordinate with school district staff to reach out to anyone who may be