Cordova’s medical response team reported a second non-travel-related case of the novel coronavirus Thursday, July 9. All recently identified coronavirus-positive individuals have been isolated, and the city’s medical team is working with the State of Alaska Section of Epidemiology to protect people who may have been in close contact with those individuals, according to a release from the city. It is likely that there are coronavirus cases in Cordova that have not yet been identified, according to the release.
Dr. Hannah Sanders, medical director for Cordova Community Medical Center, urged residents not to relax their adherence to social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines.
This case, the fourth identified in less than a week, is Cordova’s eighth reported case of the virus overall. The community’s first four coronavirus cases were Ocean Beauty Seafoods employees who tested positive shortly after arriving in Cordova, all of whom have since recovered. The community’s fifth case, identified over the Independence Day weekend, was a passenger arriving from Bellingham, Washington aboard the ferry M/V Kennicott. The community’s sixth case, identified Monday, July 6, was a traveler returning from Anchorage. The community’s seventh case, identified Wednesday, July 8, was a Cordova City Hall employee. This was Cordova’s first confirmed instance of community spread of the virus.
As of July 6, 1,513 coronavirus tests had been conducted in Cordova, according to data published by the city. Community health care providers have the capacity to perform at least 1,100 more tests.
