St. Paul city officials reported the island’s first resident cases of COVID-19 Tuesday.
The city said in a statement that two community members tested positive. One was traveling, and the other is a member of their household.
Both people are required to isolate for 10 days, and everyone who traveled onto the island with the positive resident was asked to be tested at the local clinic. As of Tuesday, no “close contacts” had been identified, according to the statement.
The Pribilof community has reported just four COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. The first was in April and the second in August — both nonresident travelers. This marks the first cases among island residents in the roughly 370-person community.
Over 90% of St. Paul residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to city officials. They didn’t specify the vaccination status of the two individuals who tested positive this week.
St. Paul is currently at the medium local COVID-19 risk level.
Testing is available at the island’s health center for anyone who thinks they may have been exposed to the virus.
