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The Unalaska City School District’s COVID-19 Advisory Committee decided to stand down Wednesday. That means committee members won’t be meeting monthly to discuss the district’s COVID-19 protocols, unless there is a spike in local cases and the district sees a need in resurrecting the advisory group.
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City Manager Erin Reinders announced at Tuesday’s City Council meeting that the number of reported COVID-19 infections had fallen to zero for the first time since the winter surge, when confirmed cases numbered in the hundreds. Also at the meeting, the city’s planning director, Bil Homka, presented the results from a survey that measures the quality of life in Unalaska. Unalaska City Council members also reviewed a cost benefit analysis for the Captains Bay Road improvement project, the city’s most expensive capital project.
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Unalaska students and staff can start shedding their masks at school starting Monday.Unalaska City School District officials sent out a letter to families on Wednesday, saying masks will no longer be required beginning next week.
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The Qawalangin Tribe has partnered with Aleutian Housing Authority, the City of Unalaska and other local donors to open Unalaska's first official food bank. While items like frozen meat and fish aren't very common at food banks, the Tribe is making an effort to have a variety of nutrient dense and traditional foods available to the community.
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The nation's sole heavy icebreaker arrived in Antarctica on Monday, following a nearly three-month trip from Seattle. The deployment marks the Polar Star’s 25th journey to the earth’s southernmost continent, supporting Operation Deep Freeze – an annual mission to resupply American scientists doing research near the South Pole, according to a Coast Guard statement.
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Unalaska is once again handing out at-home coronavirus test kits, according to local health officials. The island received its first supply earlier this month, but ran out less than 24 hours after offering them to the public. Iliuliuk Family and Health Services received 400 kits from the state Tuesday, each with two tests per box, said Jennifer Heller, a certified nurse midwife with the clinic.
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The City of St. Paul says 12 people tested positive for COVID-19 so far this week – its largest spike since the start of the pandemic.
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Unalaska is in the midst of its largest surge of COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. As of Wednesday, there were 214 active cases on the island, according to the city’s COVID-19 dashboard. One hundred and thirty five are considered community-acquired and 79 are industry-quarantined. Previously, the city had reported its highest number of community cases at 30, during the height of the delta surge this summer.
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Unalaska’s clinic is out of its most efficient COVID-19 test kits, prompting health officials to recommend against retesting for island residents who test positive with at-home kits.
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The Unalaska school board decided not to change the district’s mandatory mask rules on Thursday following nearly three hours of contentious public testimony. Dozens of community members — including parents, students, teachers and local health officials — crammed into the Unalaska High School Library for the meeting. Some said that there is no need for masks in schools. Others argued that with COVID-19 cases soaring, masking is more important than ever.