Alaska's worst week of the pandemic: Seafood facilities account for 80% of non-resident cases

Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (ADHSS) reported that July 19-25 was "Alaska's worst week of the pandemic in terms of rapid increases in resident and nonresident cases."

The total cases among Alaska residents rose 34 percent during that week, according to the ADHSS, with hospitalization rates and deaths increasing. The week saw 653 new cases in Alaskans and 171 in nonresidents.

Of those 171 nonresident cases, nearly 80 percent of the workers were in the seafood industry.

Most cases were associated with one of three major outbreaks in the seafood industry, including an outbreak at an Alaska Glacier Seafoods' processing plant in Juneau, at OBI Seafoods' plant in Seward and from American Seafoods catcher-processor vessel that initially docked in Unalaska.