A COVID-19 outbreak is prompting temporary closures of seafood processing plants in the Aleutian Islands. Alyeska Seafoods in Unalaska reported a “cluster of positive cases” among workers, but did not say how many were infected. This follows closures of the UniSea plant in Unalaska and the Trident Seafoods plant in Akutan just as the crab and pollock fishing seasons get underway.
A Friday press release issued by Trident Seafoods notes that they are making progress in understanding and addressing the outbreak. They note that nearly all 706 workers at the facility had been tested, with a total of 266 testing positive.
Trident also noted that 613 employees are still on-site at the Akutan facility, with 195 who tested positive being isolated in company housing, being separated from those employees who tested negative.
The company says they have arranged emergency medical evacuations to Anchorage for five employees who have become severely ill from COVID-19, and other conditions. Trident’s Akutan facility is not operating at this time, as the company says they are focusing all resources on eliminating the COVID-19 virus “to support a safe return to work and full resumption of operations.”