Virus detected at OBI Seafoods’ in Alitak, Alaska, USA processing plant located on the southern tip of Kodiak Island.
In a statement, OBI Seafoods – merged from Ocean Beauty Seafoods and Icicle Seafoods- writes that 37 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 at its remote facility.
In June, OBI Seafoods had a COVID outbreak at its plant in Seward last month, in which a third of its employees tested positive for the virus.
Because of the remote location of the plant, positive cases are being transported to Anchorage where they will remain in isolation.
Where the salmon facilty is based in Alitak (which has been operational since 1917), there is no village, roads, aeroplane landing strips, and both electrical power and water have to be generated on-site.
“The company is working closely with Kodiak Public Health, Kodiak Emergency Operations Center, Kodiak Area Native Association (KANA), and State of Alaska health representatives to identify further quarantine recommendations, adopt aggressive testing schedules, initiate contact tracing, and identify any potential risks to employees,” wrote OBI Seafoods.
“The remote Alitak facility is completely isolated and operates as a closed campus, so there is no interaction of employees with members of any community. OBI Seafoods’ COVID-19 employee testing protocol includes testing and confirming negative results for all employees before they travel to Alaska and before they join the workforce, including a 14-day quarantine period on a closed campus upon arrival to the state,” it added.
