Multiple crew members on a seafood factory trawler in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska have tested positive for COVID-19, joining a growing list of outbreaks in seafood processors and vessels, city officials said.
The city of Unalaska said that factory trawler Araho, owned by seafood company O’Hara Corporation, reported 20 of its 40 crew members tested positive, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
City Manager Erin Reinders said a couple of crew members reported symptoms after the vessel arrived in Alaska from Seattle last week. Reinders said the city is developing a plan to coordinate care for infected crew members and determine what to do with the others.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
City officials said five COVID-19 cases were confirmed last week among workers on the Island Enterprise, a separate catcher owned by Trident Seafoods. The Island Enterprise left Dutch Harbor and was headed to Seward on Friday, Reinders said.
Multiple shore processors have been shut down as well, including the largest processing plant in North America, operated by Trident and located in Akutan. More than 260 employees at the plant have tested positive as of Thursday.
Reinders said there are 57 seafood industry-related cases of COVID-19 in Unalaska, including the 20 crew members who tested positive on the Araho.
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