20 seafood workers in Alaska contracted COVID-19, city officials say

Twenty seafood workers were infected with coronavirus after an outbreak of COVID-19 on the seafood factory trawler Araho in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, according to city officials.

The trawler, owned by the seafood company O’Hara corporation, had a crew of 40 workers, according to a news release from the City of Unalaska.

Crew members from Araho arrived in Unalaska from Seattle on Wednesday, according to the Anchorage Daily News. Some of the crew members said upon arrival they were experiencing coronavirus symptoms, Unalaska city manager Erin Reinders said, according to the news outlet. 

After testing, half the crew was found to have the virus. Reinders said a plan is being developed to take care of the crew members with the virus and the ones without the virus. 

The news comes as seafood processors and vessels in the Aleutian Islands have seen a recent surge in coronavirus cases. Five cases of the virus were reported on the Island Enterprise vessel, owned by Trident Seafoods, on Thursday, according to the Daily News. 

Another Trident plant in Akutan was shut down due to an outbreak. The plant is North America’s largest seafood processing plant, and 266 out of 705 workers contracted the coronavirus at the facility. 

Reinders said there are 57 seafood industry-related coronavirus cases in the city of Unalaska. 

Alaska has reported over 53,000 coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic and 253 deaths, according to data compiled by The New York Times.