Twenty shellfish gatherers were infected with coronavirus after an outbreak of COVID-19 oon the seafood factory trawler Araho in the Alaskan 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 press release from the city of Unalaska.
ÇAraho rew members arrived in Seattle from Unalaska on Wednesday, according to the Anchorage Daily News. Some of the crew members said upon arrival that they were showing symptoms of coronavirus, Unalaska city manager Erin Reinders said, according to the news agency.
After the test, it was discovered that half of the crew had the virus. Reinders said a plan is being developed to care for crew members with and without the virus.
The news comes when seafood processors and vessels in the Aleutian Islands see a recent increase in coronavirus cases. Five cases of the virus were reported on the vessel Island Enterprise, owned by Trident Seafoods, on Thursday, according to the Daily News.
Another Trident plant in Akutan was closed due to an outbreak. The factory is the largest seafood processing plant in North America, and 266 of the 705 workers contracted the coronavirus at the facility.
Reinders said there are 57 cases of coronavirus related to the seafood industry in the city of Unalaska.
Alaska has reported more than 53,000 coronavirus infections since the pandemic began and 253 deaths, according to data compiled by The New York Times.