Iditarod sled dog race officials are trying to identify two mushers who shared a tent at a checkpoint with Gunnar Johnson, the Minnesota musher who was removed from the race this week after testing positive for COVID-19.
Johnson, 52, had a positive test on Wednesday in McGrath, a city 300 miles from the race where all musher are being tested on their journey north. He shared a tent in Nikolai with two drivers the night before.
Dr. Jodie Guest – an infectious disease epidemiologist and professor at Emory University in Atlanta who is helping with the race’s COVID-19 mitigation plan – said race officials believe “the risk to others on the trail is likely maximum of three people. “
“We are still trying to determine the identity of two drivers who shared a tent with him about two days ago. We have this group (reduced), but not finalized, ”she said on Thursday during a community briefing COVID-19 with public health officials. She did not say who the third person might be.
Because of Johnson’s positive result, all musher will be tested again when they pass McGrath a second time heading south, Guest said.
Authorities said on Tuesday that Johnson, who is isolating himself at McGrath, was not symptomatic and had no close contact with race officials or community members there.
Since Johnson’s positive test, 43 officers and volunteers have been tested at Nikolai’s checkpoint, where Johnson spent 24 hours from Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning. All tests were negative, said Guest.
She said another 14 people would be tested on Thursday afternoon at Rohn, the checkpoint before Nikolai. Johnson spent about four hours at three checkpoints – Skwentna, Rainy Pass and Rohn – on his way to Nikolai, according to the race’s ranking.
“He hasn’t entered any building since he left for the start of the race,” said Guest.
The guest said Johnson’s exposure was traced back to a dog trainer who rode in a vehicle with him on Friday, March 5. That person tested positive on Saturday.
“It is unusual, but we have a very specific contact that we know,” said Guest.
The coach was among three people, including Johnson, who were quarantined before the race, she said. The handler was exposed outside that bubble and tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. The race started the next day at Deshka Landing.
Johnson, 52, is a veteran of the 1991 and 2017 Iditarods and was looking after dogs from Jim Lanier’s Chugiak kennel. He was the 38th musher to reach McGrath.
It is common for drivers to share tents at checkpoints, Guest said.
“People come and go at night, they are not talking much and they are also masked,” she said. “He just doesn’t know for sure who these two people are.”